Argentina

I. Summary

Argentina is a transshipment point for Andean-produced cocaine destined for Europe and for Colombian heroin destined for the United States. It is also a source country for precursor chemicals, owing to its advanced chemical production facilities. Seizures of cocaine in 2007 were on par with levels in 2006, but authorities reported an increase in the number of small labs that convert cocaine base to cocaine hydrochloride (HCl). Argentina is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

II. Status of Country

Argentina is a transit country for cocaine from Bolivia, Peru and Colombia destined for Europe and, to a lesser extent, for Colombian heroin en route to the United States. Marijuana is the most commonly smuggled and consumed drug in Argentina, followed by cocaine (HCl) and inhalants, respectively. U.S.-Argentine counternarcotics cooperation rests on robust law enforcement cooperation, which will be further enhanced when the judicial sector completes the transition from an inquisitorial legal system to an accusatory system. As one of South America’s largest producers of precursor chemicals it is vulnerable to diversion of these chemicals into the illicit drug production market. The Government of Argentina (GOA) has introduced modifications to its chemical control regime to address this vulnerability.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007

Policy Initiatives. Argentina is in the process of transitioning from a written, inquisitorial judicial system to an oral, accusatory system. In 2007, confidence in the legal system remained low because of excessive delays between arrest and final judicial rulings and the lack of judicial transparency. The Justice Ministry prepared draft legislation to update the federal criminal code and the criminal procedure code to address shortcomings and inefficiencies in the investigation and prosecution of drug trafficking crimes. The legislation was not presented to Congress in 2007. The Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the Secretariat of Planning for the Prevention of Drug Addiction and Drug Trafficking (SEDRONAR) share the responsibility for directing Argentina’s counternarcotics efforts. The Ministry of Interior oversees federal law enforcement agencies (e.g. operations) and SEDRONAR coordinates federal narcotics policy. The Minister of Interior instituted steps to improve inter-agency cooperation, including hosting coordination meetings, creating unified databases and standardizing protocols for conducting drug investigations. He also instructed the Directorate of Criminal Intelligence (DIC) to develop training and other tools to establish an undercover narcotics agent program. Two resolutions established an interagency training unit for the investigation of complex narcotrafficking and organized crimes and created an operational exchange program between federal and provincial law enforcement agencies. Argentina passed legislation in 1996 to control chemical substances, and the law was modified in 2005 to introduce additional controls on, inter alia, precursor chemicals. These modifications resulted in some improvements, but the law still lacks implementing legislation to impose penalties commensurate with violations.

Accomplishments. Complete federal statistics on seizures continue to be difficult to obtain because two agencies, UFIDRO (Prosecutorial Support Unit for the Investigation of Complex Offenses and Organized Crime) and SEDRONAR maintain different databases. UFIDRO nominally falls under the control of the Attorney General’s office (Procurador General), but its activities are financed by the MOI. UFIDRO began collecting seizure data from the federal law enforcement agencies and Customs in 2006 while SEDRONAR, which historically compiled seizure statistics, now only receives seizure data from the provincial police forces. Statistics through October 2007 show that federal and provincial law enforcement agencies seized nearly 8 metric tons (MT) of cocaine in 2007, 45.6 MT of coca leaf, 74.6 MT of marijuana and 5 kg of heroin. While these figures represent only ten months of the year, figures for all of 2006 were similar or higher – 8 MT of cocaine, 49.5 MT of coca leaf, 93.5 MT of marijuana and 50.8 kg of heroin.

Law Enforcement Efforts. The ongoing transition from the an inquisitorial legal system to an accusatorial system has caused excessive delays between arrest and final rulings and, as a result, eroded public confidence. However, important reforms are underway, and a principal one will place responsibility for investigations with the prosecutors. Under the current system, judges have the primary responsibility for conducting investigations. Other proposed reforms will allow prosecutors and judges more leeway in determining which cases to prosecute and will strengthen the oral trial system. One of the objectives of these reforms is to shorten the preliminary investigative period (etapa instructoria). A primary impetus in pushing these reforms is to give law enforcement agencies and the judiciary branch updated legal tools to go after organized trafficking networks. On several occasions during 2007, the Interior Minister noted publicly that too much effort and too many resources were used to go after small-scale dealers and users when the primary should be on the large-scale traffickers. Presidential decrees placed controls on precursor and essential chemicals, requiring that all manufacturers, importers or exporters, transporters, and distributors of these chemicals be registered with SEDRONAR. In the first seven months of 2007, the National Precursor Chemical Registry registered 1,019 new companies, reregistered 3,084 companies and issued 302 export authorizations and 1,349 import authorizations.

Corruption. The GOA is publicly committed to fighting corruption and prosecuting those implicated in corruption investigations. It is not government policy nor are any senior GOA officials known to engage in, encourage, or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.

Agreements and Treaties. Argentina is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols. and the UN Convention against Corruption. The United States and Argentina are parties to an extradition treaty that entered into force on June 15, 2000, and a bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty that entered into force on December 13, 1990. Both of these agreements are actively used by the United States with the GOA. Argentina has bilateral narcotics cooperation agreements with many neighboring countries; Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, France, Italy and the Netherlands provide limited training and equipment. In 1990, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement with the Government of Argentina. Argentina is also a party to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, Inter-American Convention of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, the Inter-American Convention against Trafficking in Illegal Firearms, and the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism.

Cultivation/Production. Argentine press reporting indicates that there has been an increase in the number of small kitchen labs converting cocaine base to HCl or producing cocaine base. Six HC1 labs and two cocaine base labs were seized in the first half of 2007. Small amounts of marijuana are cultivated, mostly for domestic consumption.

Drug Flow/Transit. Historically, Colombian-produced heroin transiting Argentina is smuggled aboard commercial flights going directly to the U.S. or through Mexico and across the Southwest border. However, no seizures were recorded in the first six months of 2007. Colombian cocaine HCl entering Argentina is generally destined for international cocaine markets in Europe and the U.S. Cocaine HCl seizures have risen significantly over the past two years. There is an indigenous population along the northern border with Bolivia that traditionally consumes coca leaf, however no maceration pits were found in 2007, and only one was found in 2006. Proceeds from drug smuggling ventures organized in Argentina are often brought back to the country by couriers in bulk cash shipments and then wired to the United States for investments or smuggled directly into the United States. Almost all of the marijuana consumed in Argentina originates in Paraguay, and is smuggled across the border into the provinces of Misiones and Corrientes where it is then transported overland to urban centers.

Demand Reduction Programs. The GOA, in collaboration with some private sector entities, sponsors a variety of print and broadcast information campaigns which have a nationwide reach. SEDRONAR coordinates the GOA’s demand reduction efforts. Argentina inaugurated its first National Drug Plan in 2005, and initiated a number of demand reduction programs in 2006 that continued in 2007. They include a school-based program targeting 10-14 year-olds, a sports-based prevention program, a community prevention program and one focused on vulnerable populations. The latter has a specific focus on the use of a cheap cocaine-based drug, “paco,” which is increasingly prevalent among poorer populations in the northeastern provinces and has caused devastating health effects on these marginalized sectors and caused an increase in criminal activity.

IV. U.S. Initiatives and Programs

Policy Initiatives. U.S. efforts in Argentina center on four core areas: reducing Argentina’s role as a transit point for drug trafficking by disrupting and dismantling the major drug trafficking organizations in the region; promoting regional counternarcotics cooperation with Andean and Southern Cone nations; maximizing host nation drug enforcement capabilities; and fortifying bilateral cooperation with host nation law enforcement agencies.

Bilateral Cooperation. The cornerstone of the USG’s law enforcement support, with INL funding and DEA expertise is the Northern Border Task Force (NBTF), a joint law enforcement group comprising federal and provincial elements operating in Argentina’s northwestern provinces of Jujuy and Salta to interdict the drug flow from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. In 2007, DEA and GOA law enforcement agencies created the Eastern Border Task Force (EBTF), modeled after the NBTF and focused on the illicit drug smuggling activities in the tri-border area with Paraguay and Brazil.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) works closely with Argentine federal and provincial law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and judges, and SEDRONAR and UFIDRO to improve coordination, cooperation, training and exchanges. DEA and the Legal Attache’s office (LEGATT) are particularly focused on working with prosecutors and judges on improving and updating investigation and prosecution techniques vis-a-vis narcotics trafficking and other complex crimes.

Argentine law enforcement agencies, with DEA support, continued to participate in Gran Chaco and Operation Seis Fronteras (Six Frontiers) with counterparts in Bolivia. Mission’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement office (ICE) participated in “Operation Andes III,” a joint program sponsored by INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO) to coordinate the interdiction of precursor chemicals in South America. Participants included national police and customs agencies from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) provided advisory support for precursor shipment identification and investigative response.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) provided a number of training opportunities to the Argentina Prefectura. Mobile training teams conducted two maritime law enforcement courses and one port physical security course in Argentina during 2007. The Prefectura also sent officers to the USCG’s crisis command and control, leadership and international maritime officer courses. Argentina also stationed an LNO (liaison officer) at JIATF-S to facilitate cooperation.

