ASSISTANT SECRETARY PATTERSON'S VISIT TO RIO, MAY 16, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RIO DE JANEIRO 000295

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/FO, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INL
NSC FOR FEARS
TREASURY FOR JHOEK
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
USAID FOR LAC/AA
PARIS FOR ECON - TOM WHITE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR PGOV PREL KJUS BR
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY PATTERSON'S VISIT TO RIO, MAY 16, 2007


REF: SAO PAULO 447

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY

SUMMARY
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1. (U) INL A/S Anne Patterson completed her Brazil travel with a
May 16 stop in Rio de Janeiro where she held discussions with
representatives of civil society and local and state government to
examine public security issues in and around Rio. She wrapped up
the visit by meeting with Governor Sergio Cabral. The meetings
produced a list of possible areas where the USG and local government
could cooperate and exchange expertise. NAS is developing a
response to the specific assistance requests and is coordinating
with LEGATT to organize site visits for a proposed visit to the
United States by a delegation of state security officials. End
Summary.

ROUNDTABLE WITH MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS
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2. (U) A/S Patterson met with officials from the Rio de Janeiro
municipal government to learn about the city's drug-related crime
issues. The municipal officials present were: Col. Francisco Duran
Borges, Municipal Secretary for the Prevention of Chemical
Dependency; Carlos Moraes Antunes, Superintendent of the Municipal
Guard; Lt. Col. Marcos Antonio, Military Commander and Mayor's Chief
of Staff for Security; and Marilia Rocha, Municipal Sub-Secretary
for Social Development.


3. (U) A/S Patterson raised her concern that increased cocaine flow
from Bolivia could lead to an increase in drug addiction and further
fuel organized crime in Rio, Sao Paulo and other major Brazilian
cities. The participants welcomed U.S. efforts to go beyond the
federal level and engage state and municipal officials. They
explained that public security generally falls under the purview of
the state government but Rio maintains an unarmed "Municipal Guard"
of approximately 5,000 officers, whose mission is to patrol public
areas and tourist attractions. Given those jurisdictional limits
and the impunity of Rio's well-structured criminal organizations,
Mayor Cesar Maia has chosen to focus on demand reduction as the
city's primary strategy for fighting drug-related crime. Rio
municipal secretariat for the prevention of chemical dependence, the
only one of its kind in Brazil, has introduced anti-drug education
at the primary school level and is also working with communities to
do more outreach to at-risk youth.


4. (U) Officials also expressed concern over the rise of militias
in some parts of the city. A Rio-specific phenomenon, the militias
are generally formed by off-duty and retired law enforcement
officers and charge a "protection" fee to community residents and
businesses, usually with community support due to their success in
expelling drug traffickers and delivering social programs. The
political and law enforcement regime has ignored the militias,
allowing them to strengthen and gain legitimacy.


5. (U) During the meeting, the city officials reiterated Mayor
Maia's interest in the three main areas of possible collaboration
that he outlined following Attorney General Gonzales' February 2007
visit to Rio: the desire to learn more about U.S. experiences and
best practices with drug abuse and addiction prevention programs,
information on community policing programs, and "Compstat" programs
to provide interface between intelligence and police deployment.
Stressing that the city would pay the costs of any such exchanges,
they requested USG assistance in identifying appropriate U.S.
counterparts and facilitating meetings.

LUNCHEON WITH CIVIL SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVES
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6. (SBU) A/S Patterson had lunch with key community leaders to
discuss their views on the nature of the security problems in Rio.
The participants were: Lilia Catao, drug counselor and president of
the Brazilian Alcohol and Drug Association; Denise Frossard, Federal

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Deputy and former judge; Domicio Proenca Junior, political
scientist; and Jairo Werner, professor at Federal Fluminense
University.


7. (SBU) Discussing the nature of drug use and trafficking in Rio,
the group agreed that drug activity in the favelas (slums),while
currently a hot-button topic, was not truly significant. Proenca
Junior asserted that the criminal gangs running the favelas could
not be moving the volume of drugs necessary to fund their operations
and that it was more likely that their primary funding came through
more traditional protection schemes. In response to a question from
A/S Patterson, Catao explained that, in her experience, Brazilian
use patterns differed from those in the United States in that
consumption was driven more by middle and upper class social users
than by a smaller group of "heavy users" as is the case in the
United States. The group then emphasized the ease with which
consumers can place orders by phone with a credit card number and
have the drugs delivered to their door within 30 minutes, as if
ordering a pizza. They also lamented that hard data regarding the
volume and quality of drugs in Brazil for consumption or
transshipment was not available. Their explanation, unconfirmed by
the Mission, is that Brazilian law blocks research into such
subjects because the information could be used by the traffickers.


