CHILE: 2005 INCSR PART I: NARCOTICS CONTROL

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 002482

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, AND NDDS; TREASURY FOR FINCEN; DEA
FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR CI
SUBJECT: CHILE: 2005 INCSR PART I: NARCOTICS CONTROL

REF: STATE 209560


1. Below is "Part I: "Drugs and Chemical Control" of the
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) for
Chile. Per instructions, Part II will be sent septel.


I. Summary


2. While not a center of illicit narcotics production, Chile
remains a transit country for cocaine and heroin shipments
destined for the U.S. and Europe. Chile also has an internal
cocaine and marijuana consumption problem, with ecstasy
increasing in popularity. Chile is a source of essential
chemicals for use in coca processing in Peru and Bolivia.
Chile is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. End Summary.

II. Status of Country


3. Transshipment of cocaine and heroin from the Andean region
is a problem for Chile. Cocaine hydrochloride consumption
has increased, although cocaine base abuse is more prevalent.
Chilean authorities discovered some cocaine and amphetamine
labs three years ago, but Chile is not a major source of
refined cocaine. Marijuana also continues to be widely used
in Chile, a drug supplied primarily by Paraguay and a handful
of production farms in Chile.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005


4. Policy Initiatives. President Lagos is expected to sign
later this month chemical control regulations, which will
regulate the internal sale, transportation, and distribution
of controlled chemicals. Chile is currently the only country
in Latin America without specific regulation to address this
issue.


5. The Chilean Congress continues to work on a comprehensive
revision of Chile's 1995 drug laws, a project pending since

1999. In an effort to aid efforts to combat money
laundering, the Financial Intelligence Unit was created in
June 2004. The National Drug Control Commission (CONACE)
develops and coordinates the National Drug Control Strategy;
the current strategy includes the years 2003-2008. CONACE
also coordinates all demand reduction programs.


6. Accomplishments. In March 2005, the Chilean NGO "Citizen
Peace Foundation," in coordination with Embassy Santiago,
launched the country's first pilot program for drug courts in
the port town of Valparaiso. Following this successful
launch, the pilot program will be expanded to Santiago in

2006. In June 2005, eight Chilean officials traveled to
Florida to observe the functioning of U.S. drug courts, and
to participate in the annual U.S. conference of drug courts.
Participants returned to Chile as strong proponents of
incorporating drug courts in the new judicial system as well
as adding an alternative dispute resolution program.


7. DEA Santiago and the Policia de Investigactions de Chile
(PICH, the investigative police) hosted the 22th
International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC XXII) in
April. DEA Administrator Karen Tandy met with President
Ricardo Lagos and then-Minister of Interior Jose Insulza.
Over 200 delegates from 73 countries attended. An IDEC
first, the conference focused on forming working groups to
identify mutually agreed-upon regional narcotics targets and
specifying steps to disrupt or dismantle those organizations.
The conference received positive media coverage from Chilean
and international press.


8. DEA Santiago invited six key members of the Chilean law
enforcement community to the U.S. in June for an observation
tour of various DEA-supported drug task forces operating
along the southwest border. The institutions represented
included the Carabineros (uniformed police); the PICH; the
National and Regional Public Ministry Offices; the Chilean
Customs Service; and DIRECTEMAR (Coast Guard). The purpose
of the visit was to expose Chilean officials to the workings
of interagency task forces dedicated to combating narcotics
trafficking, with an eye toward implementing a similar task
force in Chile in the future.


9. In August 2005, INL-funded U.S. speaker Calvina Fay,
Director of the Drug Free America Foundation, provided
keynote remarks at a seminar on the impact of drug
legalization, co-organized by the Network of Chilean Drug
Prevention NGOs (CHIPRED),PRIDE-Chile and the Drug
Commission of the National Association of Chilean
Municipalities. More than 200 drug prevention experts
attended.


10. In September 2005, the Chilean court system allowed the
release of the results of Embassy Santiago's sponsored
Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) test. Developed by the
Citizen Peace Foundation and the National Institute of Drug
Abuse, the test revealed that 73% of arrestees tested were
using drugs at the time of their arrest in Santiago. This
test was the first scientific test in Chile showing a link
between drug use and crime. Until its release, Chilean
officials traditionally believed that drugs did not play a
significant role in crime.


11. Chile completed its multi-year, nationwide criminal
justice reform project in June 2005. Chile's 12 regions,
plus the Santiago Metropolitan region (itself comprising 40%
of the population),have adopted the new adversarial judicial
system. The new system is based on oral trials rather than
document-based legal proceedings. Initial feedback suggests
a wider trust in the new system, and cases are reportedly
being resolved faster than before. On going challenges
include training judges, prosecutors and law enforcement on
evidence collection and analysis, presentation in court and
court administration (case loads, budget, scheduling, etc.).


12. Law Enforcement Efforts. Chilean authorities are
successfully interdicting narcotics transiting through and
destined for Chile. As a result of increased U.S. support
for interdiction efforts in the Andean source nations,
narcotics traffickers are using Chile as a transshipment
point for cocaine and heroin with more frequency. Traffickers
assume Chile's clean reputation with authorities in the U.S.
and Europe means that vessels and aircraft originating from
Chile are less closely scrutinized.


13. In August, the PICH with assistance from DEA Santiago,
La Paz and Asuncion, completed an International Controlled
Delivery (ICD) of two tons of Paraguayan marijuana. This
resulted in the arrest of 14 individuals in Chile and 13
co-conspirators, along with an 800-kilogram marijuana seizure
in Paraguay. This seizure was the largest marijuana seizure
in Chilean history, and the first ICD of its kind in the
region. This case marked the first ICD involving Paraguay
and Bolivia, laying the legal groundwork for future police
techniques. IDEC's Southern Cone Working Group and the
regional Officer Exchange Program significantly contributed
to the successful resolution of this case.


