| International Narcotics and Law Enforcement: FY 2005 Budget Justification -Report Home Page Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs April 2004 Andean Counterdrug Initiative
Bolivia
Budget Summary ($000)
FY 2003 Actual FY 2004 Estimated FY 2005 Request
Program Objectives and Measures of Effectiveness INTERDICTION/ERADICATION The production and export of coca and cocaine products from Bolivia is significantly reduced through eradication of illicit coca, increased interdiction, and the more robust economic growth in the Chapare and the Yungas regions.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT In the face of opposition from entrenched cocaleros, programs are designed to establish strong economic and social systems that provide incentives and alternatives to the production and consumption of illicit drugs.
STABILIZATION
CRIMINAL JUSTICE The Government of Bolivia (GOB) develops stronger, more effective democratic judicial and law enforcement institutions capable of disrupting criminal organizations and the narcotics production and trafficking in Bolivia.
Program Justification Bolivia remains the world’s third largest producer of cocaine. Although a continuing, strong, forced eradication program reduced the area of coca cultivation in the once infamous Chapare valley by 15% in 2003, there was an increase of 26% in Yungas plantings, which resulted in an increase of 17% in overall cultivation. Although only 4,050 hectares, this increase, left unchecked, could lead to Bolivia’s return to the high levels of production that were the hallmark of the mid-1990s. Recently, Bolivia has become an increasingly important transshipment zone for Peruvian cocaine en route to Brazil and other Southern Cone countries. Even with USG-supported enhancement and growth of the GOB’s interdiction forces, large areas of the country, particularly in the Chapare, northern Beni-Pando region and along waterways and borders, are not sufficiently covered. Vital to the control of excess and illicit coca cultivation in the Yungas will be an enhanced interdiction capability and a total revamping of the General Directorate for the Legal Trade of Coca (DIGECO, the governing body charged with regulating the sale of licit coca used by the indigenous population). In October 2003, the Carlos Mesa government was inaugurated following the resignation of President Sanchez de Lozada, which was provoked by massive social/political protests in Bolivia. It faces critical challenges from a strong, radical and often violent opposition, a portion of which is led by militant cocalero leader Evo Morales, who wants to stop coca eradication and alternative development projects. Although the new administration has remained committed to long-standing GOB CN policies, FY 2005 could bring significant reversals in Bolivia’s counternarcotics achievements if the GOB yields to pressures to make major concessions to coca farmer organizations. The FY 2005 budget request reflects a level of support needed to strengthen counternarcotics operations in the Chapare and the Yungas regions and in the border areas that are the crossing points for smuggling drugs and precursor chemicals. Increased violence -- directed against eradication, interdiction, and alternative development personnel and projects in the Chapare and Yungas in 2003 -- highlights the need to increase manpower and resources in these volatile regions. The most urgent funding need is to upgrade Bolivia’s aging 16 Huey 1H helicopters. 2005 country funding and airwing funding will not cover this need. This will necessitate reprogramming of funding for some long-standing NAS Bolivia programs in order to begin upgrading of at least three helicopters to ensure operational continuity and accident-prevention. Bolivia remains one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere with a per capita GNP of less than $1,000. Recent economic and fiscal reversals have left the government in one of its worst fiscal situations in recent years, with no viable options for improvement in the near to mid future. Without solid USG assistance, Bolivia will be unable to continue counternarcotics and alternative development programs. Program Accomplishments Bolivia continues to keep up an effective forced eradication program in the Chapare, and eliminated approximately 10,000 hectares of coca during 2003. The Special Drug Police (FELCN) and its operational units grew by 15% during 2003 (from 1,700 personnel in 2002 to 1,953 in 2003). FELCN continued its multi-year base construction plan, adding 3 large new bases in Guayaramerin, Riberalta and Yucumo, and expanding 10 other bases and offices