INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, PART I

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GEORGETOWN 001042

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL/LP, WHA/CAR FOR JROSHOLT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR GY
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, PART I

REF: STATE 136787


1. (U) Post presents its 2008 International Narcotics Control
Strategy Report, Part I, Drugs and Chemical Control

Guyana:


I. Summary

Guyana is a transit point for cocaine destined for North America,
Europe, and the Caribbean, but not in quantities sufficient to
impact the U.S. market. In 2007, domestic seizures of cocaine were
considerably higher than the previous year due to improved
counternarcotics measures at the working level, although all but one
of these seizures were minor in scale. The Government of Guyana
(GOG) laid the groundwork for an enhanced security sector by
agreeing to a reform program sponsored by the British government; it
also arrested Terrence Sugrim, an accused drug trafficker wanted by
the U.S., and initiated the extradition process.

However, more than two years after launching its National Drug
Strategy Master Plan (NDSMP) for 2005-2009, the GOG has not
effectively implemented it. Cooperation among law enforcement
bodies is fragmented and minimally productive; weak border controls
and limited resources for law enforcement allow drug traffickers to
move shipments via river, air, and land without meaningful
resistance. Guyana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

II. Status of Country

Guyana is a transit country for cocaine, and to a lesser degree
marijuana. Guyana's vast expanse of unpopulated forest and
savannahs offers ample cover for drug traffickers and other
smugglers. Government counternarcotics efforts are undermined by
inadequate resources for law enforcement, poor coordination among
law enforcement agencies, an inefficient judiciary, and a
colonial-era legal system badly in need of modernization. The
Guyanese media regularly report murders, kidnappings, and other
violent crimes commonly believed to be linked with narcotics
trafficking. Guyana produces high-grade cannabis, but not coca leaf
or cocaine. Guyana is not known to produce, trade, or transit
precursor chemicals on a large scale.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007

Policy Initiatives. In 2007, the GOG signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with Great Britain to implement a $5 million,
multi-year program for reform of the security sector, which includes
enhancing the investigative capacity of law enforcement agencies.
The GOG requested and received $500,000 in U.S. Department of
Defense funds to refurbish its only seaworthy Coast Guard vessel, to
help secure its borders and interdict drug traffickers and other
smugglers along its 285-mile coastline. Guyana commenced issuance
of machine-readable passports, in accordance with the International
Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) standards, which will help
thwart the use of identity fraud in cross-border criminal
activities. Additionally, the government has tabled legislation
that would augment the tools currently available to it in fighting
money laundering, including regulations to allow for the seizure of
assets; the chances for its passage are unclear.

The positive steps of 2007 notwithstanding, the GOG has accomplished
few of the principal goals laid out in its ambitious NDSMP that was
launched in June 2005. The Joint Intelligence Coordination Center
(JICC),the formation of which was a central element of the 2005
NDSMP, is defunct. In its place, a task force covering narcotics
and illegal weapons has been assembled by the Minister for Home
Affairs and meets monthly, but there remains limited productive
interaction or intelligence sharing among the organizations
involved.

Law Enforcement Efforts. Despite the lack of adequate resources,
poor inter-agency coordination, and allegations of corruption, 2007
saw modest improvements in enforcement at the working level.
Through October, Guyanese law enforcement agencies seized 167 kgs of
cocaine, a nearly threefold increase over the amount seized in all
of 2006. In May, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) seized 106
kilograms of cocaine hidden in dried fish glue at a home near
Georgetown, and arrested four men in connection with the operation;
one of these individuals was sentenced in November to ten years in
prison and fined $1.2 million. In July, police arrested Terrence
Sugrim, an accused drug trafficker who had been indicted in New York
federal court a few weeks earlier; his possible extradition to the
U.S. is under appeal by the defense.

Guyana's counternarcotics activities are encumbered by the
peculiarities of a British colonial-era legal system that has not
been updated to reflect the needs of modern-day law enforcement.
There are no laws that support plea bargaining, wiretapping, or the
use of DNA evidence, nor are there laws against racketeering or

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conspiracy. Even when more contemporary crime fighting tools are
available to one law enforcement body, they are not necessarily
available to others. At Guyana's international airport, for
example, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) operates surveillance
cameras to help thwart tax fraud. But the cameras are not
well-placed to aid counternarcotics operations, video footage is not
shared with narcotics authorities and it is not clear that it would
be admissible in drug-related court proceedings. In all cases, law
enforcement agencies are hamstrung by meager personnel budgets.
There are no routine patrols of the numerous land entry points on
the 1,800 miles of border with Venezuela, Brazil, and Suriname.

The GoG has not identified or confronted major drug traffickers and
their organizations. While the GPF Narcotics Branch and CANU
arrested dozens of drug couriers at Guyana's international airport
en route to the Caribbean, North America, and Europe, the arrests
were limited to individuals with small amounts of marijuana, crack
cocaine or powder cocaine, usually on charges of possession for the
purpose of trafficking.

