DRUGS, ARMS AND CONTRABAND CONTINUE TO ENTER BRAZIL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SAO PAULO 000242 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/BSC, INL, DRL DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR DS/IP/WHA, DS/IP/ITA, DS/T/ATA DEPT FOR EB/TPP/IPE JENNIFER BOGER AND JOELLEN URBAN DEPT FOR EB/TPP/MTA/IPC RACHEL WALLACE DEPT PASS USTR FOR CHRIS WILSON, KATHERINE DUCKWORTH AND JENNIFER CHOE GROVES NSC FOR TOMASULO SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD USAID FOR LAC/AA TAGS: PHUM PGOV KCRM SNAR KIPR SENV ASEC PARM BR SUBJECT: DRUGS, ARMS AND CONTRABAND CONTINUE TO ENTER BRAZIL SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Brazil continues to wrestle with the serious challenge posed by increasingly creative traffickers of drugs, arms and IPR-infringing products, according to law enforcement officials and NGO representatives in Sao Paulo and Foz do Iguacu. Growing demand, both domestic and international, is enhancing Brazil's position as a destination and transit country for drugs entering from Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay. Brazil's southern Tri-Border Area (TBA) is a center of this activity with much of this traffic entering over Foz do Iguacu's Friendship Bridge in addition to other methods of transportation including airplanes, boats, and human mules. Law enforcement entities on all sides of the borders in this area are prone to malfeasance and there remains a need to increase tri-border legal cooperation. The use of youth in trafficking is also on the rise, bringing into play questions of human rights in addition to public security. Septel will report on Brazil's fight against trafficking in persons in the TBA. End Summary. Sao Paulo State Experts on Drug Trafficking -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Sao Paulo State Civil Police Chief Marcia Heloisa Mendonca Ruiz, who heads a division working primarily on trafficking in persons (see septel),told Poloff that she has investigated cases of Peruvians used as drug mules and has heard of many Bolivians involved in drug trafficking into Brazil as well. General Commander of the State Military Police Col. Antonio Diniz said that while Sao Paulo State has an effective apparatus to gather intelligence on drug-related crimes, the situation is becoming increasingly difficult to combat. The Military Police are attempting to identify emerging areas of concern to take preventive action to avoid future problems related to drug trafficking, but they find themselves continually playing catch-up with the criminals, he said. Drugs Entering Brazil from Regional Neighbors -------------- �0A; ¶3. (SBU) Paulo Illes, Coordinator of the Sao Paulo-based Center for the Help of the Migrant (CAMI),an NGO that provides support to the large primarily Bolivian immigrant population in Brazil, said that Bolivians are regularly used as drug mules crossing into Brazil. He told Poloff that more than 400 Bolivian women involved in drug trafficking are imprisoned in Sao Paulo jails, and recounted stories in which whole families swallow drugs in order to avoid detection when entering Brazil. ¶4. (SBU) A wide range of contacts said that with Brazil's continued economic growth, they expect drug trafficking into and through the country to steadily increase. Police Chief Ruiz, CAMI Coordinator Illes and former Minister of Justice and Secretary of State for Human Rights Jose Gregori, who is currently serving as President of the Sao Paulo Municipal Commission for Human Rights, all agreed that Brazil's relative regional wealth attracts its neighbors' citizens to pursue sometimes illegal means to make money. Illes cited desperation in Bolivia and Paraguay over unemployment as a force driving individuals away from traditional jobs into illicit means of earning income. Gregori noted the important role of the media in highlighting concerns about foreigners involved in drug trafficking in Brazil. He predicted that as the media increase their coverage on this issue, public tolerance will diminish and pressure against SAO PAULO 00000242 002 OF 005 communities used as trafficking centers or routes will increase. The overwhelming drive to make a living and provide for one's family, however, means that it is unlikely that individuals involved in drug trafficking are going to stop, he added. Trafficking Issues Over Friendship Bridge -------------- ¶5. (SBU) During a recent three-day visit to the State of Parana (population approximately 11 million) in Brazil's south, Poloff saw several Federal Highway Police lots full of apprehended vehicles used to transport drugs into Brazil. Buying off police officers is common, a range of local NGO contacts claimed, indicating that the actual number of vehicles in the lots is small in comparison to the number of traffickers that make it past corrupt officials and even random inspection. Upon arrival in the City of Foz do Iguacu (population approximately 300,000) at the state's western tip and in the heart of the Tri-Border Area (TBA) where Brazil's