The Road Ahead. The GOA is seeking congressional approval of reforms to the criminal procedure code that would streamline and shorten the cases and caseload, greatly enhancing the government’s ability to prosecute narcotics-related crimes, among others. The GOA is also seeking to tighten control of precursor chemicals, improve coordination among law enforcement agencies, integrate databases to enable more thorough investigations, and pursue greater transparency in the judicial system. The U.S. Mission will continue to make bilateral law enforcement cooperation the foundation of its efforts, using the Northern Border Task Force (NBTF and the newly established Eastern Border Task Force (EBTF) as the centerpieces to augment GOA interdiction and enforcement capabilities. Mission elements will also work to establish and support a new working group involving the GOA’s Customs and Coast Guard agencies to facilitate greater investigative cooperation on maritime security. The USG will lend support to ongoing operations at border areas, including Gran Chaco and Operation Six Frontiers. The Mission is supporting the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance in developing for 2008 a technical support and training program for the Argentine Central Bank and government regulatory agencies (including the FIU), to strengthen Argentina’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorism finance efforts. U.S. technical support will also continue to foster stronger precursor chemical control and compliance measures.

Bolivia

I. Summary

During 2007, Government of Bolivia (GOB) eradicated more than 6,000 hectares, surpassing its eradication goal of 5,000 hectares, although about 90 percent of eradication took place in the Cochabamba tropics (Chapare) region. In addition, U.S. Government (USG)-supported Bolivian counternarcotics units seized 17.8 metric tons (MT) of cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride (HCl) and destroyed 10,602 cocaine labs and maceration pits. However, President Evo Morales continued to promote his policy of “zero cocaine but not zero coca” and pushed for industrialization of coca. His administration continues to pursue policies that will increase legal coca cultivation from 12,000 to 20,000 hectares—a change that would violate current Bolivian law and the 1988 UN Drug Convention, to which Bolivia is a party.

The GOB and European Union (EU) agreed to the terms of reference for the EU funded study to determine the actual licit demand for coca in Bolivia. The study is scheduled to be concluded in 2009. The GOB provided inadequate support to drug abuse prevention programs despite evidence of increased drug use in Bolivian society. Demand by farmers for alternative development products grew: last year, U.S. assistance contributed directly to 11,475 new hectares of alternative crops in the Chapare and Yungas, helping to expand sustainable legitimate employment and income opportunities.

II. Status of Country

Bolivia is the world’s third largest producer of cocaine, accounting for more than 115 metric tons, according to USG estimates, and is a significant transit zone for Peruvian cocaine. Bolivia also produces marijuana, primarily for domestic consumption. The majority of cocaine trafficked from or through Bolivia is destined for Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Europe. From 2003 to 2006, coca cultivation in Bolivia increased from 23,600 to 27,500 hectares, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and as a result, Bolivia’s estimated potential cocaine production has increased from 100 MT in 2003 to 115 MT in 2006.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007

Policy Initiatives. Bolivia has produced coca leaf for traditional uses for centuries, and currently, Bolivian law permits up to 12,000 hectares of legal coca cultivation (primarily all in the Yungas) to supply this licit market. The GOB continues to pursue policies that would increase the legal limit to 20,000 hectares, which would violate Law 1008 and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Worldwide licit demand for coca leaf used in commercial flavorings and pharmaceuticals is limited and only requires the amount of coca that can be grown on approximately 250 hectares (in Peru). The GOB is pursuing its version of coca reduction through voluntary eradication and social control policies, rather than forced eradication. According to UNODC estimates, in mid-2006 there were an estimated 27,500 hectares of coca in Bolivia. The GOB’s plan would allow 7,000 hectares of legal coca to be grown in the Chapare and 13,000 hectares in the Yungas for a total of 20,000 hectares nationwide. Since there are, according to UNODC, 19,200 hectares of coca in the Yungas, the GOB plan would yield a net reduction in this region. Historically, the majority of coca eradication occurred in the Chapare region. In order to reach the proposed goal of 13,000 hectares in the Yungas, the GOB would need to substantially increase eradication there. In the first nine months of 2007, 90 percent of eradication occurred in the Chapare, 5 percent in Yapacani, and 5 percent in the Yungas. With financial assistance from Venezuela, the GOB moved forward with its plan to industrialize coca for commercial products and began construction of two coca industrialization plants, one in the Chapare and the other in the Yungas. The construction project in the Yungas is currently at a standstill.

In September 2007, the Vice-Minister of Social Defense and Controlled Substances proposed, through the Constituent Assembly, to modify the Bolivian constitution to allow for communication intercepts, improved money laundering legislation, and plea bargaining in criminal cases. All of these measures, if approved by the Bolivian Congress, would significantly improve the ability of law enforcement units to investigate and prosecute narcotics, money laundering, terrorism, and corruption cases in Bolivia. With the current political climate and the difficulties faced in the Constituent Assembly, the Bolivian Congress has not yet addressed the proposed legislation.

Accomplishments. The GOB surpassed its own coca eradication goal of 5,000 hectares for the year, having eradicated 6,269 hectares. Coca eradication increased in the Yungas, with 300 hectares were eradicated in Caranavi and La Asunta, and another 488 hectares in Yapacani.

Law Enforcement Efforts. In 2007, through 10,816 operations, the Bolivian Special Counter-Narcotics Police (FELCN) seized 1,705 MT of illicit coca leaf, 17.8 MT tons of cocaine base and HCl, 423 MT of marijuana, 1,435,419 liters of liquid precursors and 653 MT of solid precursor chemicals. It also destroyed 4,076 cocaine base labs, the majority being in the Chapare, and detained 4,268 suspects. All seizure and interdiction statistics increased in comparison to 2006. There is little evidence of corruption within the FELCN and allegations of corruption are quickly investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), a unit of the Bolivian National Police (BNP). The FELCN is structured to combat all aspects of drug trafficking to include interdiction of drugs, illicit coca, precursor chemicals, intelligence gathering, money laundering, and rural operations. They continue to improve their techniques and efforts in all of these areas. The FELCN focused on higher level violators, which has resulted in more priority target organizations being investigated with regional partner nations, such as Brazil. Unfortunately, the legal system is unable to efficiently process the majority of drug cases allowing many criminals to avoid prosecution.

Corruption. As a matter of policy, the Government of Bolivia does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. The OPR and FELCN investigated approximately 1,574 allegations of insubordination and other forms of misconduct during fiscal year 2007, approximately 205 of these cases involved FELCN members. Of these 205 cases involving the FELCN, none of the respective investigations conducted resulted in findings of corruption. To date, 1,080 cases went before the Disciplinary Board for review and appropriate action. In addition to the support and development provided to the OPR, the United States Government (USG) also supports the Disciplinary Tribunals.

Agreements and Treaties. Bolivia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Bolivia is a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Crime, the UN Convention against Corruption, and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. Nevertheless, Bolivia is lacking many of the laws and enforcement mechanisms needed to fully implement these agreements. Bolivia has signed, but has not yet ratified the Inter-American Convention on Extradition. Bolivia is not a party to the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

Extradition. The GOB and the United States Government signed a bilateral extradition treaty in 1995, which entered into force in 1996. The treaty permits the extradition of nationals for most serious offenses, including drug trafficking. No extraditions were sought by the U.S. from Bolivia in 2007.

Cultivation/Production. According to UNODC estimates, as of mid-2006, countrywide cultivation appears to have increased, with total cultivation of 19,200 hectares for the Yungas, and cultivation in the Chapare estimated at 8,300 hectares. In 2007, the GOB continued eradication of coca cultivation in the Chapare (including the national parks), as well as in minor areas of new cultivation in the Department of Santa Cruz (Yapacani). GOB interdiction results, up 238 percent in 2007 from 2006, also suggest a rise in marijuana production, likely for internal consumption.

Drug Flow/Transit. The United States is not a primary destination for Bolivian cocaine. Cocaine transiting and produced within Bolivia is primarily destined for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Europe (especially Spain). Significant quantities of cocaine from Peru transits Bolivia enroute to Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Paraguay. Drug traffickers continue to seek new routes and methods to escape the pressure exerted by FELCN and continue to alter their methods. For instance, after Spain enacted a visa requirement for Bolivian citizens the number of human couriers who swallow drugs arrested went down while seizures of cocaine sent through the mail went up.

