INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000956

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL/LP
STATE FOR WHA/BSC
JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS AND NDDS
TREASURY FOR FINCEN
DEA FOR OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL
BUENOS AIRES FOR DEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR EFIN KCRM KCOR UY
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT
PART I, DRUGS AND CHEMICAL CONTROL -- URUGUAY 2007-08

REF: STATE 136787


1. (U) Following (in reftel requested format) is Uruguay's
2007-08 INCSR Part I.


2. (SBU)

URUGUAY


I. Summary

Uruguay is not a major narcotics producing country. However,
current areas of concern include increased trafficking of
cocaine, marijuana, heroin and increasing local consumption
of the highly addictive, cheap cocaine-based product known as
"pasta base". In August 2007, law enforcement authorities
seized 485 kg of pure Colombian cocaine at an airstrip in
Salto Department. Efforts to upgrade port security and
customs services advanced slowly in 2007, limiting inspection
of containers at maritime ports and cargo shipments at the
international airport. Free trade zones also afford relative
anonymity for the movement of cargo, including illicit
substances. The country's strategic position and its porous
land border with Brazil further highlight its vulnerability
to drug-trafficking. Uruguay is a party to the 1988 UN Drug
Convention.

II. Status of Country

Uruguay is not a major narcotics producing country, but it
continues to be attractive to drug traffickers from Colombia,
Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Mexico as a transit point.
Limited inspection of airport and port cargo makes Uruguay
attractive for contraband, possibly including chemical
precursors, to Paraguay and elsewhere. Although precursor
chemical controls exist, they are difficult to monitor and
enforce. Relatively weak controls at the port of Montevideo
contrast with the enhanced container security initiatives at
other ports in the region such as Santos, Brazil and Buenos
Aires, Argentina. According to the Government of Uruguay
(GOU),shipping containers transiting to or from other
MERCOSUR countries are rarely inspected in Uruguay. Colombian
and Bolivian traffickers smuggled cocaine into Uruguay by
flying directly into remote regions from Bolivia, using make
shift airstrips located on foreign-owned residential farms.

Uruguayan counter-narcotics police units continued to target
clandestine facilities, processing Bolivian coca and shipping
refined cocaine north, but also distributing local "pasta
base." The local demand for inexpensive "pasta base," again
increased in 2007, as did the incidents of crime related to
this drug, according to the Uruguayan National Police's
counter narcotics division (DGRTID).

Domestic drug consumption consists mainly of marijuana that
arrives in small planes or overland from Paraguay. However,
Bolivian cocaine paste, or "pasta base", smuggled through
Argentina and Brazil, is increasingly common in the
marginalized neighborhoods of Montevideo, due to the drug's
availability and extremely low cost (generally two dollars
per dose). Additionally, in Uruguay, individual drug use is
not viewed as a criminal offense. Rather, users are sent for
rehabilitation in ever-increasing numbers, which has created
an unexpected problem with which the GOU is not yet equipped
to deal.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007

Policy Initiatives: In 2007, the GOU continued to make
counter-narcotics a policy priority. The National Drug
Secretariat enhanced drug rehabilitation and treatment

SIPDIS
programs and continued demand reduction public awareness
campaigns focused on minors and young adults. Uruguay is an
active member of the Southern Cone Working Group of the
International Conference for Drug Control, and other
international organizations fighting narcotics, corruption
and crime.

Accomplishments: In 2007, the GOU seized 658.6 kg of cocaine
in both national and international counter narcotics

operations, a significant increase over the 417.7 kg seized
in 2006. The GOU also seized 83.6 kg of "pasta base" in 2007,
down slightly from 92.6 kg in 2006. The GOU also made 1,923
drug-related arrests, which lead to 486 convictions and
resulted in 13 imprisonments.

Law Enforcement Efforts: Of the GOU agencies with charters
for narcotics-related law enforcement, DGRTID continued to be
the most effective. Internal coordination between these
agencies remained difficult because they report to different
ministries, but coordination between DGRTID and their
regional counterparts continued to yield successful counter
narcotics operations.

