ONDCP DIRECTOR WALTERS' VISIT: DRUG FLOWS TO EUROPE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LISBON 000963 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2018 TAGS: SNAR PREL SOCI PO SUBJECT: ONDCP DIRECTOR WALTERS' VISIT: DRUG FLOWS TO EUROPE REF: LISBON 811 Classified By: Dana M. Brown, Pol-Econ Officer, Embassy Lisbon Reason 1.4 (b) and (d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) In meetings with Portuguese counternarcotics officials, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director John P. Walters noted there has been a noticeable decrease in the supply of cocaine in the U.S. market and noted that there were anecdotal reports of increased demand in Europe. Director Walters asked whether the Portuguese were seeing an increase in general drug use. Although Portugal continues to be the second most-used European entry point for cocaine, neither cocaine nor heroin usage has jumped significantly in recent years, Walters was told. Portuguese interlocutors did, however, raise concerns about the increasing use of West Africa as a transit to Europe. The United States and Portugal share supply reduction goals and the meetings indicated similar support for recovery programs for addicts, but health officials allowed that Portugal's priority remains focused on responding to the health crisis first and the law enforcement challenge second. The visit had good press coverage nationally and received attention in one Angolan newspaper. End summary. Blocking Cocaine Shipments -------------- ¶2. (C) During his April 8-9 meetings in Lisbon, Director Walters told Portuguese interlocutors that the U.S. supply and consumption of cocaine is declining, indicating that Europe may be the current market of choice for cocaine traffickers. Given its position and historic links to Brazil and Venezuela, Portugal is the second largest entry point for cocaine shipped from South America into Europe, according to 2007 Judicial Police (PJ) statistics. PJ Director for Counternarcotics Manuel Goncalves explained that cocaine trafficking through Portugal had returned to normal after a record year of seizures in 2006. He added that cocaine regularly transits Portugal on its way to other EU consumer nations. Goncalves speculated that traffickers had migrated to West Africa, which posed a softer target, and declared that the PJ liaison officers in Cape Verde, Venezuela, and Guinea Bissau were not enough to stem the new drug flow to Europe via Africa. ¶3. (C) Maritime Analysis Operations Center ) Narcotics (MAOC-N) Director Tim Manhire also told Director Walters that traffickers increasingly are moving cocaine shipments through Africa as a gateway to Europe. The MAOC is comprised of seven EU nations that have agreed to share maritime assets and prosecution responsibility to halt the flow of narcotics in the Atlantic Ocean. In its first year of operations, the MAOC has assembled actionable intelligence on 42 shipments and conducted 19 maritime operations, primarily to intercept cocaine in the Atlantic Ocean. MAOC does not analyze raw intelligence on narcotics shipments as an international agency, but rather depends on national information that member nations present for wider EU distribution and use. When Director Walters inquired whether MAOC had considered incorporating intelligence analysis and establishing watch files for future operations, Manhire stated that the MAOC has no plans to add on those responsibilities in the near future. Instead, he reported that one long-term goal is to develop cases with African law enforcement partners in order to develop competencies in counternarcotics cases. He said the only case thus far, conducted in cooperation with Liberia, had shown that West African nations would require intensive training to develop prosecutable narcotics cases in the future. The European Commission may begin to fund the MAOC's efforts with a budget of 700,000 euros starting in 2009. ¶4. (SBU) Asked about the European public's perception of cocaine as "glamorous" or "harmless," Wolfgang Gotz, the director for the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA),based in Lisbon, replied that Europe had not yet reached a point where recreational users were seen as a problem among the general populations. Although the street price for cocaine averages 45 euros per gram, Portugal has seen a "democratization" of the drug use to more middle class users, according to the Institute for Drugs and Drug Addiction (IDT) Joao Goulao. Goulao was nevertheless confident that Portugal's health care system could respond with adequate addiction programs to combat the increased supply and national demand. Less Interest in Heroin and Prescription Drugs -------------- - LISBON 00000963 002 OF 003 ¶5. (SBU) Director Walters stated that the dramatic increase in Afghanistan's potential production of