Alternative Development (AD). The U.S. Government’s Integrated Alternative Development (IAD) program, implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is a key element in advancing bilateral counternarcotics objectives. Support is provided to help diversify the economies of Bolivia’s coca growing regions, reduce communities’ dependency on coca, and to strategically support the Government of Bolivia’s voluntary eradication program. Alternative Development assistance helps strengthen the competitiveness of Bolivia’s agricultural products (e.g., coffee, bananas, pineapples, cocoa, and palm hearts) in national and world markets, improve basic social conditions (e.g., access to clean water), improve rural road infrastructure and access to markets, and expand justice services in the Yungas and Chapare coca growing regions.

Despite challenges in transitioning to a new policy environment, bilateral cooperation in IAD remains strong. In the early part of 2007, the U.S. Mission, in consultation with Government of Bolivia counterparts, adjusted its IAD program to more strategically support the GOB’s net coca rationalization strategy and diversified development with declining budget resources. Relatively more resources will be devoted to the Yungas, an under-developed coca growing region where the Government plans to carry out more rationalization in the next several years. Assistance to the Chapare will continue to decline, but support will be provided to consolidate gains and establish sustainable market linkages for alternative development products.

There was a slow start in implementing alternative development projects in the first part of the year due to the need to clarify and adjust to changing Bolivian CN policies, but demand by farmers to cultivate alternative crops grew in 2007. USG assistance directly supported the cultivation of 11,475 new hectares of crops such as bananas, cocoa, and palm hearts. In the first 9 months of FY 2007, the annual value of USAID-promoted exports reached almost $26 million. Assistance to farm communities and businesses helped generate 3,700 new jobs and new sales of AD products of $16.5 million (a 45 percent increase over 2006). In FY 2007, 12,671 families benefited directly from U.S. assistance. Nearly 550 kilometers of roads were maintained or improved and 17 bridges constructed in the two regions where IAD programs are undertaken. In addition, USAID’s support helped the Government register 92,318 hectares of land in the Chapare in preparation for its titling, thus strengthening land ownership rights and encouraging further farmer investments in alternative development products.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). According to a 2007 UNODC report, drug consumption has increased in Bolivia in recent years. In 2007, the GOB undertook, with USG assistance, efforts to combat documented increases in drug consumption. This included an expansion of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program and implementation of a Drug Demand Reduction Decentralization Project in 20 municipalities, which worked to coordinate demand reduction programs at a local level, and a project on accreditation of rehabilitation centers. The D.A.R.E program reached 28,000 students, short of its 40,000 student goal due to social problems and the transferring of DARE instructors during the school year. In cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the USG supported the second phase of a master’s degree program in drug abuse prevention and rehabilitation for 32 students; implemented a community based drug abuse prevention program reaching 30,000 people, and released a study on prevalence and characteristics of drug use in Bolivian jails. In 2007, most USG supported demand reduction efforts were coordinated with local municipalities and departmental governments. At the national level it has been much more difficult to achieve results, because some Bolivian officials deny the drug consumption problem inside of Bolivia while at the same time promoting the supposed benefits of coca leaf consumption.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

Policy Initiatives. The USG supports programs that enhance the capabilities of the GOB to reduce coca cultivation; arrest and bring drug traffickers to justice; promote licit economic development to provide viable options to cultivating coca, disrupt the production of cocaine within Bolivia; interdict and destroy illicit drugs and precursor chemicals moving within and through the country via operational task forces; reduce and combat domestic abuse of cocaine and other illicit drugs; institutionalize a professional law enforcement system; and improve the awareness of the Bolivian population regarding the dangers of illicit drugs. The USG also trains BNP in modern investigative techniques to curb money laundering and terrorism financing.

The USG supports institution building and development of both the Bolivian National Police (BNP) forces and counternarcotics prosecutors under a dynamic law enforcement training and development program (LEDP). In the last year, fifty-six courses were provided to the BNP and the prosecutors, resulting in the training of 2,351 personnel. Individuals received training in the following areas; basic and advanced criminal investigative techniques, drug investigations, advanced interview techniques, trafficking in persons, human rights issues and integrity investigations under the GOB’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Also, 16 BNP officers received basic and advanced polygraph examiner training in addition to receiving certification by the United States. These certified officers are the framework for the BNP polygraph unit and are responsible for administering polygraph examinations to all OPR Investigators and counternarcotics prosecutors. The USG plans to continue enhancing the knowledge of the prosecutors, and is implementing a nationwide prosecutors program in 2008 to increase the capability of the GOB to identify, investigate and prosecute violations of controlled substances, transnational crime, human rights issues, and corruption.

Bilateral Cooperation. Bolivian and U.S. officials meet regularly to coordinate policy, implement programs/operations, and resolve issues. The State Department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) principally supports and assists Bolivian interdiction and eradication forces. DEA provides direct operational advisory, liaison, intelligence and funding support to the FELCN’s mission, and USAID is a significant supporter of GOB efforts on alternative development. DEA and the U.S. Embassy’s Narcotics Affairs Section continue to implement CN programs and interact with their Bolivian counterparts despite President Morales’ threats to discontinue USG-funded CN assistance.

Road Ahead. The GOB needs to expand eradication in the Yungas and enhance its efforts to interdict illegal drugs and precursors throughout Bolivia. The USG will also encourage the GOB to exert tighter control over the licit coca market and to increase cooperation with neighboring countries in counternarcotics efforts. In 2008, the USG will look to the GOB to continue eradication, of coca at the highest rate possible, and control new plantings in both the Chapare and the Yungas. The GOB should continue interdiction operations to seize cocaine products, implement stronger precursor and essential chemical control measures, and destroy drug labs and maceration pits, particularly in the Chapare and the Yungas. Other efforts should include, but are not limited to, fully implementing GOB commitments under international conventions; ensuring that full and fair investigations are conducted into credible allegations of human rights abuses by military personnel, with prosecution when appropriate; full and fair investigation and prosecution of corrupt government officials; and passage and vigorous implementation of anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws, and legislation authorizing wiretapping.

V. Statistical Table

Bolivia Statistics (1997-2007)

	2007	2006*	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998	1997
Coca
Net Cultivation1 (ha)	-	25,800	26,500	24,600	23,200	24,400	19,900	19,600	21,800	38,000	45,800
Eradication (ha)**	6,269	5,070	6,073	8,437	10,000	11,839	9,435	7,953	16,999	11,621	7,026
Leaf: Potential Harvest2 (mt)***	-	37,000	36,000	37,000	33,000	35,000	32,000	-	-	-	-
HCl: Potential (mt)***	-	115	115	115	100	110	100	-	-	-	-
Seizures**
Coca Leaf (mt)	1,705	1,344	887.4	395.0	152.0	101.8	66.0	51.9	56.0	93.7	50.6
Coca Paste (mt)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.008
Cocaine Base (mt)	14.9	12.7	10.2	8.2	6.4	4.7	4.0	4.5	5.5	6.2	6.6
Cocaine HCl (mt)	2.9	1.3	1.3	0.5	6.5	0.4	0.5	0.7	1.4	3.1	3.8
Combined HCl & Base (mt)	17.8	14	11.5	8.7	12.9	5.1	4.5	5.3	6.9	9.3	10.4
Agua Rica3 (ltrs)	-	-	-	-	-	-	20,240	15,920	30,120	44,560	1,149
Arrests/Detentions	4,268	4,503	4,376	4,138	3,902	3,229	2,948	3,414	3,503	407	3,428
Labs Destroyed
Cocaine HCl	7	3	3	4	2	2	1	2	1	1	1
Base	4,076	4,070	2,619	2,254	1,769	1,285	877	620	893	1,205	1,022
* The USG was unable to provide an estimate for the net coca cultivation in time for this report. UNODC Coca Cultivation Survey, June 2007 is used in the chart for 2006 net coca cultivation estimate. Prior years in the chart are based on CNC estimates. UNODC estimates are used in the text.
**As of 09/30/07
***Due to recent revision of the USG’s cocaine production estimates for Bolivia, one cannot accurately compare 1996-2000 with future years.
1The reported leaf-to-HCl conversion ratio is estimated to be 370 kilograms of leaf to one kilograms of cocaine HCl in the Chapare. In the Yungas, the reported ratio is 315:1.
2Most coca processors have eliminated the coca paste step in production.
3Agua Rica (AR) is a suspension of cocaine base in a weak acid solution. AR seizures first occurred in late 1991. According to DEA, 37 liters of AR equal one kilograms of cocaine base.

Brazil

I. Summary

Brazil is a major transit country for illicit drugs. The Brazilian domestic drug market consumes mostly Bolivian cocaine, which is also shipped to Europe and, to a lesser extent, the United States. Brazil has improved cooperation with its neighbors in an effort to control its expansive border areas, particularly in the remote and porous tri-border region with Paraguay and Argentina. In 2007, the Government of Brazil (GOB) made advances in its drug enforcement and prevention programs, including numerous seizures of illicit narcotics and weapons and the arrest of a major Colombian drug trafficker.