8. (SBU) The conversation then turned to a discussion of perceived
shortcomings in the legal system, featuring the standard litany of
complaints contributing to impunity: police and political
corruption, lack of investigatory initiative and non-responsive
courts. They also discussed the liberal treatment of convicts by
the prison system, particularly the established practice of granting
universal furloughs for Mother's Day and Christmas. Frossard, a
former judge, explained that judges actually have the discretion to
block the releases but do not due to an historic sympathy for the
families of the imprisoned and a lack of political will to revoke
privilege that has become a prima facie right.

ON TO THE STATE
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9. (U) A/S Patterson then met with Jose Beltrame, Secretary of
Public Security for the state of Rio de Janeiro. Beltrame was
joined by Ernesto Rubarth, Deputy Secretary for International
Relations; Gilberto da Cruz Ribeiro, Commander of the Civil Police;
Delfi Carlos Teixeira, Superintendent of the Federal Police; and
Col. Ubiratan de Oliveira Angelo, Commander of the Military Police.


10. (SBU) Beltrame opened with a brief description of the broad
security issues facing a major city and tourist destination and
stressed the state's attention to the special demands in support of
a high-profile international event such as the up-coming Pan
American Games that Rio will host in July. He then moved into a
more specific discussion of the challenges in dealing with drug
trafficking and the militias. Focusing on the role of favelas in
drug distribution, he explained that, unlike other cities where
slums were often clustered together or on the outskirts of the city,
Rio's were dispersed throughout the city, making them difficult if
not impossible to quarantine. The physical structure of the favelas
further complicates police action, first by restricting police entry
to the neighborhood and then, because they are so densely populated
with houses literally built on top of each other, it takes days for
police to sweep an area. In regard to militias, Beltrame pointed to
the lack of any Brazilian law specifically criminalizing militias
and said that any action against them had to rely on proof of their
involvement in some specific illegal activity.


11. (SBU) Beltrame then discussed areas where he was seeking USG
cooperation and assistance. In addition to a list of software and
surveillance/intelligence collection equipment he sought help in
obtaining, which he provided directly to NAS Brasilia (SEPTEL),
Beltrame requested USG assistance in building a system and culture
in Brazil to facilitate data sharing and to enhance Rio's crisis
management capability. He was interested in how to stand-up new
units and manage issues of intercommunication and especially eager
to send a team to the U.S. prior to July's Pan American games to
learn more about intelligence sharing. Embassy Legatt offered to
help coordinate a trip.

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MEETING WITH GOVERNOR
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12. (SBU) A/S Patterson concluded her Rio stop by meeting Governor
Sergio Cabral. After the governor referred to the requests made by
Beltrame earlier that day, A/S Patterson assured him that the USG
wanted to work cooperatively with state officials and would consider
the requests in designing future USG assistance. Likewise, Embassy
Legatt affirmed his commitment to organize a visit for the state's
delegation. Cabral, for his part, expressed appreciation for USG
technical assistance in preparing for the Pan Am Games. Cabral
expressed many of the same concerns regarding impunity that had been
raised earlier in the day was forthcoming in his belief that drug
use in Rio cut across class lines, although the nature of the use
differed. Cabral, a father of five, seemed somewhat disheartened by
the magnitude the drug problem, but A/S Patterson pointed to the
success in the U.S. of prison treatment programs and of DARE.


13. (U) Before departing Rio, A/S Patterson held a brief press
conference to discuss the cooperative nature of her meetings and
stressed USG efforts to work as a partner in the region. She then
did a taped interview for the popular Bom Dia Brasil (Good Morning
Brazil) television program, which was well received.

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COMMENT
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14. (SBU) The day's series of meetings were useful in strengthening
local understanding of the USG commitment to work cooperatively on
security and counter narcotics issues, a particularly important
issue given Brazil's borders with Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and
Paraguay. It was also informative to hear local opinions of the
role of drug trafficking in the favelas and the nature of domestic
drug use.


15. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Brasilia and ConGen
Sao Paulo, and cleared by Ambassador Sobel.

MARTINEZ