PANAMA: NARCOTICS MAJORS LIST REPORT CARD

UNCLAS PANAMA 000460 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR KCRM PM SUBJECT: PANAMA: NARCOTICS MAJORS LIST REPORT CARD REF: STATE 29120 ¶1. (SBU) A major drug-transit country, Panama continues to be a strong ally of the U.S. in the fight against trafficking and related crimes. This cable provides key examples of our excellent bilateral law enforcement cooperation, and one area of concern. ¶2. (SBU) In our FY 2007 Letter of Agreement (LOA),signed in September, 2007, the USG asked the Government of Panama (GOP) to increase narcotics seizures by 10 percent. Panama's cocaine seizures and arrests for 2007 broke previous existing records, and Panama registered the highest cocaine seizure level in the Western Hemisphere. DEA provides the following to-date FY 08 figures (through the end of the second quarter of the FY): Cocaine: 12,548 KG; Heroin: 30.4 KG; Pseudo-ephedrine: 0; Marijuana: 171 KG; Arrests: 58 persons; Prisoner transfers: 6 events/32 prisoners; Currency: $2,802,735. This compares to the following for FY 07: Cocaine: 62,817.6 KG; Heroin: 34.2 KG; Pseudo-ephedrine: 10,000 Ephedrine; Marijuana: 4,971.8 KG; Arrests: 197 persons; Prisoner transfers: 9 events/51 prisoners; Currency: $5,790,429. ¶3. (SBU) The Supreme Court, National Security Council (Consejo), and Drug Prosecutor's Office continued to provide unwavering support to our judicialized intercept program (Matador). The program to date has been an unqualified success and model for coordinated counter-narcotics activity. ¶4. (SBU) Panama has cooperated fully and effectively on key vetted unit issues. The former Technical Judicial Police (PTJ) Vetted Unit is now a formalized Sensitive Investigations Unit (SIU). The size of the unit has increased from roughly 20 members to a total of 38. The Joint Intelligence Coordination Center (JICC, our CDI entity) provides a consistently increasing level of information to U.S. and Panamanian law enforcement agencies. The JICC is being merged with the Financial Analysis Unit of the Presidency and has been placed under the direction of the Consejo. This move has placed all vetted entities under one coordinated structure. NAS and DHS/ICE have also started a new PNP-staffed vetted unit that will work on major non-narcotic international crimes. ¶5. (SBU) The disbandment of the PTJ and its placement within the National Police (PNP) led the two institutions to merge their narcotics units, making them more efficient. These units, along with the hard-charging PNP fluvial unit (UMOF),continue to produce consistent results and respond to virtually all of the actionable leads provided by U.S. law enforcement. ¶6. (SBU) Panama continues to cooperate fully and enable the USG to transport to the U.S. third country nationals apprehended in international waters on suspicion of drug trafficking. ¶7. (SBU) We remain concerned with general ineffectiveness of the National Maritime Service in terms of narcotics interdiction. The SMN has benefited from significant support from NAS in recent years. Post (up to the Ambassador) continues to press our senior-level GOP interlocutors on the need for greater pro-activity on the part of the SMN. ARREAGA