throughout the country. Without counting Yucumo, NAS engineers completed a total of 32 construction projects during 2003. The two largest projects during 2004 will be a large CN police base in Locotal and expanded facilities at the Garras CN training school (both in Cochabamba department). During 2003, a major record-setting year, the GOB seized 101.5-metric tons (mt) of illicit coca leaf, 12.7-mt of cocaine (5.9-mt of HCl plus 6.8-mt of base), 8.5-mt of cannabis, 537,454 liters of liquid precursor chemicals and 536.8-mt of solid precursor chemicals, in addition to destroying 1,420 cocaine labs and making 3,823 drug arrests. These figures represent a 153 % increase in total cocaine seizures compared to 2002; a 259% increase in seizures of solid precursor chemicals; a 127 % increase in seizures of liquid precursors; a 25% increase in base labs destroyed; and an 18% increase in persons detained. The Yungas is now the largest coca growing area in Bolivia, where topography and history argue against replicating the successful Chapare forced eradication strategy. The challenge will be to implement interdiction mechanisms to limit illicit coca cultivation in the Yungas and prevent traditional coca from diversion to cocaine production. In response to increasing demands from Chapare farmers who had all of their coca eradicated, USAID accelerated alternative development activities -- to increase business and farmer investments, improve roads, increase technology transfer, strengthen local level organizations, privatize the production and marketing of planting material, and update state-owned research facilities. With steady progress, the licit crop cultivation in the Chapare has risen to over 129,000 hectares, and since 1998 over 26,000 Chapare families have received direct technical assistance. Annual family income from licit agricultural products in the Chapare increased from $2,055 in 2001 to $2,138 in 2002. FY 2005 Program In FY 2005, INL resources will support Bolivian efforts to reduce the growth and export of coca in Bolivia, increase interdiction of essential chemicals and cocaine products, foster alternative economic development, increase successful prosecutions of narcotics related cases, and improve the quality of investigations into alleged narco-related human rights violations. Counternarcotics alternative development support is conditioned on the elimination of illegal coca through forcible means (in the Chapare where all coca is illegal) and voluntary agreements (in the Yungas where Bolivian law allows up to 12,000 hectares of legal coca cultivation for traditional domestic use). There are twenty-seven counternarcotics programs in Bolivia for which INL provides funding and support. These projects can be grouped into four areas: Narcotics Law Enforcement Interdiction /Eradication Operations; Alternative Development/Economic Incentives; Institution Building/Rule of Law; and Drug Awareness/Demand Reduction. In addition, funding will also be used for Program Development and Support costs. INTERDICTION AND ERADICATION Ground Operations Support: Ground Operations projects support all non-air interdiction efforts that operate under the direction of the Vice Ministry for Social Defense. In FY 2005, INL will need to continue to assume operational mission costs to maintain the high level of interdiction for FELCN, and its subunit UMOPAR, support other CN missions, plus support the costs of maintenance for the physical infrastructure growth that occurred in recent years. There will be continued steady personnel growth for all sub-units to allow for increased coca control and interdiction efforts in the Chapare, Yungas, border areas, and principal trafficking routes. The size and effectiveness of chemical and financial investigative units will be increased as they take on broader and more complex responsibilities. The Special Intelligence and Operations Group and K-9 programs will be completing their major growth plans, and will concentrate on enhancing capacities and increasing self-sufficiency. The Office of Professional Responsibility will grow in FY 2005 to address the high level of corruption in the GOB, renewed efforts by narcotraffickers to compromise counternarcotics forces, and any allegations of human rights abuses. It will also extend its mission to cover the larger National Police Force. A recommissioned vetted and effective Seized Assets office will be completed in FY 2005, with the office moving to provide resources for CN work. The Controlled Substance Prosecutors, a branch of the Attorney General’s office that prosecutes drug crimes, will receive enhanced support in FY 2005 so more