EL SALVADOR: DRAFT 2007-2008 INTERNATIONAL

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 002228

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

INL/LP FOR AMARTIN; WHA/CEN FOR HTHOMPSON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ES SNAR
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: DRAFT 2007-2008 INTERNATIONAL
NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR) PART ONE, DRUGS
AND CHEMICAL CONTROL

REF: SECSTATE 136787


1. (U) The following is El Salvador's draft 2007-2008
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR),Part
One, Drugs and Chemical control. Draft INCSR is submitted in
compliance with instructions contained in reftel.


2. (U) Begin draft text:

2007-2008 INCSR Part One: Drugs and Chemical Control

El Salvador


I. Summary

El Salvador is a transit country for cocaine and heroin.
Illicit narcotics originating in South America are smuggled
over land and by sea to the United States via Mexico. In
2007, the National Police (PNC) seized 261 kg of marijuana
and 4065 kg of cocaine. While El Salvador is not a major
financial center, in 2007 the government seized USD 1,437,448
worth of assets stemming from drug-related crime. El
Salvador is party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

II. Status of Country

El Salvador sits astride Eastern Pacific smuggling routes for
cocaine and heroin, and also serves as a transit point for
narcotics moving over land and via maritime routes towards
Mexico and the United States. El Salvador hosts a Forward
Operating Location crucial to regional narcotics trafficking
detection and interception efforts. Transnational street
gangs, including MS-13 and M-18, are major threats to public
security in El Salvador. Although transnational street gangs
are not thought to be major narcotics trafficking
organizations, they are apparently involved in street level
drug sales. Neither precursor chemical production and
transit nor illicit trading in bulk ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine are significant problems in El Salvador,
although indicators suggest that some diversion of these
substances has been attempted.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007

Policy Initiatives. In 2007 the government of El Salvador
(GOES) targeted maritime trafficking along Central America's
Pacific coastline and overland transit routes, as well as
narcotics-related money laundering operations. The
Anti-Narcotics Division (DAN) of the National Civilian Police
(PNC) focused on overland transportation, commercial air,
package delivery services, and maritime transportation in the
Gulf of Fonseca. The Financial Investigative Unit (FIU) of
the Attorney General's office monitored suspicious financial
activity and investigated suspected instances of money
laundering and associated financial crime.

Accomplishments. GOES accomplishments in 2007 illustrate El
Salvador,s strong commitment to the objectives of the 1988
UN Drug Convention. Salvadoran customs and law enforcement
entities stationed at El Amatillo border crossing used the
USG-supported Containerized Freight Tracking System (CFTS) to
inspect commercial and passenger vehicles arriving from
Honduras. Salvadoran police at El Amatillo used the CFTS to
inspect 12,053 commercial freight trucks, 10,942 passenger
buses, and 9,569 passenger vehicles. These inspections
yielded 1.3 kg of seized cocaine, as well as the arrests of
26 individuals for trafficking offenses. Overall in 2007,
the National Civilian Police (PNC) seized a total of 261 kg
of marijuana and 4065 kg of cocaine.

Law Enforcement Efforts. In 2007, GOES anti-narcotics efforts
focused on priority law enforcement targets of mutual
interest to both the United States and El Salvador.
Salvadoran police investigators and prosecutors shared law
enforcement intelligence and coordinated operations with USG
counterparts. The GOES fielded a special organized crime
unit featuring embedded prosecutors and police investigators,
and also undertook measures to increase cooperation between
prosecutors and the police. The National Civilian Police
(PNC) Anti-Narcotics Division (DAN),while competent and
proactive, is nonetheless hampered by funding shortfalls and
legal impediments against wiretapping. In cooperation with
the FBI and the State Department Bureau of International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL),in October 2007 the PNC
stood up the Transnational Anti-gang Unit (TAG),a major
initiative which promises to focus Salvadoran and U.S. law
enforcement resources, expertise, and operational capacity
against a wide range of gang activity, to include
street-level narcotics distribution and related violence.


Corruption. The GOES does not as a matter of policy
encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of
narcotics, psychotropic drugs, or other controlled
substances, nor does it launder proceeds from illegal drug
transactions. No senior Salvadoran government officials are
known to engage in, encourage, or facilitate the illicit
production or distribution of drugs, nor the laundering of
proceeds from illicit drug transactions. Salvadoran law
severely penalizes abuse of an official position in relation
to the commission of a drug offense, including accepting or
receiving money or other benefits in exchange for an act of
commission or omission relating to official duties. The
PNC,s Internal Affairs Unit and the Attorney General's
Office investigate and prosecute GOES officials for
corruption and abuse of authority. El Salvador is a party to
the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. Consistent
with the country's obligations under that Convention, the law
criminalizes soliciting, receiving, offering, promising, and
giving bribes, as well as the illicit use and concealment of
property derived from such activity. El Salvador is also a
party to the UN Convention against Corruption.