The Brazilian Federal Police (DPF), which is under the Ministry of Justice, placed a higher priority in 2007 on enhancing its interdiction capabilities at major sea and airports and along the Bolivian border where seizures of low-purity cocaine increased. Brazil is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Trafficking Convention.

II. Status of Country

Brazil is a major transit country for cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride (HCl) moving from Andean source countries to Europe and the Middle East as well as for smaller amounts of heroin. It also has a sizeable domestic demand for these and other drugs which feed the increasingly critical urban crime wave in Brazil’s two largest cities, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Marijuana and low-quality cocaine are preferred, and they fuel the powerful and heavily armed organized drugs gangs that are involved in narcotics-related arms trafficking.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007

Policy Initiatives. The National Anti-Drug Policy directs the GOB’s counternarcotics strategy, which was last updated in late 2005. The GOB anti-money laundering legislation, drafted in 2005, still had not been presented to Congress by the end of 2007. However, the GOB established systems for identifying, tracing, freezing, seizing, and forfeiting narcotics-related assets in 2007. The Brazilian Government’s interagency Financial Crimes Investigations Unit (COAF) and the Ministry of Justice manage these systems jointly. The police and the customs and revenue services possess the powers and resources to trace and seize assets, but the GOB still has not implemented a computerized registry of all seized assets to improve tracking and disbursal. The judicial system has the authority to forfeit seized assets, and Brazilian law permits the sharing of forfeited assets with other countries.

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and borders all the countries of South America except Chile and Ecuador. Narcotics traffickers exploit Brazil’s heavily transited and porous border crossings where Brazilian law enforcement agencies only have a minimal presence. To combat trans-border trafficking organizations, Brazil cooperates with neighboring countries through joint intelligence centers (JIC) in strategic border towns. Analysis Services for Police Data and Intelligence Centers (SADIP Centers), formerly known as regional Intelligence Centers, are strategically-located facilities for representatives of federal police from South American countries to collect, analyze and disseminate drug intelligence with one another to interdict drugs that move through the tri-border region, particularly at Iguazu Falls, Assis and Tabatinga. The physical structures of the centers are in place and Assis became fully operational in 2007. Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2007 to expand the regional Officer Exchange Program, which now includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Paraguay. This cooperative exchange allows police officers in these countries to share real-time intelligence and improve their professional working relationships.

Accomplishments. In 2007, Brazil made numerous seizures of illicit narcotics and weapons and arrested a major drug trafficker. The Brazilian Federal Police (DPF) seized 13.1 metric tons (MT) of cocaine HCl, 916 kg of cocaine base, 488 kg of crack, 153.1 MT of marijuana, and 16 kg of heroin. In one notable example, U.S.-Brazilian cooperation helped bring about the capture in Sao Paulo of Juan Carlos Ramírez-Abadia, a notorious Colombian drug cartel leader whose multi-billion dollar drug and money laundering ring stretches from the United States to Europe. Several million dollars’ worth of assets were seized in the raid. In 2007, the GOB also broke up Mexican and Colombian groups involved in sending heroin to the United States and began targeting groups that sell prescription drugs illegally via the Internet.

Only the Brazilian Federal Police (DPF), not local police forces, report seizures. The DPF estimates they record approximately 75 percent of seizures; thus statistics are incomplete. The DPF indicted 4,069 people on drug-related charges in 2007. Facilitated by existing law, many assets, particularly motor vehicles, are seized during narcotics raids and put into immediate use by the Federal Police under a March 1999 Executive Decree. Other assets are auctioned and proceeds distributed, based on court decisions. Federal Police records show that the GOB seized one airplane, 11,923 motor vehicles, 237 motorcycles, 8 boats, 379 firearms, and 1,865 cell phones in 2007.

Law Enforcement Efforts. In September 2007, the Brazilian Federal Police’s (DPF) new leadership resulted in several senior executive personnel changes that appear to favor increased law enforcement cooperation with the United States and other international partners. However, the DPF’s 11,000-member force is woefully understaffed and lacks resources to meet the challenges before it. Poor coordination and cooperation between the DPF and state police forces further complicate efforts to target and dismantle major trafficking operations inside the country.

The DPF continued to play a major role in an operation to disrupt the illegal flow of precursor chemicals in the region. Additionally, the GOB continued to support an operation with Brazilian and Paraguayan counternarcotics interdiction forces in the Paraguayan-Brazilian border area and another operation which successfully targeted a Colombian drug trafficking operation tied to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In February 2007, after a six-month investigation, Brazilian State Police dismantled an ecstasy lab—believed to be the first in Brazil—in the state of Goias, and seized approximately 30,000 tablets estimated to be worth $450,000. The successes of these and other GOB-led law enforcement operations were supported by Sensitive Investigative Units (SIU) located in the major cities and which receive funding and technical assistance through the U.S.-GOB bilateral narcotics assistance agreement.

Corruption. As a matter of government policy, the Government of Brazil does not condone, encourage, or facilitate production, shipment, or distribution of illicit drugs or the laundering of drug money. However, official corruption is a problem and is a high priority for Brazilian law enforcement. The DPF has carried out a number of high-profile investigations of public officials and state police involved in money laundering and/or narcotics trafficking. In September 2007, the DPF arrested 52 Military Police officers from a single battalion in Rio de Janeiro after a 7-month investigation into their involvement in a police corruption ring in which they were on the payroll of drug traffickers.

Agreements and Treaties. Brazil is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Trafficking Convention, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols, and the UN Convention against Corruption. Brazil is also a party to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism, and the Inter-American Convention against Trafficking in Illegal Firearms. Bilateral agreements based on the 1988 Convention form the basis for counternarcotics cooperation between the United States and Brazil. The United States and Brazil are parties to a bilateral Mutual Legal Assistance treaty that entered into force in 2001 and is actively used. In 2002, U.S. Customs and Border Protection signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement with the GOB that provides a mechanism for the exchange of information to prevent, investigate and redress any offense against the customs laws of the United States or Brazil. Brazil also has a number of narcotics control agreements with its South American neighbors, several European countries and South Africa. These agreements have given rise to further cooperation, such as the ongoing “Operation Seis Fronteras” (Six Borders) which, has strengthened relations between the various law enforcement agencies. Brazil cooperates bilaterally with other countries and participates in the UN Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Organization of American States/Anti-Drug Abuse Control Commission (OAS/CICAD).

Extradition. The Brazilian constitution prohibits the extradition of natural-born Brazilian citizens, but it does allow for the extradition of naturalized Brazilian citizens for any crime committed prior to naturalization. The constitution also allows for the extradition of naturalized Brazilian citizens specifically for narcotics-related crimes committed after naturalization. However, to date none has been carried out under this provision because the Brazilian Congress has failed to pass implementing legislation. Brazil cooperates with other countries in the extradition of non-Brazilian nationals accused of narcotics-related crimes. There is an extant bilateral extradition treaty between the U.S. and Brazil which entered into force in 1964. Although several requests were made to Brazil in 2007 and are in progress, no extraditions to the United States took place in 2007.

Illicit Cultivation/Production. Brazil produces some cannabis in the northeast region of the country, primarily for domestic consumption.

Drug Flow/Transit. Brazil is a major drug transit country for cocaine from Bolivia that is almost exclusively destined for the domestic Brazilian market. Higher quality Colombian cocaine is shipped to Europe and, to a lesser extent, the U.S. Marijuana from Paraguay is largely consumed domestically in Brazil. Cocaine continues to be smuggled into Brazil via its many rivers and along its vast and poorly-monitored border. Cocaine is shipped out of Brazil primarily from ports in the northeast. Organized groups based in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which arrange through contacts at the border for the transport of contraband by international couriers (mules) aboard trans-Atlantic flights, are increasingly sending their shipments to Africa. The drugs are purchased from criminal organizations that operate outside of Brazil. Organized groups and gangs within Brazil employ domestic networks operating in major urban areas of the country to sell narcotics and use the profits to purchase weapons and increase their control over the slums (favelas) of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Brazil introduced a lethal-force air interdiction program in 2004 but to date has not shot down any aircraft. Although the air interdiction program has helped reduce the number of long flights over Brazilian territory, traffickers still make the short flight over Brazil en route to Venezuela and Suriname.

Brazil is a growing consumer market for amphetamines and ecstasy and other synthetic drugs. In conjunction with Operation Topaz, the DPF agreed to work with the USG to perform a study on their use within Brazil and the exportation of acetic anhydride from Brazil. The Federal Police makes records relating to chemical transactions available to USG law enforcement officials when requested.