prosecutors can join counternarcotics police units in raids and arrests, as required by the new criminal procedure code. Air Operations Support: The Red Devils Task Force is comprised of Bolivian Air Force personnel who provide general aviation support for eradication and interdiction with 16 aging UH-1H helicopters, and six light fixed wing aircraft. The Black Devils Task Force, also made up of Bolivian Air Force personnel, flies three C-130B aircraft in support of counternarcotics and eradication missions. Enhanced interdiction and eradication operations will necessitate additional funding for these units in FY 2005. However, the lack of additional INL Air Wing funding to begin the required conversion of the UH-1H helicopters to Huey IIs may require cuts in funding of the key long-standing NAS Bolivia programs. This is absolutely essential so that INL can begin the critical upgrades for the helicopters in FY 2005 – and for bare-bones maintenance of existing air assets. Blue Devils Task Force: The Bolivian Navy Riverine unit patrols the country’s extensive river system to interdict drug and precursor chemical trafficking, as well as to provide intelligence and logistical support to other counternarcotics units. The repair and expansion of aging land support bases (including the riverine training school), begun in FY 2004, will be completed in FY 2005 along with replacement of antiquated equipment and modest personnel increase. Green Devils Task Force: This project provides logistical ground transportation support to Bolivia's eradication and interdiction forces through the transport of personnel, cargo, support equipment, fuel and rations. To accomplish these CN missions, FY 2005 funding will support 120 sophisticated, specialized vehicles, including 5,000 gallon fuel tankers, 5 ton tractors, 5 ton dump trucks, 2 1/2 ton trucks, 26 Homes, and an additional 20 trucks expected to arrive in 2004. An additional 30 humvees will also be added in FY 2005 due to increased eradication and interdiction operations. Eradication Operations: The Joint Eradication Task Force (JTF) consists of 1,625 military, police and civilian personnel; one-half of the force provides security for the other half, which engages in coca eradication operations. Support includes food, billeting, field equipment, transportation and fuel. The Ecological Police identify new coca and seedbeds as well as provide additional security for the JTF. The Office of Agricultural Reconversion and Coca Crop Substitution (DIRECO) have a staff of agronomists, surveyors and field agents who negotiate coca eradication agreements and supervise the destruction of coca fields. The General Directorate for the Legal Trade of Coca (DIGECO) controls the licensing, transportation, pricing and marketing for licit coca grown in the Yungas region, where the Bolivian law allows up to 12,000 hectares of coca cultivation. In FY 2005, INL expects to fund the restructuring of this previously corrupt and inefficient office, begun in FY 2002 by vetting new personnel, providing needed training and revising standard operating procedures. Field Support and Infrastructure: The Field Support and Infrastructure project provides assistance for administrative requirements of the Vice Ministry for Social Defense (which implements all GOB counternarcotics policies and programs), and the Garras School (which is the principal training center for the FELCN and has become an international CN police training center for other Latin American countries.) The Garras School is key to the success of GOB counternarcotics operations. Bolivia’s large and diverse geography requires decentralized operations. This project therefore provides operating expenses for all NAS facilities located outside of La Paz, including rents and utilities for NAS field offices, vehicles and vehicle maintenance facilities and warehouses in Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Trinidad, Chimore, and Villa Tunari. ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT/ECONOMIC INCENTIVES Alternative Development: In the Chapare, USAID will continue funding technology transfer, extension services, and grants coupled with extensive training to improve the competitiveness of fresh and processed licit products in domestic and export markets. In FY 2005, twenty associated producer organizations and businesses are expected to double their sales volume. USAID-financed local road maintenance associations will maintain a quarter of Chapare roads, critical to economic and social development. USAID will assist municipalities, strengthen participatory democracy and help ensure their annual plans respond to the needs of farm communities. At least three local producers’ organizations will "graduate" from such GOB assistance. 