ARGENTINA: FIRST AND SECOND QUARTER INL REPORT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000811 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/BSC AND INL/LP HOOKER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL AFIN KCRM PGOV AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: FIRST AND SECOND QUARTER INL REPORT ENTIRE TEXT SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Argentina experienced increased drug trafficking pressure during the first six months of 2009, with the apparently expanding use of small aircraft to traffic cocaine and marijuana across the country's northern borders. Cargoes are quickly offloaded at clandestine strips and distributed for shipment to Europe (cocaine) or domestic consumption (marijuana and cocaine). Press reports gave extensive coverage to UNODC figures showing increasing cocaine and marijuana use in the country. Courts are increasingly ruling to decriminalize personal possession of narcotics in Argentina, with a Supreme Court ruling to that effect widely anticipated. ¶2. (SBU) Argentina law enforcement continues to cooperate effectively with U.S. and other third country officials, and collaborative efforts resulting in important arrests and seizures during the period. U.S. training and equipping is well received. Major U.S. INCLE-funded contributions during the first half of 2009 included investigative software with training, support for the establishment of a Center for Drug Information in Buenos Aires, ongoing support for the Northern Border Task Force (NBTF),and law enforcement training. ¶I. Trafficking Trends Aerial Traffic Up -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Argentina's lack of comprehensive radar coverage both along its borders and in the interior make it difficult to assess the volume of illicit drug flights into the country. Cocaine-laden flights from Bolivia and Paraguay and marijuana-carrying flights from Paraguay are thought to use private ranch lands in the wide open spaces of Santiago del Estero, Chaco, and northern Santa Fe Provinces to land and quickly distribute narcotics to waiting vehicles. It is transported south for internal consumption or, in the case of cocaine, for shipment to major markets, principally European, through mules and disguised as commercial ocean freight. Based on seizures resulting from tips or the number of random law enforcement encounters with the illicit flights, analysts and officials believe the volume of aerial traffic to be increasing. ¶4. (SBU) One announced GOA response to the aerial trafficking is a plan announced in March to share real-time radar data from the Air Force with law enforcement agencies. This has been slow to be implemented but is expected to commence soon. In addition, Argentina's plans to procure additional "three-dimensional radars" for use around the country's borders would improve on spotty coverage. Although competitors for this bid have gone through a pre-qualification process, fiscal shortfalls continue to push the purchase down the road. ¶5. (SBU) The national Gendarmeria (border guard),a key partner in our law enforcement cooperation, has requested Embassy assistance in standing-up an integrated command-and-control center to track targets and coordinate on-the-ground law enforcement assets in the north central region of the country. They have developed their own software, including a mapping program. Members of the Law Enforcement Working Group at post have recommended a positive response to this request, which totals approximately US$ 14,000 in locally procured computer equipment. Seizures Also Rising -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In May, Gendarmeria officials told Embassy counterparts that overall seizures of marijuana and cocaine were running ahead of 2008 figures. Major seizures that included DEA participation include the following: -- On January 11, 2009, the Northern Border Task Force (NBTF) and Gendarmeria Nacional Argentina (GNA) in coordination with the DEA Buenos Aires Country Office (BACO) seized approximately 186 kgs of cocaine, one vehicle and arrested two Argentine nationals. A surveillance team in the town of San Martin, Salta, conducted a vehicle stop on a red Ford pick-up, questioning its occupants who gave conflicting answers and acted nervously. Officer conducted an inspection of the pick-up utilizing a NBTF drug detection canine who alerted to the bed of the pick-up. A closer inspection revealed a hidden compartment where 188 rectangular packages of varying sizes and weights were seized. The total weight of the cocaine seized was 186 kgs. -- On February 22, 2009, the Northern Border Task Force (NBTF) and Gendarmeria Nacional Argentina (GNA) in coordination with the DEA Buenos Aires Country Office (BACO) seized approximately 238 kgs of cocaine, one vehicle and arrested one Argentine national. The NBTF had obtained information that a subject would attempt to smuggle a substantial amount of cocaine from Bolivia into Argentina, using the services of an Argentine law enforcement officer. After a vehicle matching the source description unlawfully proceeded through a checkpoint in the area of Aguaray, Salta, on National Route 34, it returned 10 minutes later and the driver identified himself as a Second Lieutenant in the GNA. He gave conflicting