Demand Reduction. The National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) has responsibility for demand reduction and treatment programs. SENAD also supports drug councils that are located in each of the state capitals and which coordinate treatment and demand reduction programs. USG-supported programs include a nationwide toll-free number for drug-abuse counseling, a nationwide DARE program (Brazil has the largest DARE program outside of the United States), and a national household survey of drug use among teens. In early 2007, SENAD released the results of the 2005-2006 national household drug consumption survey, partially funded by the USG, which indicated that that since the last survey was done in 2001, marijuana consumption had increased from 6.9 percent to 8.8 percent and cocaine consumption had increased from 2.3 percent to 2.9 percent.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives

Policy Initiatives. U.S. counternarcotics policy in Brazil continues to focus on identifying and dismantling international narcotics trafficking organizations, reducing money laundering, and increasing awareness of the dangers of drug abuse and drug trafficking and related issues, such as organized crime and arms trafficking. Key goals include assisting Brazil’s development of a strong legal structure for narcotics and money laundering control and enhancing law enforcement cooperation.

Bilateral Cooperation. U.S.-Brazilian bilateral programs continue to give emphasis to establishing intelligence-driven operations such as the joint intelligence centers (JIC) located in Tabatinga and on the Bolivian border and training courses in airport interdiction and container security.

In 2007, the USG provided support for the GOB’s participation in “Operation Alianza” (Brazil, Paraguay) that involved marijuana eradication/interdiction, and “Operation Seis Fronteras.” The USG continued to provide training to combat money laundering, enhance airport interdiction and community policing efforts, strengthen container security activities and port state control of vessels, support counternarcotics SWAT operations and maritime law enforcement actions, improve crisis command and control coordination and expand demand reduction programs. Support to and cooperation with Sensitive Investigative Units (SIU) remains a priority of USG-GOB bilateral cooperation. Several Brazilian law enforcement officers attended training programs in the United States, including money laundering prevention seminars and courses sponsored at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) training academy. Seminars and courses for state police representatives also assisted the Brazilian authorities with security preparations for the 2007 Pan American Games. The GOB and USG agreed to expand the Container Security Initiative in Santos to secure more containerized cargo going to the United States. In the latter part of 2007, a Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) position was filled in December to provide technical assistance to the GOB on drug-fueled urban crime problems (particularly gangs).

The Road Ahead. Despite continued increasing cooperation with its neighbors, Brazil’s expansive territory and borders make effective border control and enforcement in the vast Amazonian region a serious challenge. Seizure and arrest statistics show 2007 to have been a productive year for Brazilian Federal Police in their fight against drug trafficking organizations. To build on this success, the GOB should give priority to augmenting Brazilian law enforcement presence at key border sites, and cooperation and coordination between the DPF and State police forces must be fostered. In early 2007, the USG conducted a comprehensive review of USG counternarcotics and law enforcement assistance to Brazil to ensure the priorities of both countries are being properly addressed. The GOB and USG subsequently agreed to implement programs designed to control the movement of drugs, illegal currency, and other narcotics-related contraband through Brazil’s seaports and major airports. We foresee positive results in 2008 if Brazil continues its active cooperation in SIU-generated bilateral and regional operations, prioritizes the implementation of a strategy for combating money laundering and fosters closer working relationships among federal, state and local law enforcement institutions.

Chile

I. Summary

II. Status of Country

Chile is a transshipment country for cocaine from the Andean region enroute to the U.S. and Europe. Cocaine hydrochloride (HCl) consumption has increased domestically, although abuse of cocaine base is more prevalent. Chile ranks second in cocaine consumption and first in marijuana consumption among South American countries, according to the United Nation’s 2007 World Drug Report. Some marijuana is cultivated in Chile but most is imported from Paraguay for use by Chilean teenagers and young adults from the upper and upper-middle classes.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007

Policy Initiatives. In 2007, Chile’s National Drug Control Commission (CONACE) undertook an evaluation of its 2003-2008 National Drug Prevention and Control Strategy to determine its effectiveness thus far and next steps towards drafting the post 2008 strategy. The GOC has also continued its informal drugcourt pilot program, similar to U.S. drug courts, in Valparaiso and Santiago.

In June 2007, Chile inaugurated a juvenile criminal justice system to address the issue of minors with drug addictions who commit crimes. Under the new system, CONACE must provide 900 slots in rehabilitation centers for young offenders (post-conviction or as part of “conditional suspension”) to receive treatment while, or instead of, serving their sentence.

Feedback in 2007 regarding Chile’s newly instituted adversarial judicial system, which is based on oral trials, suggests that there is greater public trust in the new system, and faster resolution of cases. Challenges of training judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials on evidence collection and analysis, law enforcement techniques such as undercover operations, courtroom presentation methods, and court administration procedures remained.

Accomplishments. In 2007, Chilean authorities seized approximately 3.4 metric tons (MT) of cocaine HCL; 5.4 MT of cocaine pasta base; 5.6 MT of marijuana; 134,297 individual marijuana plants; 8.16 kg of heroin; 118,647 units of illegal pharmaceutical drugs; 3,794 units of ecstasy; and 64 dosage units of LSD – an increase in all categories over 2006 levels. The largest, single cocaine seizure in 2007 was 454 kilograms.

Law Enforcement Efforts. The Carabineros de Chile and the Policia de Investigaciones (PICH) are widely considered competent and professional law enforcement organizations. In 2007, they cooperated to undertake proactive enforcement initiatives to address domestic distribution sources of cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy, including purchasing fixed-wing aircraft to combat drug trafficking along the northern border.

The Arica-based narcotics task force, comprised of members of the PICH, Chile’s Customs Service, DIRECTEMAR (Coast Guard branch of Chilean Navy) and the Gendarmaria de Chile (Bureau of Prisons) became fully operational in 2007 and is helping develop and share intelligence on drug trafficking groups attempting to transship cocaine from Bolivia and Peru via Chile’s northern maritime ports.

Corruption. As a matter of policy, no senior GOC official or the GOC, encourages or facilitates the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. Narcotics-related corruption among police officers and other government officials is not considered a major problem in Chile, and no current Chilean senior officials have been accused of engaging in such activities. In cases where police are discovered to be involved in drug trafficking or protecting traffickers, simultaneous termination and initiation of an investigation are immediate. In its 2007 Annual Corruption Perception Index Survey, Chile was ranked the least corrupt country in Latin America by Transparency International and ranked behind only Canada and the United States as the third least corrupt country in the Americas.

Agreements and Treaties. Chile is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Chile is also a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against trafficking in person and migrant smuggling, and the UN Convention Against Corruption. The 1900 U.S.-Chile Extradition Treaty is currently in force. (Note: This was signed in 1900 and entered into force in 1902.) In October 2007, a USG and Chilean delegation met to negotiate a new treaty and will continue to develop a final text for 2008. While the U.S. and Chile do not have a bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT), both countries are parties to the Organization of American States’ 1992 Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, which facilitates mutual legal assistance.

Cultivation/Production. Chile produces a small amount of marijuana that is consumed domestically. Local authorities detected a rise in locally cultivated (indoor/outdoor) marijuana in 2007, and have seized increased quantities in Valparaiso and the central regions.

Drug Flow/Transit. Narcotics transit Chile overland from Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, and are sent to the U.S. and Europe via maritime routes. Cocaine traffickers have begun to move Peruvian cocaine to Bolivia and then into Chile to avoid the Peru/Chile border. Recent seizures provide evidence that Colombian drug trafficking organizations are also utilizing overland transportation routes to ship their cocaine through Chile. Though much of Bolivia’s cocaine is shipped to Brazil, a smaller amount is smuggled into Chile. The treaty signed after the War of the Pacific hampers efforts to intercept illegal narcotics by allowing cargo originating in Peru and Bolivia to pass through Chile and out of the ports in Arica, Iquique, and Antofagasta without Chilean inspection.

Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. Recognizing the need to increase drug prevention programs in private schools and universities, beginning in July 2007, the GOC included coverage for drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs for youth in the National Healthcare System. Additionally, CONACE runs a variety of community, family and youth programs, including prevention-oriented artistic programs, sports programs, youth employment programs, and programs using the internet, such as an “on-line brigade” against the use of drugs.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

Policy Initiatives. U.S. support to Chile in 2007 focused on four priority areas: 1) training for prosecutors, police, judges, and public defenders in their roles in the new criminal justice system; 2) enhanced police investigation capabilities; 3) police intelligence-gathering capability; and 4) combating money laundering.

Bilateral Cooperation. USG initiatives in 2007 included: an International Visitor Program for a Chilean drug prosecutor and a Chilean drug police official; money laundering training for 25 police officers, prosecutors, Chile’s Financial Intelligence Unit, and other agencies; a seminar for 15 police officers on the use of computers to detect and investigate drug trafficking; and technical assistance in community policing and identifying patterns behind crimes; and maritime law enforcement and port security training to DIRECTEMAR.

