EL SALVADOR: INL MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT FOR

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 001012 SIPDIS SIPDIS INL FOR MARTIN WHA FOR DEGLER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN PINR SNAR KCRM KJUS ES SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: INL MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT FOR MARCH 2006 ¶1. (U) The following summarizes Embassy INL activities in March 2006. Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics refer to the month of March 2006. -------------- ILEA -------------- ¶2. (U) From March 20 to 22, two Congressional staffers from the House International Relations Committee visited Post in order to evaluate the status of ILEA and to talk with Embassy and GOES officials about gangs and narcotics interdiction. -------------- NARCOTICS INTERDICTION -------------- ¶3. (U) Operations: Officers of the Anti-Narcotics Police (DAN) at the INL-constructed vehicle inspection facility in El Amatillo inspected 654 cars, 476 passenger buses, and 248 commercial freight trucks, resulting in the arrest of six individuals for narcotics trafficking and the seizure of 203 grams of marijuana and 952 grams of cocaine. In all operations throughout the country, the INL-supported DAN seized 22 kg of marijuana and eight kg of cocaine, and arrested 84 individuals for trafficking offenses. ¶4. (U) Dogs: INL purchased lawnmowers and fumigation equipment to control ticks and fleas at the Canine Training Facility. -------------- MONEY LAUNDERING -------------- ¶5. (U) Operations: The INL-supported Financial Investigations Unit (FIU) received 23 Suspicious Activities Reports, opened three new investigation, and identified and removed 270 false dollar-denominated bills from circulation. No convictions for money laundering were realized. -------------- -------------- HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING AND TRANSIT SECURITY -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) Operations: The INL-supported Border Police (Fronteras) arrested 25 individuals for human smuggling; no arrests were made for trafficking in persons. Police operations rescued 18 minors in the process of being smuggled. No convictions for either offense were realized. -------------- -------------- ORGANIZED CRIME, RULE OF LAW, AND DEMAND REDUCTION -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) Organized Crime: In March, the PNC arrested 1,337 individuals for gang-related criminal activity. Of these arrests, 62 percent of the cases were dismissed for lack of evidence, three percent are incarcerated awaiting trial, and 35 percent were assigned alternative sentencing (community service). Forty-five gang members were killed due to gang-related violence. Butler