ECUADOR: 2007 TRENDS IN COUNTER-NARCOTICS

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000099 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2014 TAGS: SNAR PTER PREL MOPS EC SUBJECT: ECUADOR: 2007 TRENDS IN COUNTER-NARCOTICS REF: A. 07 QUITO 2570 ¶B. 07 QUITO 2233 ¶C. 07 QUITO 2434 Classified By: DCM Jefferson Brown, Reasons 1.4 (b&d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Under the Correa administration, the GOE has taken a tougher stance on combating narcotrafficking by implementing new policies and programs and by increasing its police and military operations. Ecuador's border regions, especially in the North, remain vulnerable to the transit of drugs, and the discovery of drug-producing labs in 2007 is a disturbing new trend in drug activity. Responding to higher levels of maritime seizures in recent years, drug traffickers are changing their tactics, resorting to alternative methods of transport, including by air and in liquid form, while also increasing their quantities per shipment. While total seizures by the GOE decreased slightly, land-based seizures hit record levels. Embassy Quito continued to support the GOE's counter-narcotics efforts and, after initial uncertainty about what might ensue under the Correa government, has experienced improved counter-narcotics cooperation under the current administration. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Since taking office a year ago, President Correa has demonstrated a strong commitment to combating narcotrafficking and, in tandem with an anti-corruption campaign, has introduced several new policy initiatives. ¶3. (SBU) The GOE has increased its police and military operations, and bilateral cooperation with the U.S. mission has also improved under the Correa administration. At the direction of the President, the Ecuadorian Armed Forces significantly increased the number of operations conducted in the Northern Border region (Ref A). The Ecuadorian military conducted a total of 17 battalion-sized operations in 2007 (compared to just ten in 2006),a third of which occurred in the last 45 days of the year and are continuing into 2008. The Ecuadorian military also destroyed 47 FARC camps, and eradicated 36 hectares of coca. The Ecuadorian Navy received an unprecedented $40 million in funding by decree from President Correa to strengthen controls over illegal activities in Ecuadorian waters, and has also established operations centers in Guayaquil and in the Galapagos. ¶4. (SBU) The National Drug Council (CONSEP) is implementing changes to improve the agency's drug abuse prevention programs and the management and disposal of seized assets. Shortly after taking office, Correa appointed the previous Director of the Antinarcotics Police directorate (DNA) as Commanding General of the National Police, which has helped give anti-narcotics higher visibility. The GOE's postal service approached the Embassy for support and we are now collaborating to help equip and train them in counternarcotics technologies. The GOE has also asked for more USG support in strengthening port security, specifically with more scanning equipment. ¶4. (SBU) These increased efforts contributed to the discovery and destruction of three cocaine producing labs, the destruction of coca plants at two locations and the confiscation of weapons and go-fast vessels, communications equipment and other auxiliary equipment. Total seizures by the GOE in 2007 were 21.82 metric tons (mt) of cocaine, 188 kilograms (kg) of heroin and 744 kg of cannabis. In 2006, the GOE had seized 38.16 mt of cocaine, 410 kg of heroin, and 1,110 kg of cannabis. While overall seizures of cocaine were down from 2006 to 2007, due in large part to traffickers using new methods, seizures by the DNA on land (13.2 mt) far exceeded the amount in previous years. ¶5. (SBU) Traffickers appear to be shifting strategies in response to the high level of maritime seizures in previous years, such as the transportation of cocaine in liquid form and in higher quantities, as well as alternative transport methods, such as by air and in low profile vessels, atypical of the traditional maritime routes. For example, in April 2007, a maritime seizure found 7.75 mt of cocaine suspended in liquid and hidden under a layer of diesel in the fuel tanks of a fishing vessel, the largest such seizure on record. In July 2007, the DNA seized 5.56 mt of cocaine, a record, at a shrimp farm near Guayaquil. In October 2007, the DNA seized 3.785 mt of cocaine in Esmeraldas which would have been flown to Mexico on a Gulf Stream II corporate jet, the first known attempt in Ecuador to use aerial transport to move a multi-ton load. ¶6. (SBU) Ecuador remains a major drug transit country but fortunately has not developed a serious demand for consumption domestically. Ecuadorian drug trafficking organizations (DTO) continue to be relatively small groups that specialize in transportation and are usually linked to larger Colombian and Mexican DTOs. However, as the Colombian government has put pressure on narcoterrorist groups, especially on the FARC, Colombian DTOs have increased cocaine shipments through Ecuador and have begun small-scale drug production in Ecuador near its northern border. Other Colombian (non-FARC) and Peruvian DTOs exploit Ecuador's southern border for transport to other destinations. The increase in the number of seizures and the quantity of drugs captured on land, as well as the discovery of drug producing labs, suggest an overall expansion of the drug threat to Ecuador and the region. ¶7. (SBU) USG assistance in 2007 included building new counternarcotics facilities, such as a pier at an Ecuadorian Marine base (Ref A) and a provincial DNA headquarters (Ref B); alternative crop development; helping facilitate the military and DNA's mobility and communications abilities; and promoting better cooperation between the military and police. The Embassy cooperated with the GOE in the judicial sector to produce the first ever automated database of criminal cases in Ecuador. The Embassy continued to support the startup of a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the formation and training of other police investigative units. The Embassy, through its USAID-administered programs, continued to support development activities to improve social and productive infrastructure and to provide licit employment opportunities to habitants in the border areas. DEA operations have also continued unimpeded, enjoying similarly strong cooperation. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: When the Correa administration came into power a year ago, prospects for continued CN cooperation - and broader police and military cooperation - were question marks. It turns out that Correa's hard-line disposition on national sovereignty matters, as well as what seems to be a genuine commitment to curb corruption, have made him a strong partner on anti-narcotics/transnational crime - as long as the cooperation fits within a carefully framed model of partnership and mutuality. JEWELL