heroin, estimated to be around 8,200 tons in 2007, has not affected the U.S. market. PJ Director Goncalves replied that Portugal had not seen an increase in consumption either and speculated that it was possible that China or Russia were seeing increases that were going largely unreported in the West. IDT's Goulao agreed with Goncalves' assessment and said roughly 1 percent of Portugal's population of 10 million was addicted to heroin. He added that the heroin-using population was aging and most were in national addiction treatment centers. Regarding methamphetamines and prescription drugs, Goulao stated that neither were a significant problem in Portugal. He declared that the most serious drug addiction problem in Portugal was with alcohol. Gotz agreed that Portugal, like several other southern European nations, ignored the problems of alcoholism because it was considered part of the national culture. He reported that Europe did not have problems with binge drinking among youth, but accepted the Director's point that the health problems of lifetime consumption still emerged later. Gotz asserted that European nations were unlikely to raise their drinking age regardless of scientific recommendations to abstain until age 21. Decriminalization and Health Response -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Former Health Minister Maria de Belem Roseira explained that Portugal had decided to decriminalize small quantities of drugs for personal consumption to prevent the spread of blood-transmitted diseases. She noted that heroin users in the late '90s had been increasingly transmitting HIV and tuberculosis. Since decriminalization, Goulao, who reports directly to the current Minister of Health, has seen a 90 percent reduction of HIV infection among heroin addicts. He emphasized that Portugal viewed criminal penalties as barriers to persuading addicts to enter treatment. Director Walters countered by observing that, in the U.S. experience, outreach was the key to getting addicts help and it was a component often overlooked once nations decriminalized drugs for consumption. He commented that the U.S. experience with Prohibition had been controversial, but had the benefit of reducing the number of alcoholics in the United States for 60 years. He pointed out that there were health benefits to keeping narcotics illegal too. Goulao assured the Director that decriminalization had not given addicts carte blanche. Portugal has an administrative court that systematically registers recreational users arrested by the national police and decides whether to fine people or charge them with a more serious offense. - Screening in the Workplace - ¶7. (SBU) Director Walters inquired about Portugal's use of drug testing to identify users for treatment. He noted that such programs have been effective in the workplace and had also been introduced in schools. Goulao responded that Portugal had not done widespread screening and that he had not fully understood the goals of the U.S. program before the Director's explanation. He remarked, thanks to the meeting with the Director, it was clear that the differences between the U.S. and Portuguese response to the drug problem were more minor than they appeared initially. Both nations want to reduce supply and treat addicts as effectively as possible. Enhancing Bilateral Engagement -------------- ¶8. (U) Asked how the U.S. could support Portugal in its counternarcotics efforts, both the PJ and Customs officials requested training programs. PJ noted that it could use information on how to track maritime vessels more successfully. Customs noted that the U.S.-Portugal training initiative had stopped a decade ago and would be helpful by sharing the newest, best practices from the U.S. once again. ¶9. (C) During the Country Team briefing, the Ambassador outlined the reasons behind the Mission's request for a new DEA presence in Portugal by 2009. He explained to Director Walters that the DEA would be helpful with national counternarcotics cases run by the Portuguese. Moreover, with connections in Lisbon the office could ensure effective USG coordination on counternarcotics efforts with the two European counternarcotics missions in Lisbon (MAOC and EMCDDA). The Madrid-based DEA attache said DEA hoped to open a Lisbon office in 2009. Media Interest -------------- ¶10. (U) Portuguese press picked up the April 9 interview with LISBON 00000963 003 OF 003 the Director and the story ran in three major Portuguese newspapers. It was also picked up in the Angola press. Director Walter's comments highlighted the threat of narcotics passing through Portugal into Europe and outlined the U.S. efforts to decrease both the supply and demand of drugs. He also conducted a taped television interview with Portuguese network SIC, which was aired on April 19. ¶11. (U) This message was cleared by ONDCP. Stephenson