borders meet with Paraguay and Argentina, it is impossible to overlook the vibrant regional trade, both legal and illicit. Foz do Iguacu is the entry-point for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of counterfeit and pirated electronic devices, computers, CDs and DVDs, perfumes, retail goods and many other products. (Note: Foz do Iguagu Bird Park Financial Director John Legatt told Poloff that trafficking in endangered species is common in the region as well. End Note.) Additionally, because Paraguay has no port of its own, Foz do Iguacu serves as one of the main entry points into Brazil for Paraguayan overseas exports. The main checkpoint for these products to enter Brazil is over the Friendship Bridge, where, according to Brazilian officials, approximately ten thousand vehicles pass every day. Customs control is weak on both the Brazilian and Paraguayan sides of the bridge. ¶6. (SBU) Meanwhile, attempts to increase commerce and bring order to the area are likely to further contribute to illicit trade in the region. Foz do Iguacu Mayor Paulo Mac Donald Ghisi told Poloff that Brazil and Paraguay plan on constructing a bridge in the next two years that will triple the amount of commerce between the two countries, but with the unfortunate side-effect of more trade in pirated goods. Additionally, a legislative attempt to help bring some order to small scale trading across the border, known as the "sacoleiros" (or peddlers) bill, is under discussion in Brazil's Congress. According to its supporters, the bill simplifies procedures and charges a lower, unified customs rate for registered importers. The Government's allies in Congress have pushed for the body to quickly move on the legislation, and it is poised for final passage, possibly this month. Business organizations assert, and the Embassy law enforcement community agrees, however, that due to lack of provisions for effective enforcement, the practical effect of the bill will likely be to facilitate unlawful commerce along with legitimate trade. ¶7. (SBU) Foz do Iguacu Customs Chief Gilberto Tragancin said that he believes as the number of inspections increases on the Friendship Bridge, the incidence of IPR-infringing goods and contraband will decrease. (Note: Poloff's car was not inspected entering or exiting Brazil, nor did Poloff observe any other vehicle undergoing inspection. End Note.) He said that Customs does not inspect every vehicle entering or exiting Brazil because the policy would discourage bilateral commerce, and because his agency lacks the manpower to do so. While IPR-infringing products entering from Paraguay used to originate in China, he has seen an increasing amount of such articles produced in Paraguay coming into Brazil, and said that drug traffickers use the same routes to enter Brazil. SAO PAULO 00000242 003 OF 005 Tragancin said that his agency regularly apprehends revolvers, pistols and heavy ammunition on the Friendship Bridge being sold primarily to organized criminal gangs from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. He added that heavy arms (for example fully automatic weapons such as the AK-47)increasingly enter Brazil on small planes flying in from Paraguay and landing on hidden airstrips. ¶8. (SBU) Tragancin claimed that Paraguayan law enforcement and Customs seldom take action to clamp down on IPR, arms and drug concerns, stating to their Brazil counterparts that Paraguayan authorities do not have resources or staff to conduct such operations. Tragancin told Poloff this is just an excuse to cover for the reality that Paraguayan officials and the police earn a profit from the producers and traffickers of drugs and fake products. (Note: Luiz Bernardi, Regional Superintendent for Customs in Parana and Santa Catarina States, said that unlike Paraguay, Argentina is an active partner with a clear organizational structure staffed by officers who are not as evidently susceptible to bribes. End Note.) Adults Also Use Air and Sea -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Joacir Araujo dos Santos, Superintendent of the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (INFRAERO) in Foz do Iguacu, the agency that administers Brazil's airports, said that drugs are seized regularly on or with people trying to leave Foz do Iguacu on planes after bringing in the narcotics from Paraguay. (Note: During Poloff's visit, INFRAERO and the Federal Police detained a 71-year-old Brazilian with 4 kilograms of cocaine on his body attempting to board a flight. End Note.) Santos said that INFRAERO and Federal Police agents need much more staff and more narcotics-detection equipment to handle all of these drug-related crimes. Teresinha Krasupenhar, an official with the Itaipu Bi-national Dam Public Relations Division, stressed that boats carrying contraband and drugs cross into Brazil from Paraguay constantly. (Note: The Itaipu Dam, the world's largest operational hydroelectric power plant, sits on the Parana River that separates Brazil and Paraguay. End Note.) Krauspenhar told Poloff that fewer boats