10,000 land titles will be delivered to farmers, and a capacity to register and maintain cadastral information will be established in some municipalities. An integrated justice center will be established to improve citizen access to justice, law enforcement, and human rights. In the Yungas USAID will fund improved infrastructure to communities that engage in coca reduction and pledge not to plant additional coca. The Yungas Development Initiative will continue efforts to increase participation. Endemic diseases like leishmaniasis and tuberculosis will be a primary focus of health activities. Continued support will be provided to university scholarship students. USAID will increase production, sales and market access for selected licit crops, including trees. It also will support the adoption of improved harvest and post-harvest technologies for coffee and tea. Low-cost forestry and agro-forestry practices will improve soil fertility, increase crop yields and promote sustainable use of forest resources. INSTITUTION BUILDING/RULE OF LAW Administration of Justice: FY 2005 funds will provide assistance in three critical areas: consolidating the transition to the new Code of Criminal Procedures and strengthening the judicial sector; implementing programs to expand access to justice and promote dispute resolution in rural areas most affected by violence and social conflict; and implementing anti-corruption programs. Prosecutors: This project will develop the ability of the Office of the Bolivian Attorney General to prosecute drug-related crimes successfully. Progress will be measured, for example, in terms of: increasing the number and efficiency of prosecutors working in the Controlled Substances Prosecutors program; and training prosecutors on the new Code of Criminal Procedures. Law Enforcement Development Program: This training project will develop the ability of Bolivian police and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute narcotics-related and other major crimes, as well as to enhance the ability of the government to attain secure borders. Office of Professional Responsibility: Here the aim is to build a robust capacity to investigate and sanction police misconduct and to promote a culture supporting ethical law enforcement and rule of law. FY 2005 funds will increase the number of investigations and formally establish a reformed Directorate of Professional Responsibility for National Police Force. Secure Border: Funding for this project will help the GOB improve effectiveness of entities that are responsible for maintaining "secure borders," including the Financial Investigations Unit within the Superintendency of Banks and the Directorate General for Migration. A special effort will be made with regard to trafficking in persons. FY 2005 funding will help the GOB develop a strategy and implementing tactics to address these inter-related issues. DRUG AWARENESS/DEMAND REDUCTION Bolivia has a relatively small problem with drug abuse, which can be attacked before it becomes a crisis. Drug Awareness and Demand Reduction projects will help prevent the local market from being further fed by Bolivian crack and cocaine, as well as help to boost the USG public image. This project will increase public understanding of domestic Bolivian drug abuse and its toll on society. The Mesa administration correctly wants to increase attention to what it accurately sees as a growing problem. PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT (PD&S) PD&S funds are used for the salaries, benefits, and allowances of direct hire and contract U.S. and foreign national personnel, residential leasing, field travel, International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) costs, and other general administrative and operating expenses for counternarcotics and anticrime program planning, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
Bolivia Brazil Budget Summary ($000)
Program Objectives and Performance Indicators Support to the Government of Brazil (GOB) will disrupt major trafficking organizations, increase interdiction activities and better control precursor chemicals by improving the capabilities of the Federal Police.
The Brazilian criminal justice system will investigate and successfully prosecute significant drug traffickers and money launderers, reduce money laundering and dismantle international criminal organizations.
Increased public awareness of the dangers of drug trafficking and drug abuse will deter the rising problem of consumption of licit drugs.
