EL SALVADOR: INL MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT FOR

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 002795

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIN ELAB PHUM SNAR KCRM KJUS ES INL
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: INL MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT FOR
SEPTEMBER 2005



1. (U) The following summarizes Embassy INL activities in
September 2005. Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics
refer to the month of September 2005.

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ILEA
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2. (U) On September 20, Ambassador Barclay and Governance
Minister Figueroa signed a bilateral agreement to establish
an International Law Enforcement Academy in El Salvador. The
agreement has passed from President Saca to the National
Assembly for ratification. The GOES expects ratification
within the next several weeks.

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NARCOTICS INTERDICTION
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3. (U) Operations: Officers of the Anti-Narcotics Police
(DAN) at the INL-constructed vehicle inspection facility in
El Amatillo inspected 506 cars, 737 passenger buses, and 284
commercial freight trucks. In all operations throughout the
country, the INL-supported DAN seized 24 kilograms of
marijuana, two kilograms of cocaine, and 15 kilograms of
heroin (see following paragraph),as well as arresting 63
individuals for trafficking offenses.


4. (U) Amatillo: On September 5, DAN officers at Amatillo
seized one kilogram of heroin hidden in the shoes of a
Mexican national bus driver. On September 15, they seized 14
kilograms of heroin that was sewn into 27 pieces of clothing
carried by two Mexican nationals. (Note: Fifteen kilos of
heroin has a U.S. street value of US$1.35 million. INL paid
US$320,000 to construct the Amatillo inspection facility. End
Note.)

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MONEY LAUNDERING
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5. (U) Operations: The INL-supported Financial
Investigations Unit (FIU) received 29 Suspicious Activities
Reports, opened 5 new investigations, and identified and
removed 172 false dollar-denominated bills from circulation.
No convictions were realized.

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HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING AND TRANSIT SECURITY
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6. (U) Operations: The INL-supported Border Police
(Fronteras) arrested 35 individuals for human smuggling and
one person for trafficking in September. Police operations
rescued 25 minors in the process of being smuggled or
trafficked. No convictions for trafficking or smuggling were
realized during the month.

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ORGANIZED CRIME, RULE OF LAW, AND DEMAND REDUCTION
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7. (U) Organized Crime: In September, the PNC arrested 1437
individuals for gang-related criminal activity. Of these
arrests, 20 percent of the cases were dismissed for lack of
evidence, 65 percent are incarcerated awaiting trial, and 15
percent were assigned alternative sentencing (community
service). 60 gang members were killed due to gang-related
violence.


8. (U) Culture of Lawfulness: On September 27, INLOff met
with program managers from the NGO National Strategy
Information Center (NSIC) to discuss implementing the second
phase of the Culture of Lawfulness (CoL) program in El
Salvador. NSIC plans to prepare eight additional Salvadoran
"trainers" who will provide CoL training to 200 teachers at
60 schools during FY-06. This second phase of implementation
will be funded by INL and CICAD.


9. (U) Demand Reduction: INL sponsored the travel of the
deputy director of the National Anti-Drug Commission to
Canada to attend a CICAD conference on evaluating the
effectiveness of demand reduction programs.
Barclay