Agreements and Treaties. El Salvador is a party to the 1971
UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances; the 1961 UN Single
Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol; the Central
American convention for the Prevention of Money Laundering
Related to Drug-Trafficking and Similar Crimes; the UN
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its
three protocols, and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. The current
extradition treaty between the United States and El Salvador,
which dates back to 1911, does not provide a workable
extradition regime. El Salvador,s constitutional
prohibition of life imprisonment has proven to be an obstacle
to successfully negotiating a new bilateral extradition
treaty. Narcotics offenses are, however, included as
extraditable crimes by virtue of El Salvador,s ratification
of the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

Cultivation/Production. Local growers cultivate small
quantities of marijuana in the mountainous regions along the
border with Guatemala and Honduras. The marijuana crops,
reportedly of very low quality, are intended exclusively for
domestic consumption. There is no evidence of coca or poppy
cultivation.

Drug Flow/Transit. Heroin and cocaine are smuggled through
the Eastern Pacific approaches along El Salvador,s
coastline. Traffickers using go-fast boats and commercial
vessels smuggle narcotics through adjacent international and
Salvadoran waters. Cocaine and heroin from Colombia are
typically smuggled over land through El Salvador on the
Pan-American Highway. Most drugs transiting over land are
carried in the luggage of commercial bus passengers and in
hidden compartments inside commercial tractor-trailers
traveling north to Guatemala.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). Several government
agencies implement GOES demand reduction programs. The
Ministry of Education provides lifestyle and drug prevention
courses in public schools, and also sponsors after-school
activities. The PNC operates a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse
Resistance Education) program modeled on the U.S. program.
The Ministries of Governance and Transportation have units
that advocate drug-free lifestyles. The Public Security
Council (Consejo Nacional de Seguridad Publica) promotes gang
member demobilization, and actively sponsors substance abuse
prevention outreach towards El Salvador,s gang population.
The USG-supported Salvadoran NGO FundaSalva works with the
GOES to provide substance abuse awareness, counseling,
rehabilitation, and reinsertion services to the public. In
2007, FundaSalva provided demand reduction outreach to 3,450
individuals, as well as addiction treatment to 367 patients.
EL Salvador also has numerous local faith-based demand
reduction programs, as well as counseling programs
administered by recovering addicts.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

Policy Initiatives. The primary focus of U.S. assistance is
increasing the operational capacity of Salvadoran law
enforcement agencies to interdict illicit narcotics
shipments, and to combat narcotics-related money laundering,
financial crime, and public corruption. Promoting
transparency, efficiency, and institutional respect for human
and civil rights within both Salvadoran law enforcement
organizations and the criminal justice system are also at the
forefront of the U.S. assistance agenda. U.S. efforts to
combat transnational gangs also help to mitigate the
corrosive impact of street-level drug sales, narcotics
consumption, and related violence. Cooperative ventures by


the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and INL to provide
the GOES with an automated fingerprint identification system
(AFIS),as well as the placement of an INL-funded Regional
Gang Advisor in San Salvador, will significantly enhance
Salvadoran investigative and prosecutorial capacity.

Bilateral Cooperation. The Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) San Salvador Country Office works closely with the PNC
Anti-narcotics Division (DAN). The U.S. provided funding for
operational support to the joint DEA and PNC DAN high profile
crimes unit (GEAN),as well as training and logistical
assistance to various DAN entities. The DEA and INL country
office also regularly coordinate with the PNC financial crime
unit and the federal prosecutor's Financial Investigation
Unit (FIU),and are working to establish stronger ties to
federal banking regulators and the local banking association
regarding issues relating to drug trafficking and money
laundering. The United States also funded training and
travel related to airport security, money laundering,
maritime boarding operations, and anti-gang measures. Other
regional and in-country USG assets, to include the
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA),and, where
appropriate, U.S. military and Coast Guard personnel, provide
training, assistance, and logistical support to Salvadoran
counterparts. The Transnational Anti-gang Unit (TAG),a
joint unit operated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) and the PNC, focuses bilateral and
regional resources against a wide range of criminal offenses
committed by transnational street gangs. The TAG, in cloe
coordination with DEA, monitors transnational treet gang
activity related to illicit narcotics

Road Ahead. The United States will continue toprovide
training and support to Salvadoran law eforcement
institutions. Increasing the capacity of Salvadoran law
enforcement entities to gather,analyze, and disseminate
intelligence will in tun enhance operational and
investigative capacity and, in conjunction with increased
prosecutorial capacity, result in a greater number of
criminal convictions. Further integration of police and
prosecutorial activity, assisted by automated fingerprint
analysis and computerized database sharing (i.e. AFIS),will
significantly increase GOES ability to solve crimes and, most
importantly, try, convict, and incarcerate dangerous
criminals. Additional information sharing information
amongst law enforcement and financial institutions will also
facilitate more effective trafficking, money laundering, and
financial crime investigations. The recent establishment of
the joint FBI-PNC Transnational Anti-gang Unit (TAG),as well
as the pending arrival of an INL Regional Gang Advisor, will
enable El Salvador to stand at the forefront of regional
anti-crime efforts.


3. (U) End draft text.


4. (U) Mission point of contact for the 2007-2008 INCSR
report is INL Program Officer Anthony K. Stapleton,
stapletonak@state.gov, (503) 2501-2040.
Glazer