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
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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

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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