answers, but a search on his vehicle was negative for drugs. Later the same day, the NBTF and GNA found four bags containing approximately 280 rectangular packages of different weights and sizes wrapped in balloon latex material. A field test was conducted which resulted positive for cocaine. -- On February 26, 2009, the Policia Federal Argentina (PFA) obtained a search warrant based upon an ongoing joint investigation conducted by the PFA and BACO into the cocaine smuggling activities of a Serbian drug trafficking organization. A search of a Recoleta apartment in the city of Buenos Aires resulted in the seizure of 174 kgs of cocaine and the arrest of two Serbian nationals. -- On May 10, 2009, approximately 206.94 kgs of cocaine were seized and two individuals arrested, as a result of continuing investigative initiatives on the part of the BACO, NBTF and GNA. Based on source information, a vehicle was stopped at the border crossing at Salvador Mazza in the province of Salta. A mobile scanner showed nine duffle bags concealed within 610 bags of grain. The bags contained 198 rectangular packages that tested positive for cocaine. NOTE: Official government seizures statistics are made available on an annual basis. Decriminalization -------------- ¶7. (SBU) During the first half of 2009, several federal courts ruled against the detentions of individuals found with small amounts of narcotics. It has been widely expected, based in part on press interviews with some Supreme Court Justices, that the Supreme Court would also rule on this issue in favor of decriminalizing possession for personal use. The ruling has yet to be issued. ¶8. (SBU) A proposal from the national government to legislate decriminalization of narcotics possession for personal consumption has not found a legislative champion to date. No bill has been introduced in the Congress, and several groups, including the Government's own Office of Drug Policy and Demand Reduction, SEDRONAR, have objected to the idea. Consumption Up -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Argentine press gave extensive coverage to the 2009 UNODC Annual Drug Report, particularly to information that marijuana use among high school students in Argentina had jumped from a 3.5% prevalence rate in 2001 to 8.1% in 2007. Health and education officials blamed the lack of full extracurricular programs for kids and absence of effective drug education programs for the rise. The UNODC report also noted that Argentina had the highest cocaine prevalence rate in South America, which at 2.67% of the population aged 15-64 is now approaching the U.S. 2.8% rate. Argentina is the second largest cocaine market in South America, at 660,000 persons, behind only the much more populous Brazil (890,000 persons). II. Program Discussion ¶10. (U) Utilizing significant past year monies, INL programs incurred US$144,802 during the first half of 2009. Programs were as follows: -- One-year rent for Northern Border Task Force, Salta, US$24,000, with FY 2007 INCLE money. This is the first of two years INL-approved rent payments for the NBTF. We are encouraging the Gendarmeria and Salta Police to plan for funding their own facilities after this period. The NBTF continues to be our most effective drug interdiction partner, positioned as it is to develop and react to information on cocaine trafficking from Bolivia. -- Centers for Drug Information (CDI) Training Conference in Salta, April 27-May 1, US$ 31,583, with FY 2006 and FY 2007 INCLE funds. Following Bolivia's expulsion of the DEA, Embassy proposed to Minister of Justice Anibal Fernandez that the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) host the Southern Cone CDI that had been previously supported by the Government of Bolivia. Fernandez and the PFA accepted this responsibility. The April training was designed to introduce key Argentine officials to CDI capabilities and management and to bring together regional Southern Cone officials to encourage information exchange and cooperation. Participants were pleased with the training by U.S.-based officials. To date the PFA is making appropriate use of the CDI and facilitating the exchange of information within the region, operating out of its headquarters in Buenos Aires. -- Pen Link Software Purchase and Training, US$ 65,046, principally FY 2007 but some FY 2006 funds. This INL-approved purchase provided four copies of the customized Pen-Link software to the 1) Gendarmeria/Northern Border Task Force (GNA/NBTF),2) Gendarmeria/Eastern Border Task Force (GNA/EBTF),3) the Federal Police (PFA),and 4) the Mendoza Provincial Police. A training course in Buenos Aires was offered in late June to 15 officials from these four services. The phone call and data analysis software will substantially expand Argentine law enforcement capabilities, and we anticipate effective collaboration and data sharing based on this analysis. -- Support for two Argentine participants in Colombia Jungle Command Course, US$5,801, with FY 2006 funds. -- Firearms and tactical training for Gendarmeria Nacional in Bariloche in May, 2009, for 25 trainees. US$9,604, with FY 2006 funds, provided by DEA. -- Firearms and tactical training for Buenos Aires Provincial Police and its Drug Enforcement Unit, in February, 2009, for 20 students. US$ 8,768, with FY 2007 funds. KELLY