are entering Brazil since dam authorities began asking for the Federal Police's assistance, but the phenomenon is still not unusual. Youth Victim to Trafficking -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Various contacts raised their concern that adults are increasingly using children and young adolescents to transport drugs and illegal goods from Paraguay into Brazil. Customs Chief Tragancin told Poloff that during one operation, Customs officials apprehended two boats, one piloted by a nine-year-old and another by a seven-year-old, bearing heaps of counterfeit electronic products crossing the short distance over the Parana River into Brazil. Customs Superintendent Bernardi even claimed that traffickers are using young adolescents to fly small planes bearing narcotics into Brazil. Edinalva Severo from the NGO Sentinel Program for Attention to Victims of Sexual Violence, said that children are being increasingly used to bring in drugs - she mentioned cocaine, crack and marijuana - and small arms and ammunition because they physically appear less likely to be involved in illegal activity. Noting that Foz do Iguacu has some of the highest rates of youth violence and death in Brazil, she asserted that hundreds of children have been killed by corrupt police officers benefiting from drug trafficking and other adults who do not want these children to SAO PAULO 00000242 004 OF 005 reveal the source of the drugs if apprehended after already having made a delivery. Additionally, if any young traffickers lose the drugs en route, they are forced to transport more narcotics into Brazil in order to pay back the value of the lost "goods," she said. Severo blamed the police for not investigating leads or confirmed cases and for sometimes even supporting trafficking for personal profit. (Note: Members of the Network for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in the Tri-Border Frontier, an association of NGOs, representatives of major local companies and local government agencies were in agreement about this anecdotal information, but we do not have the means to corroborate the claims. End Note.) Federal Judge on Drug Trafficking -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Federal Judge Ricardo Rachid de Oliveira, a former participant in International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) training in Lima, Peru who is responsible for the adjudication of transnational criminal cases in the TBA of Brazil, told Poloff that the number of trafficking cases he sees is increasing steadily. Federal Police intelligence-gathering skills are improving but the amount of cocaine entering Brazil, with Europe as the principal destination, is much more than what the law enforcement community is able to handle. Oliveira said that because Brazil has increased its drug interdiction operations in the central-western states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul on the border with Bolivia, and has adopted laws having an impact on the number of planes that previously flew into Brazil from Colombia, trafficking routes have changed. While drugs used to originate in Bolivia and Colombia and enter Brazil directly on their way to Europe, Bolivia and Colombian traffickers now have to go through Paraguay. (Note: Oliveira said that depending on the quality of the cocaine, a kilogram costs about USD 1500-2500 in Paraguay, USD 2500-3500 in Brazil right when it crosses the border, USD 11,000 in Sao Paulo, USD 40,000 in Europe, and USD 80,000 in Japan. End Note.) Oliveira lamented that neither Paraguayan law enforcement authorities nor the judiciary are taking any action to inhibit drug trafficking and that corruption in both is systemic. Brazil needs to improve its fight against drug trafficking by hiring more police and increasing the presence of Customs officials on the border, he said, but as long as Paraguay does not "clean up its act," no amount of Brazilian efficiency will overwhelm drug traffickers. Comment -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The Brazilian law enforcement community has led numerous successful operations targeting traffickers and their customers throughout the country. Nevertheless, as one contact told Poloff, even if the whole Brazilian military were used to seal off Brazil's borders, traffickers would still find a way to break through or buy off officers. Bilateral and regional cooperation and greater law enforcement within countries from countries of origin are the main solutions to limiting the success of trafficking networks. Unfortunately, the trade in drugs, arms and counterfeit goods coming in from Paraguay is so financially lucrative that traffickers are willing and able to cope innovatively with enforcement efforts to date. Increased enforcement may just yield more sophisticated types of smuggling, but there is certainly a need for a much stronger deterrent than is now being provided. End Comment. ¶13. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Brasilia's Law Enforcement Working Group. SAO PAULO 00000242 005 OF 005 WHITE