GANGS ON THE RISE IN SAO PAULO'S WOMEN'S PRISONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 000319

SIPDIS

NSC FOR CRONIN
DEA FOR OEL/DESANTIS AND NIRL/LEHRER
DEPT ALSO FOR WHA/PDA, DRL/PHD, INL, DS/IP/WHA, DS/DSS/ITA

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCRM SOCI SNAR ASEC BR
SUBJECT: GANGS ON THE RISE IN SAO PAULO'S WOMEN'S PRISONS

REF: A) Brasilia 496; (B) Sao Paulo 215; (C) 05 Sao Paulo 975

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: According to the Director of Training for the
Sao Paulo state prison system, street gang influence within Sao
Paulo prisons has notably increased over the last three years.
Particularly disturbing in this trend is that for the first time,
prison officials see the influence of gangs within the state's
women's prisons, specifically of the notorious street gang First
Capital Command (PCC). The rise of gang influence begets a
corresponding rise in the availability of cell phones, drugs, and
weapons in prison, smuggled in by family members of inmates via
corrupt prison officials. On a related note, the official indicated
that Sao Paulo prison administrators were aware of the State
Department's Human Rights Report coverage of poor conditions in
Brazil's prisons, but surmised that there would be little reaction
to it because the reporting was accurate and depressingly familiar.
Improvement does occur, but incrementally. END SUMMARY.

--------------
PCC IN WOMEN'S PRISONS
--------------


2. (SBU) On March 9, Poloffs met with Francisco de Assis Santana,
Director of Training for the Sao Paulo prison system. He oversees
programs that train a wide segment of prison employees, including
guards and rapid reaction teams. The small but relatively modern
school is located in a mix of prison-related buildings on the north
side of the city of Sao Paulo, and Santana noted that the Secretary
of Prison Administration, Nagashi Furukawa, has recently re-located
the Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration (SAP) to this
complex. These administrative buildings lie in the shadow of the
Women's Penitentiary of Sant'Ana, and a few blocks from the
crumbling remains of the notorious Carandiru Prison, scene of an
infamous bloody clash between inmates and the Military Police in
1992 (Refs A and B) in which 111 prisoners died.


3. (SBU) Santana freely discussed the state of prisons in Sao Paulo,
focusing on the women's prisons. (NOTE: According to SAP
statistics, Sao Paulo state currently incarcerates 4266 women
inmates. END NOTE.) He focused on the rising influence of street
gangs in women's prisons, which he said was virtually non-existent
even a year ago. Unwilling to use the term "gangs," preferring to
call them "factions," he said the notorious street gang PCC (Ref C)
in particular has taken hold in the state's women's prisons.

--------------
PHONES, DRUGS AND GUNS
--------------


4. (SBU) Santana said that as a result of the rise in the PCC's
influence, prison officials note a corresponding rise in the
availability of cell phones, drugs and guns within prison walls. He
said the families and associates of inmates smuggle these items into
the prisons, usually with the complicity of corrupt prison
officials. He described how cell phones are ferried to inmates by
prison employees throughout the state's prison system, usually for a
payoff of around 300 Reais per phone (approximately $150 USD).
Santana said a prison dentist was recently caught with several
phones strapped to his legs that he was trying to smuggle to
inmates. Cell phones are hot commodities because they are used by
imprisoned gang leaders to coordinate criminal activity both within
the prison and out on the streets (Ref C). Santana offered no
specific government plan to combat the rise of the PCC's influence,
other than to continue programs like his to better train staff and
to root out corruption.

--------------
MUTED REACTION TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
--------------


5. (SBU) On a related matter, Santana made a point of showing us
copies of Brazilian press coverage of the Department's 2005 Human
Rights Report, which again criticized Brazil's prisons. When asked
directly what he and his superiors thought of the Report, he
shrugged and said simply, "What can I say. It's all true." He said

SAO PAULO 00000319 002 OF 002


he did not expect any reaction to the report from prison
administrators. (NOTE: GOB policy is to not comment publicly on the
Human Rights Report. END NOTE.) He said prison management in
Brazil is not easy, but he sees improvements. For example, he noted
that at Presidente Bernardes Penitentiary outside of the city of Sao
Paulo, the prison's construction is such that cell phone signals
cannot penetrate the walls (Ref C),and he said new retinal scanners
screen visitors to prevent gang members from gaining access to
incarcerated associates by masquerading as family.

--------------
PUBLIC SECURITY AND PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNING
--------------


6. (SBU) COMMENT: The rising influence of the PCC in women's
prisons follows a trend of the gang's influence in Sao Paulo state
generally over the last 12 months (Ref C). Born in the state's
prisons, the PCC has become a highly organized and business-like
entity. Public security is likely to be an election issue, and with
trends such as this, neither the president nor the governor of Sao
Paulo will find it easy to take the high road when it comes to
prison administration and security. END COMMENT.


7. (U) This cable was cleared/coordinated with Embassy Brasilia.

MCMULLEN