Corruption: The USG has no knowledge that any senior
Uruguayan government officials engage in, encourage, or
facilitate the illicit production or distribution of
narcotics, nor are there any who encourage, or facilitate,
the illicit production of drugs. Transparency International
rates Uruguay as one of the least corrupt countries in Latin
America. The GOU Transparency Law of 1998 criminalizes
various abuses of power by government office holders and
requires high-ranking officials to comply with financial
disclosure regulations. Public officials who do not act on
knowledge of a drug-related crime may be charged with a
"crime of omission" under the Citizen Security Law. However,
Uruguay,s weak border controls remain an obvious area of
concern.

Agreements and Treaties: Uruguay is a party to the 1988 UN
Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic
Substances, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs
and the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention. It is
also a member of the OAS Inter-American Drug Abuse Control
Commission (CICAD). The United States and Uruguay are parties
to an Extradition Treaty-which entered into force in 1984-a
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty-which entered into force in
1994-and annual Letters of Agreement under which the USG
funds counternarcotics and law enforcement programs. Uruguay
has signed drug-related bilateral agreements with Brazil,
Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Venezuela and
Romania. Uruguay is a member of the regional financial action
task force Grupo de Accion Financiera de Sudamerica
(GAFISUD).

Cultivation/Production: There is no known large-scale
cultivation or production of drugs in Uruguay. Although small
marijuana plots have been discovered in previous years, none
were found in 2007.

Drug Flow/Transit: According to DEA, Uruguay is used as a
drug-transit country. Limited law enforcement presence along
the Brazilian border and increased U.S. pressure on
traffickers in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru is shifting some
smuggling routes south, and drugs are moving through Uruguay
by private vehicle, bus, and small airplanes. During a
large-scale DGRTID operation in 2007, they intercepted a
large shipment of cocaine directly from Bolivia, via a small
plane landing on an improvised airstrip in the province of
Salto.

Demand Reduction. Uruguay's demand reduction efforts focus on
developing prevention programs, rehabilitation and treatment.
They are based on a strategy developed cooperatively in 2001
between the National Drug Secretariat, public education
authorities, various government ministries, municipalities
and NGOs. In 2007 the National Drug Rehabilitation Center
continued training for health care professionals on working
with drug users, as well as sponsoring teacher training,
public outreach, and programs in community centers and clubs.
The program, known locally as the "Portal Amarillo," a drug
rehabilitation clinic and hotline, continued services for
both in-patient and out-patient drug users in northern
Montevideo, targeting specifically "pasta base" addicts.
Staffed by recent graduates of Uruguay's largest nursing
school, it services about 200 patients a week and has 21
beds. Uruguay continued to develop methods to track trends in
drug use in youth populations, including secondary schools
and prisons.

IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs

Bi-Lateral Cooperation: U.S. strategy has been to prevent
Uruguay from becoming a major narcotics transit or processing
country. Previously the USG has assisted the GOU by providing
assistance for demand reduction programs, narcotics
interdiction and police training. Lack of available program
funds hindered forward progress on this strategy in both 2006
and 2007. In late 2007 the USG was renegotiating a letter of
agreement to use 2007 end of year program funds. The LOA is
still pending.

The DGRTID has reported that its greatest need is for more
training for their officers in investigations, surveillance
and money laundering. The need for equipment is always
present as well, however the DGRTID has been focused on
building a solid cadre of well-trained officers in order to
carry out its counter narcotics missions. The dramatic
half-a-ton drug seizure that the GOU made in 2007 is just one
concrete example of the growing concern about drug
trafficking, as previously advised by DGRTID authorities.

The Road Ahead: Uruguayan law enforcement authorities
continue to work well with their regional DEA counterparts
based in Buenos Aires. Embassy requests that INL consider a
similar regional arrangement for small non-NAS posts such as
Montevideo. The idea would be for a fully NAS-trained FSO to
manage programs and budgets of the various non-NAS posts from
a central location. This would avoid some duplication of
effort, boost the level of subject material expertise and
take advantage of economies of scale.


V. Chemical Control Issues

GOU authorities indicate that Uruguay does not produce or
import significant quantities of methamphetamine precursor
chemicals. However, the same authorities expressed concern
that ephedrine, pseudo-ephedrine or pharmaceuticals products
containing these chemicals could be passing through Uruguay
in un-inspected shipping containers. End Report.
Baxter