14. In 2005, Chilean authorities seized 2777 kilograms of
cocaine hydrochloride, 2173 kilograms of cocaine, 5.4
kilograms of heroin, 5846 kilograms of marijuana, and 122,740
marijuana plants. Law enforcement agencies arrested 12,878
persons for drug-related offenses, an increase from 9400 in

2004. Chilean authorities are also addressing the domestic
distribution sources of cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy.


15. Corruption. Narcotics-related corruption among police
officers and other government officials is not a major
problem in Chile. The government actively discourages
illicit production and distribution of narcotic and
psychotropic drugs and the laundering of proceeds from
illegal drug transactions. No current Chilean senior
officials have been accused of engaging in such activities.
The high-profile and on going scandals related to Pinochet's
activities provide an example of the gravity and attention
that Chile attaches to corrupt behavior by former or current
government officials. Transparency International's Annual
Corruption Perception Index consistently ranks Chile within
the top 20 least corrupt countries in the world.


16. Agreements and Treaties. Efforts are currently slow to
update the U.S.-Chile Extradition Treaty signed in 1900,
under which no Chilean citizen has ever been extradited to
the U.S. In late 2002, Chile expressed interest in updating
the current treaty, and exploratory meetings with discussions
of draft language have taken place. The U.S. and Chile do
not have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). Chile is
party to the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption.


17. The September 2002 Letter of Agreement between Chile and
the U.S. remains the most recent accord for cooperation and
mutual assistance in narcotics-related matters. U.S.
assistance programs are implemented under this agreement.
Although the GOC and the DEA signed an agreement in 1995 to
create a Special Investigative Unit (SIU) within the
Carabineros, no SIU currently operated in Chile. Due to the
low level of corruption and the high level of professionalism
in the ranks of Chilean law enforcement, the U.S. does not
see a pressing need for an SIU. Chile has bilateral
narcotics cooperation agreements in force with Argentina,
Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia,
Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Uruguay and Venezuela.


18. Cultivation/Production. There is no known major
cultivation or production of drugs in Chile, and the
Department does not identify Chile as a "major" drug-transit
country. Very small amounts of marijuana are cultivated in
Chile to meet domestic demand.


19. Drug Flow/Transit. Increasing amounts of drugs are
transshipped from Andean source countries through Chile,
destined for the U.S. and Europe. Chile's extensive and
modern transportation system make it attractive to narcotics
traffickers. Maritime and land route trafficking have
increased; the most recent trend is to traffic drugs via
Chile's road system and out of the country via maritime
routes. The Santiago International Airport is also used to
transit heroin to the U.S. and Europe. Most narcotics arrive
by land routes from Peru and Bolivia, but some enter through
Argentina. The efforts of Chilean authorities are hampered
by treaty provisions allowing cargo originating in Bolivia
and Peru to transit Chile without inspection to the ports of
Arica and Antofagasta.


20. No labs producing synthetic drugs have been found in
Chile to date. Ecstasy enters the country primarily in small
amounts via couriers traveling by air.


21. Demand Reduction Programs. The Chilean government has
expressed concern about domestic drug use. The most recent
study, completed in 2002 and released by CONACE in July 2003,
demonstrates that the existing treatment infrastructure in
Chile is insufficient. According to the survey, 5.7 percent
of Chileans used drugs in 2002, a slight decrease from 6.3
percent recorded in 2000. Prevalence of marijuana dropped
from 5.8 percent in 2000 to 5.2 percent in 2002, although
current information indicates marijuana use may be
significantly higher than the numbers suggest. The report
also states the use of cocaine base fell from 0.7 percent to
0.5 percent, but use of refined cocaine rose slightly from
1.5 percent to 1.6 percent. Significant anecdotal evidence
suggests an increase in use of both types of cocaine. The
2002 survey also found that 22.9 percent of respondents had
used illegal drugs at least once in their lives. CONACE
continues to work with NGOs, community organizations, and
schools to develop demand reduction programs.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs


22. U.S. Policy Initiatives. U.S. support to Chile in 2003
reinforced ongoing priorities in five areas: 1) training for
prosecutors, police, judges, and public defenders in their
roles in the new criminal justice system; 2) demand
reduction; 3) enhanced police investigation capabilities; 4)
police intelligence capability; and 5) money laundering.


23. Bilateral Cooperation. During 2005, the USG pursued
numerous initiatives based on the above priorities. Examples
include: 1) a seminar on Intellectual Property Rights
targeted at judges; 2) a drug court pilot program in
Valparaiso; 3) a UN-funded trip of eight officials to Florida
for the annual drug court conference; 4) a DEA-sponsored
visit to observe and evaluate counter-narcotics task forces
in action; 5) a DOJ-funded course on trafficking in persons
for prosecutors, law enforcement and government officials; 6)
published results of a public affairs section grant to
Fundacion Paz Ciudadana to implement ADAM (Arrestee Drug
Abuse Monitoring),showing the link between crime and drugs;
7) Drug Free America participation in a Chilean seminar on
the impact of drug legalization; and 8) continued discussions
towards updating the 1900 U.S./Chile extradition treaty.


24. The Road Ahead. In 2006, Embassy Santiago will continue
to support Chilean efforts to combat the narcotics-related
problems listed above. The U.S. plans to continue
capacity-building assistance to the on going criminal justice
system reform. Efforts to enhance the counter-narcotics
capabilities of both the Carabineros and the Investigations
Police pursuant to the Letter of Agreement will also
continue.
KELLY