DEA offices in Santiago, La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Lima, Buenos Aires, and Asuncion continued to support an Officer Exchange Program among their respective host nation counterparts in 2007. Additionally, in October, DEA conducted training for PICH anti-narcotics investigators, CONACE, and prosecutors. The training was designed to promote awareness of current issues in drug abuse, narcotics trafficking and money laundering in the region. DEA agents in Chile and Bolivia also conducted a one-week Police Tactics course in Arica in October 2007.

The Road Ahead. In 2008, the USG plans to continue support for Chilean efforts to combat narcotics-related problems and will continue to emphasize the importance of interagency cooperation to better confront drug trafficking in Chile, including support to the Northern Border Task Force. The GOC plans to continue building the capacity of its law enforcement units and criminal justice system to prosecute transnational crimes. The GOC also plans to carry out its new security strategy, which will promote greater law enforcement agency collaboration and cooperation. The USG plans to support these efforts with training for police and prosecutors on undercover operations, surveillance, and continued tactical training. Additionally, there are long-term plans to conduct additional training in money laundering for police, prosecutors and judges.

Colombia

I. Summary

The Government of the Republic of Colombia (GOC) is committed to fighting the production and trafficking of illicit drugs, yet Colombia remains a major drug producing country. In 2007, the GOC continued its aggressive interdiction and eradication programs, seizing over 126 metric tons (MT) of cocaine and cocaine base, and maintained its strong record of extraditing persons charged with crimes in the U.S. Almost 220,000 hectares of illicit coca crops were eradicated, over 153,000 hectares by the Colombian National Police (CNP) Anti-Narcotics Directorate (DIRAN), and over 66,000 hectares by manual eradication efforts. Colombia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

II. Status of Country

Colombia is the principal supplier of cocaine to the world, with the majority going to the U.S, but a growing percentage now destined for Europe and Brazil. Almost 90 percent of the cocaine entering the U.S. comes from Colombia’s coca fields, and the country remains the primary source of heroin used east of the Mississippi River. Colombia is a leading market for precursor chemicals, and the focus of significant money laundering activity. Narcotraffickers exploit Colombia’s geography and well-developed infrastructure, including ports on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, multiple international airports, a growing highway system, and extensive rivers for their operations. While illegal drugs are still primarily exported, domestic consumption is on the rise in Colombia. Multiple demand reduction programs exist in large municipalities, but a sufficiently coordinated national demand reduction strategy remains lacking.

The U.S. has designated three illegal armed groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) in Colombia. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and, to a lesser extent, the National Liberation Army (ELN) exercise considerable influence over areas with high concentrations of coca and opium poppy cultivation, and their involvement in narcotics is a major source of violence and terrorism. A third FTO, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), has largely demobilized and no longer exists as a coherent organization. Nevertheless, a significant number of former mid-level AUC commanders continue their involvement in the drug trade, with the Organization of American States (OAS) warning in late 2007 that new criminal groups were emerging in areas of former AUC influence.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007

Policy Initiatives. The GOC has taken action to improve criminal justice proceedings in order to increase its capability to prosecute criminals, including drug traffickers. Colombia’s transition to an accusatorial system of criminal justice was completed on January 1, 2008, when 11 cities of the Caribbean, Pacific and eastern plains joined the rest of the nation in using new procedures for oral trials. Although many cases already initiated must be adjudicated under the old system, the new system has allowed criminal cases to be resolved in months instead of years, and conviction rates have risen from less than three percent to over sixty percent under the new system.

Colombia’s manual eradication program expanded by over 50 percent in 2007, resulting in the eradication of more than 66,000 hectares of illicit coca crops. The Colombian National Police (CNP) and Colombian Army (COLAR) both manually eradicated illicit crops and their role in providing security grew as operations expanded. Fatalities during manual eradication decreased 60 percent from 2006, to 16 security force personnel and civilian eradicators.

The Colombian Anti-Narcotics Police (DIRAN) continued supporting a special judicial police unit, established in 2006, that gathers evidence for asset forfeiture proceedings against property owners who use their land for the cultivation or processing of illegal crops. In 2007, this unit developed and investigated cases for the Prosecutor General’s Office. This asset seizure initiative is a crucial step towards more effective deterrence of cultivation and replanting after eradication.

The Colombian Congress also passed legislation in 2007 to improve the effectiveness of the National Directorate of Dangerous Drugs (DNE), which is responsible for administering seized and forfeited criminal assets, mainly narcotics-related. The new legislation allows the DNE to sell seized property prior to forfeiture, thereby eliminating high storage and maintenance costs associated with certain types of property, suspend tax payments on non-performing seized properties, and use more of the forfeited funds to pay operational costs. This legislation is complemented by regulations adopted in October 2007 by the Prosecutor General that place greater emphasis on seizing assets that will yield a positive net value upon final forfeiture. The Office of the Prosecutor General handles the legal process for the seizure and forfeiture of narcotraffickers’ assets and works in coordination with the DNE.

These legislative changes, together with a 2004 law that allows for criminal assets to be prosecuted separately from the defendant, have resulted in significant increases in the amount, variety, and value of criminal property subject to seizure and forfeiture in Colombia. By some estimates, the value of assets seized just in 2007 may exceed $1 billion. While the management of these seizures has grown in complexity, the recent legislative and regulatory changes are expected to improve the GOC’s ability to properly handle criminal assets and to benefit from their forfeiture.

Law Enforcement Efforts. In 2007, the GOC seized 130.7 MT of cocaine and 350,000 gallons of precursor chemicals while destroying 240 cocaine hydrochloride (HCL) labs and 2,875 coca base labs. CNP’s Mobile Rural Police Squadrons (Carabineros), the unit charged with expanding and maintaining police presence in areas of conflict and throughout Colombia’s national territory, captured 76 narcotics traffickers, 190 FARC and ELN guerrillas, 73 former AUC members, and 1,116 criminal group members in 2007. The GOC reorganized the 68 Carabinero squadrons during the year from 150 to 120 man units to facilitate rapid deployment and increase government presence around the country.

DIRAN’s Jungle Commandos (Junglas), or airmobile units, remained the CNP’s main interdiction force, largely responsible for the high number of HCL and coca base labs destroyed in 2007. DIRAN also displayed its strong commitment to working with international partners in 2007 by sending a two man assessment team to the Ecuadorian Antinarcotics Police Training Center to help develop instructional programs while aiding U.S. efforts in Afghanistan by deploying two guest instructors to work with the Afghan Narcotics Interdiction Unit (NIU) in Kabul.

The CNP’s Heroin Task Force concluded numerous priority target heroin investigations resulting in 182 arrests in Colombia, 48 as a result of petitions for extradition to the U.S. Based on evidence gathered, it was determined that these heroin trafficking organizations were responsible for shipping and distributing at least 3 MT of heroin per year to the U.S.

Port Security. With USG support, the GOC and private seaport operators improved port security, leading to increased drug seizures in Colombia’s ports. In 2007, more than 19 MT of cocaine, 6 kilos of heroin, almost 3 MT of marijuana, and more than 5 MT of chemical precursors were seized by DIRAN in the ports while 46 persons were arrested for narcotics trafficking. At Colombia’s international airports, DIRAN units confiscated 16 kilos of heroin, 300 kilos of cocaine, almost 300 kilos of marijuana, and made over 30 drug-related arrests.

High-Value Targets (HVTs). The GOC achieved significant success against the FARC leadership in 2007. Over a dozen mid-to-high level FARC commanders were killed or apprehended, including FARC 37^th Front leader Gustavo Rueda Díaz, alias ‘Martin Caballero,’ 42^nd Front leader Ernesto Orjuela Tovar, alias ‘Giovanni Rodriguez,’ and 16^th Front leader, Tomas Molina Caracas, alias ‘Negro Acacio.’ Molina Caracas was considered a Consolidated Priority Organization Target (CPOT) by the USG and was one of 50 FARC commanders indicted in the U.S. in March 2006 for allegedly running the country’s largest cocaine smuggling organization.

The CNP worked with U.S. agencies throughout the year to pursue AUC leaders who refused to completely demobilize. In 2007, the CNP arrested AUC leader Hebert Veloza Garcia, alias ‘HH,’ who was under indictment in the U.S. and is now pending extradition. Former AUC Catatumbo Block leader Salvatore Mancuso Gomez, alias ‘Triple Cero,’ and three others were arrested for money laundering by CNP officers despite having already demobilized under the Justice and Peace Law. In August 2007, based on a CNP and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation, President Uribe set into motion the eventual expulsion from the Justice and Peace Process of former AUC leader Carlos Mario Jimenez Naranjo, alias ‘Macaco.’ The investigation led to Colombian authorities seizing properties linked to Jimenez and former AUC compatriot Vincente Castano, alias ‘El Profe,’ estimated to be worth more than $75 million. The CNP also executed approximately 58 seizure warrants throughout Colombia on businesses owned or controlled by known AUC money launderer Giorgio Sale valued at $36 million dollars.