Corruption. There is no evidence that the GOG or senior GOG
officials encourage or facilitate the illicit production,
processing, shipment or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic
drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds
from illegal drug transactions. News media routinely report on
instances of corruption reaching to high levels of government that
are not investigated and thus go unpunished, but no conclusive
evidence is available to back up these claims. It is widely
believed that drug trafficking organizations in Guyana continue to
elude law enforcement agencies through bribes and coercion, but
substantiating information is anecdotal at best. Guyana is party to
the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (IACAC),but has
yet to fully implement its provisions, such as seizure of property
obtained through corruption. Guyana is not a party to the UN
Convention against Corruption.

Agreements and Treaties. Guyana is party to the 1988 UN Drug
Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as
amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on
Psychotropic Substances. Guyana also is a party to the UN Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocol on
trafficking in persons. The 1931 Extradition Treaty between the
United States and the United Kingdom is applicable to the U.S. and
Guyana, although there is no bilateral mutual legal assistance
treaty between the U.S. and Guyana. In March 2006, Guyana signed
the OAS Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, to which the US is a party;
assistance has also been regularly provided on an informal basis.
Guyana signed a bilateral agreement with the U.S. on maritime
counternarcotics cooperation in 2001; however, it has not yet taken
the necessary domestic actions to bring the agreement into force.
Guyana has bilateral agreements to cooperate on drug trafficking
issues with its neighbors and with the United Kingdom. Guyana is
also a member of the Organization of American States' Inter-American
Drug Abuse Control Commission (OAS/CICAD).

Cultivation and Production. A very high-grade form of cannabis is
grown in Guyana, primarily in the intermediate savannahs, and its
cultivation is reportedly increasing. Guyana is not a producer of
cocaine or opium poppy.

Drug Flow/Transit. There are no reliable estimates regarding the
amount of cocaine or cannabis that transits Guyana. According to
USG law enforcement authorities, Guyanese narcotics traffickers
regularly move shipments of cocaine through the country. Some
cannabis cultivated in Guyana is also smuggled out of the country,
although in more modest quantities. In 2007, a shipment of heroin
was seized in Guyana for the first time in recent memory.

Drugs flow easily through Guyana's uncontrolled borders and
coastline. Light aircraft land at numerous isolated airstrips or
make airdrops where operatives on the ground retrieve the drugs.
Smugglers use small boats and freighters to enter Guyana's many
remote but navigable rivers. Smugglers also take direct routes,
such as driving or boating across the borders with Brazil, Suriname,
and Venezuela. Inside the country, narcotics are transported to
Georgetown by road, water, or air and then sent on to the Caribbean,
North America, or Europe via commercial air carriers or cargo ships.
Authorities have arrested drug mules attempting to smuggle small
amounts of cocaine on virtually every northbound route out of the
international airport; in 2007 there was a surge in law enforcement
seizures at the airport of suitcases carrying drugs that had been
added to the baggage queue after check-in, and tagged in the names
of unsuspecting passengers. Police officials also witnessed a
notable upward trend in the use of the Guyana Post Office as an
avenue for the trafficking of cocaine in small quantities, further
demonstrating the malleable tactics of trafficking organizations.

Demand Reduction (Domestic Programs). Marijuana is sold and consumed
openly in Guyana, despite frequent arrests for possessing small
amounts of cannabis. Sources within the GOG and a local NGO note

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that consumption of all psychotropic substances in Guyana is
increasing, with a particularly dramatic rise in the use of ecstasy.
Marijuana use has been seen among children as young as eleven years
old. Guyana's ability to deal with drug abusers is hampered by the
modest financial resources to support rehabilitation programs.
Guyana only has two facilities that treat substance abuse -- the
Salvation Army and the Phoenix Recovery Center. There are no
programs to deal with substance abuse in the prisons.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

U.S. Policy Initiatives. U.S. policy focuses on cooperating with
Guyana's law enforcement agencies, promoting good governance, and
facilitating demand reduction programs. In 2007, the USG
continued to encourage Guyanese participation in bilateral and
multilateral counternarcotics initiatives, and funded a substance
abuse treatment program for women (the two previously existing
programs in Guyana only funded treatment for men). The U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID) is funding projects to improve
governance in Guyana, which includes parliamentary and judicial
reform.

Bilateral Cooperation. The DEA works with Guyana's government and
law enforcement agencies to provide training and develop initiatives
that will enhance their counternarcotics activities. The GOG
routinely grants diplomatic credentials to DEA officers who cover
Guyana from the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad, and working level
collaboration is generally positive.

The Road Ahead. Neither the GoG nor the various drug enforcement
bodies of the U.S. have dedicated the resources to determine the
quantity of illegal drugs flowing through Guyana. All projections
are speculative based on the few seizures made. In the absence of
both sound data and more robust DEA/INL involvement, the U.S. will
not augment resources for investigation and interdiction in Guyana.
Instead it will continue to channel any future assistance to
initiatives that demonstrate success in treating substance abusers.
The U.S. will also continue to use its diplomatic tools to encourage
the GoG to organize an effective counternarcotics program,
especially within the context of the British-funded overhaul of the
security sector.

ROBINSON