Several notorious drug cartel leaders were apprehended, including FBI Top Ten Fugitive Diego Leon Montoya Sanchez, alias ‘Don Diego,’ of the Norte de Valle cartel by a Colombian Army elite unit in September 2007. The arrest of Montoya Sanchez followed the January 2007 capture of his younger brother, Eugenio Montoya Sanchez. The CNP provided assistance to Brazilian and U.S. authorities in the arrest of Norte de Valle kingpin Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia, alias ‘El Chupeta,’ outside Sao Paolo, Brazil in July 2007. The arrest was preceded by the seizure of $90 million in cash and gold bars in five houses in Cali, Colombia, and the freezing of over $700 million in luxury assets and real property. In June 2007 the GOC arrested Guatemalan national trafficker and fugitive Otto Herrera Garcia.

Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance. While there is no bilateral Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in force between the USG and Colombia, the two countries cooperate extensively via multilateral agreements and conventions, including the OAS Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance and the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

The GOC extradited a record 164 defendants in 2007, including Luis Gomez-Bustamante, alias ‘Rasguno,’ Aldemar Rendon Ramirez, Hernan Prada-Cortes, Juan Manuel Bernal-Palacios, and CPOT Ricardo Mauricio Bernal-Palacios. In addition, the GOC extradited AUC leader Hector Rodriguez. Overall, since December 1987, when Colombia revised its domestic law to permit the extradition of Colombian nationals, 647 individuals have been extradited to the United States, 581 since President Uribe assumed office in 2002.

Also in 2007, the Colombian Office of the Prosecutor General, along with other GOC agencies assisted the USG in several high profile prosecutions and trials. Two previously extradited FARC leaders were convicted in separate trials in United States courts, Juvenal Ovidio Ricardo Palmera-Pineda, alias ‘Simon Trinidad,’ a senior FARC commander, and Anayibe Rojas-Valderrama, alias ‘Sonia,’ a FARC 14^th Front Finance Officer. Other previously extradited criminal organization leaders were convicted in U.S. courts, including Joaquin Mario Valencia-Trujillo, convicted in the Middle District of Florida and sentenced to a 40 year prison term, and Manuel Felipe Salazar-Espinosa, alias ‘Hoover,’ convicted in the Southern District of New York.

Demobilization. To facilitate the dismantlement of the FTOs and help reintegrate former guerillas into civilian life, Colombia developed two programs for demobilization: collective and individual. Under the 2005 Justice and Peace law, the High Commissioner for Peace oversees peace negotiations with armed groups and the subsequent collective demobilization program, which while available to all FTOs has to date been applied only to the AUC. The Ministry of Defense manages the individual demobilization or deserter program that applies to the FTOs and any other illegal armed group in Colombia. Between 2002 and 2007, the GOC estimates that more than 45,000 persons have demobilized—14,000 under individual desertion program and over 31,000 under the collective program. In 2007, a record 2,826 guerrilla fighters deserted from the FARC, representing a desertion rate 50 percent above 2006 levels.

Beginning in October 2007, the GOC decided not to accept additional AUC members into either demobilization program. Following this decision, any AUC members who turn themselves in will now be investigated and prosecuted under normal Colombian law and can no longer benefit from the Justice and Peace law.

Corruption. As a matter of policy, the GOC does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. According to Transparency International and the World Bank, Colombia has made significant improvements in fighting corruption.

Concerns remain over the corrupt influences of criminal organizations. On August 31, the CNP arrested 50 alleged members of the emerging narco-trafficking gang “Los 40,” including 18 active duty police, two members of the Colombian Directorate of Administrative Security (DAS), a Colombian marine, and a member of the Prosecutor General’s investigative unit (CTI). The breakup of “Los 40” followed revelations of infiltrations of the Colombian Army by drug cartels and the FARC, which were subsequently discovered and broken up. From June through August, the GOC arrested about a dozen public forces members and suspended more than 20 pending further investigation of possible involvement with the Norte de Valle drug cartel.

Separately, several members of the GOC were found to have supported right-wing paramilitary groups. Called the “parapolitical” scandal, one congressman and two governors have been sentenced while two former mayors remain fugitives. Aggressive investigations on the part of the GOC have led to additional cases against 53 Congressmen, 19 mayors, and 10 governors. Both the USG supported Supreme Court investigative unit and a special unit of 11 investigators from the Prosecutor General’s office are continuing their investigations.

Colombia is party to both the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption and the UN Convention against Corruption.

Agreements and Treaties. The GOC is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the OAS Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the Protocol on Trafficking in Persons. Colombia signed bilateral counternarcotics agreements with the governments of Spain and Russia in 2006. These agreements primarily focus on information sharing, but could include training and technical assistance. The GOC’s 2003 National Security Strategy (Plan de Seguridad Democratica) meets the strategic requirements of the UN Drug Convention, and the GOC is generally in line with its other requirements.

The GOC and the USG continue to successfully use the Maritime Ship Boarding Agreement signed in 1997. This highly successful arrangement provides faster approval to board Colombian-flagged ships in international waters and has improved counternarcotics cooperation between the Colombian Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). In 2007, the USCG removed almost 16 MT of cocaine from Colombian flagged fishing vessels under this agreement, including the seizure of a ship smuggling almost 8 MT of liquid cocaine. The 1999 Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement provides a basis for the exchange of information to prevent, investigate, and repress any offense against the customs laws of the U.S. or Colombia. In 2004, Colombia and the U.S. signed a revised agreement establishing the Bilateral Narcotics Control Program, which provides the framework for specific counternarcotics project agreements with the various Colombian implementing agencies. This agreement has been amended annually and is the vehicle for the bulk of U.S. counternarcotics assistance.

Cultivation/Production. In 2006, the USG increased the survey area of its Colombia coca estimate by 19 percent over the 2005 survey area (2007 survey estimates will not be available until mid-2008). This resulted in the identification of an additional 13,200 hectares of coca, representing a 9 percent increase in the U.S. cultivation estimate from 144,000 to 157,200 hectares. Illicit cultivation continues to be a problem in Colombia’s national parks, indigenous reserves, and along the border with Ecuador and Venezuela, where aerial eradication is not employed. Aerial spraying is currently not undertaken within 10 kilometers of international borders. Even though manual eradication does occur in these areas, it is time-consuming and dangerous, due to often rugged and remote terrain and the strategic importance of the border and certain parklands to the FARC. Colombia’s potential pure cocaine production was estimated at 610 MT for 2006.

For 2006, Colombian opium poppy cultivation was estimated at 2,400 hectares, remaining near the lowest levels since surveys began in 1996, though up slightly over the 2004 estimate of 2,100 hectares (the USG did not make an estimate for 2005). The GOC eradicated 375 hectares of opium poppy, down from 1,929 hectares eradicated in 2006. Since 2001, when cultivation peaked, sustained eradication efforts have left no plantation sized opium poppy cultivations in Colombia. The Colombian potential pure heroin production for 2006 was estimated at 4.6 MT, reflecting the slightly higher cultivation figure. While the majority of heroin in the U.S. east of the Mississippi still originates in Colombia, seizures continue to show a decline in wholesale purity, from 84.5 percent in 2001 to 62 percent in 2006, according to the DEA Heroin Signature Program.

While Colombian drug trafficking organizations profit from the illicit trafficking of ephedrine, a key ingredient in decongestant medication, there is little evidence that the traffickers are using the substance as a chemical precursor in large scale methamphetamine production. Ephedrine seizures in Colombia increased significantly in 2007 to about 2 milliontablets, although this was likely related to increased law enforcement focus instead of greater availability. High profit margins, established drug trafficking routes, and high methamphetamine demand in the United States remain areas of concern. There have been minor seizures of ecstasy in Colombia, but no indication of significant production or export.

Environmental Safeguards. Biannual verification missions, in which soil and water samples are taken before and after spray of herbicide for analysis, continue to show that aerial eradication causes no significant damage to the environment or human health. Residues in these samples have never reached a level outside the established norms. The aerial spray program follows strict environmental safeguards, monitored permanently by several GOC agencies, and adheres to all GOC laws and regulations, including the Colombian Environmental Management Plan. The OAS, which published a study in 2005 positively assessing the chemicals and methodologies used in the aerial spray program, is currently conducting further investigations to be completed in early 2008 regarding spray drift and other relevant issues.

As of October 2007, the GOC had received 7,388 complaints alleging damage to legal crops by spray planes since the tracking of complaints began in 2001. The GOC has concluded the investigation of 6,472 complaints, with 1,598 processed in 2007. Fifty-eight complaints have been found to be valid since 2001, and the USG paid $325,000 in compensation to farmers. The GOC investigates all claims of human health damage alleged to have been caused by aerial spraying. Since spraying began, the Colombian National Institute of Health has not verified a single case of adverse human health effects linked to aerial spraying.

Drug Flow/Transit. From the Colombian source zone in the mainly southern reaches of the country, shipments of cocaine and heroin are transported by road, river, and small civilian aircraft to the transit zone north and west of the Andes Mountains. Estimates indicate that up to 40 percent of the cocaine leaving Colombia goes through the complex river network in the south-central region to the south-western coastal shore, mainly in shallow draft boats. There, the narcotics are readied for bulk maritime shipment in go-fast boats and, increasingly, commercial fishing vessels. Small aircraft from clandestine airstrips in eastern and southeastern Colombia are also used to transit drugs to neighboring countries, where it is either consumed there or transferred to airplanes or maritime vessels for onward shipment.

Heroin shipments also originate from the south-western coast, mainly around the Pacific port of Buenaventura, and are commonly transported in containerized cargo concealed in furniture, machine parts, and other items. Less frequently the shipments are combined with cocaine on go-fast boats shipped from the north coast. Heroin is also often concealed in the lining of clothing or luggage, although human carriers (called mules) still swallow heroin wrapped in latex.

An often permissive and corrupt environment has prompted traffickers to increasingly use Venezuela to stage shipments of illicit drugs to Mexico, the Caribbean, the U.S., Europe, and Africa. The Air Bridge Denial program in particular has forced traffickers using small aircraft to shift routes, with more air smuggling now involving short-hop flights to and from Venezuela, resulting in a marked increase in suspect and known illegal flights from Venezuela to Caribbean transshipment points, particularly Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The number of suspected non-commercial flights in Venezuela carrying mostly Colombian cocaine has increased from 61 in 2002 to an estimated 185 flights in 2007.

Demand Reduction. The GOC has been developing a national demand reduction strategy since 2004, but it has not yet been presented to the GOC’s National Council on Dangerous Drugs. With USG, UNODC and OAS support, the Ministry of Social Protection and the National Directorate of Dangerous Drugs (DNE) are now preparing to conduct a comprehensive national drug use survey in early 2008. Numerous private entities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) work in the area of drug prevention throughout Colombia, and DIRAN has an active Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program.

The USG continues to support several Colombian and international NGO programs targeted at keeping children drug-free by focusing on school-based drug prevention programs. In 2007, the USG sponsored two drug demand reduction seminars and participated in several drug prevention events, including an event on Best Practices for the Prevention of Drug Usage, organized by the NGO “Mentor Colombia,” and a seminar on Evidence-Based Prevention organized by several NGOs.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

The USG and GOC continue to work on strategies to maximize the use of eradication resources. Working closely with President Uribe’s “Program against Illicit Crops,” the CNP, COLAR, and the USG have developed coordinated strategies and plans for aerial and manual eradication. In 2008, combined eradication operations are planned for all major coca-growing areas. COLAR’s CounterDrug (CD) Brigade has also been more actively involved in supporting operations to protect spray aircraft. By sharing targeting information and coordinating movements, aerial and manual missions aim to break the cycle of replanting, which to date has allowed grower-processors to continue production during periods when no eradication was taking place in the area.

The USG continued to support the Air Bridge Denial (ABD) program, which has completed its fourth year of operations. The ABD program is responsible for the significant decrease in illegal flights over Colombia, from 637 suspected and known illegal flights over Colombia in 2003 to only 171 in 2007, a decrease of more than 73 percent. The program had six law enforcement actions in 2007, resulting in the capture of one aircraft, two boats and two vehicles, the seizure of 1.2 MT of cocaine, the destruction of an estimated two MT of cocaine, and seven arrests.

Nationalization, or the effort to transfer funding and operational responsibilities for counternarcotics programs from the USG to the GOC, increased momentum in 2007. In November 2007, the USG transferred nine helicopters to the GOC involved in the Infrastructure Security Strategy program. Additionally, the USG removed five KMAX helicopters from program support in 2007. In 2008, the USG will begin transferring the Air Bridge Denial program to the GOC, with completion planned by late 2009.

Nationalization also extends to fleet rationalization, which involves consolidating available types of aircraft and maintenance functions to simplify operations. In early 2008, three additional AT-802 aircraft will be delivered, allowing the USG to retire two other models of aircraft and leave just one model for the GOC to support for aerial eradication. The CNP will also begin assuming maintenance funding for a number of aircraft to which it already holds title. DIRAN’s aviation unit (ARAVI) will train more pilots and mechanics within Colombia, eliminating the need and expense of contracting pilots and mechanics to service the unit’s 18 fixed-wing and 58 rotary-wing aircraft.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) provided training, coordination, and technical assistance to CNP units stationed in the ports and airports. This included training in areas such as passenger documentation analysis, firearms handling, and the inspection of containerized cargo. The USCBP also supported the private sector-led Business Alliance for Secure Commerce (BASC) program, which drew hundreds of Colombian companies. The USCBP led Container Security Initiative (CSI), implemented in September 2007 as a counterterrorism program designed to prevent weapons of mass destruction from being sent to the U.S. is also expected to assist narcotics control efforts.

Throughout 2007 the USCG worked to improve interdiction operations with the Colombian Navy through equipment transfers and training. In October 2007, the USG transferred the ex-USCG Cutter GENTIAN to the Colombian Navy, where it will be used as a support vessel to extend the operational range of smaller Navy platforms. Training activities focused on leadership, crisis management, port security, counterterrorism, contingency planning, and search and rescue. Closer collaboration helped establish the Trilateral Counter Drug Summit, an interdiction forum involving maritime officers, investigators and prosecutors from Colombia, Ecuador and the U.S. The first Summit, held in February 2007 by the Colombian Navy, focused on ways to improve interdiction of traffickers at sea, interdiction practices, and investigative and prosecution initiatives.

The USG-supported Culture of Lawfulness program, designed to promote respect for the rule of law and civic responsibility, was formalized as a course in 2007 in both GOC officer basic training programs and patrol cadet academies. By the beginning of 2008, there will be approximately 41,000 students taking a 60-hour course taught by more than 782 teachers in 15 municipalities.

Alternative Development. Joint USG and GOC efforts are encouraging farmers to abandon the production of illicit crops in roughly one-third of the country that covers about 80 percent of Colombia’s population. USG programs have supported the cultivation of over 158,000 hectares of legal crops and completed 1,179 social and productive infrastructure projects in the last six years. More than 135,000 families in 17 departments have benefited from these programs. In addition, to ensure that Colombians are provided with alternatives, the USG has worked with Colombia’s private sector to create an additional 109,728 full-time equivalent jobs.

Support for Democracy and Judicial Reform. Through the Justice Sector Reform Program (JSRP) and rule of law assistance, the USG is helping reform and strengthen the criminal justice system in Colombia. The transition to an oral accusatory criminal justice system began in 2005, and was fully implemented throughout the country on Jan 1, 2008. The JSRP has provided training and technical assistance to support the new roles of judges, prosecutors, and police investigators by focusing on practical “hands on” training including crime scene and courtroom simulations. Training elements include the collection and presentation of evidence, understanding the stages of the proceedings, advocacy techniques, and mock trials. The program has provided accusatorial system training to more than 64 thousand prosecutors, judges, criminal investigators, and forensic experts.

Military Justice. With USG support, the GOC is implementing an aggressive plan to train and educate military attorneys, judges, officers, and commanders in international human rights law, rules of engagement sensitive to civilian casualties, extrajudicial killings, effective judicial procedures, and government ethics. These efforts included six conferences at strategic “centers of gravity” locations throughout Colombia that trained over 400 Colombian military participants. Key GOC leadership attended and spoke at these events, including the Minister of Defense. The training emphasized the importance of human rights norms, effective operational law standards, professionalism in judicial conduct, and values-based ethical behavior.

The Road Ahead. In 2008, the GOC will look to build on the success of the many HVTs captured and extradited to the U.S. by continuing to dismantle the FTOs and illegal armed groups that run the drug trade in Colombia. As these groups are dismantled, challenges remain in finding and derailing the smaller and less organized successors that have started to fill the power vacuum. Nationalization of counternarcotics funding and operations currently supported by the USG, while maintaining successful operational results, will remain a top priority. Other challenges for 2008 include successfully coordinating aerial and manual eradication efforts, while adjusting the strategy to inhibit the rapid replanting of coca and increased illicit cultivation in no-spray zones. To consolidate the progress from 2007 and prior years, the GOC will continue to strengthen government presence in conflict areas while improving institutional capacity to provide services and economic opportunities. This will require continued GOC efforts to gain control of the vast Pacific coastal zones, demobilize and reintegrate ex-combatants, and advance reconciliation and victim reparations processes.

V. Statistical Table

Ecuador

I. Summary

Ecuado