Program Justification Brazil shares its borders with Peru, Bolivia and Colombia, the three major drug source countries in the region. The sparsely populated Amazon region comprises more than one half of the country, which has long, porous borders. Brazil has a well-developed communications infrastructure and banking system that, together with major international airports and seaports, makes it a desirable transit route for illicit narcotics bound for the U.S. and European markets. These factors, coupled with increasingly successful enforcement efforts in neighboring countries, contribute to a growing drug transit problem in Brazil. The GOB has been particularly concerned about the security of the Amazon since the implementation of Plan Colombia. In response to these concerns, Brazil implemented Operation COBRA in 2000 and Operation PEBRA and VEBRA in 2003. This activity is part of an ambitious inter-agency effort that allocates greater resources to the Colombian, Peruvian, and Bolivian border area to enhance border security and illegal narcotics control. USG counternarcotics support to Brazil, which has more than doubled since FY 2000, is largely assistance for Operation COBRA/PEBRA/VEBRA and the Federal Police (PF). Program Accomplishments Recent USG counternarcotics efforts in Brazil have resulted in material improvement in the performance and operation of GOB counterdrug law enforcement agencies and the implementation of cooperative initiatives to reduce both the supply of, and the demand for, illicit drugs. In eight states of the Amazon region, the INL projects provided basic law enforcement equipment to state civil police, while continuing support for Operation COBRA, including the operation of nine forward operating bases. In addition, INL funding allowed for the start-up of Project PEBRA and Project VEBRA in September 2003. During 2003, all of Brazil’s 26 states and one federal district joined the Unified Public Safety System (SUSP), a national system to integrate diverse state civil and militarized police forces. In future years SUSP, which through the National Public Safety Secretariat receives INL funding, will assist the GOB in ensuring a unified approach to law enforcement and statistical crime and narcotics seizures reporting. In addition, during 2003 INL financing enabled the National Public Safety Secretariat and the National Anti-drug Secretariat (SENAD) to expand Drug Abuse and Resistance Education (DARE) programs to all 26 states and the federal district. Finally, with INL funding, SENAD is operating a toll-free drug information number, which provides callers with needed facts about the consequences of illicit drug use. FY 2005 Program Increased resources requested for Brazil will support projects designed to combat the continuing threat of cross-border narcotics trafficking, particularly from Colombia, consistent with the Administration’s objectives for the Andean Counter-drug Initiative. INL resources will also reinforce Brazilian efforts to combat money laundering and promote effective public awareness/demand reduction programs. Narcotics Law Enforcement: Funding for this project will be used to provide operational support and equipment to the Brazilian Federal Police to conduct more effective investigations and interdiction operations against specific international narcotics cartel leaders and their associates. In addition, the project will continue to build on training already provided by INL and other USG agencies to enhance port and airport security, and to counter narcotics trafficking activities such as arms trafficking and money laundering. Progress toward achievement of the project’s goal of enhancing operations and interdiction will be measured in terms of increased effectiveness of investigative techniques. Northern Brazil Law Enforcement: This project will continue to provide operational support to Brazil’s interagency Project COBRA, which is aimed at fortifying the northern border through riverine control linked to a tactical command center in Tabatinga. Progress towards achievement of the project’s goal of drug interdiction will be measured in terms of the deployment of material and personnel resources to operating locations in the Amazon as well as the actual performance of both these operation locations and the command center. State Security Law Enforcement: This project will assist the counternarcotics activities of the Brazilian National Public Safety Secretariat and promote improved coordination of counternarcotics activities within Brazil’s law enforcement community by providing equipment and training to Brazilian state, civil and military police forces. The project may include counternarcotics training for community-oriented police forces, and assistance in the implementation of a witness protection program. The specific goal of the project will be to enhance the effectiveness of the Brazilian state civil and militarized police in the areas of investigation, interdiction, and anti-trafficking operations, as well as to implement a formal witness protection program. Progress toward achievement of the project’s goal of enhancing operations and interdiction will be measured in terms of increased effectiveness of state police investigations. Fluvial Counternarcotics Operation Center: This project will provide the Brazilian Federal Police with riverine and maritime platforms for counterdrug surveillance and interdiction that will be integrated into the Brazilian Amazonian Surveillance System network. The Project centers on constructing and equipping of a fluvial mobile Counternarcotics center and will also provide operational support and training. The specific goal of the project will be to interdict the trafficking of illicit drugs on Brazil’s rivers and coastal waters. Progress toward that goal will be measured in terms of the number/frequency of successful interdiction operations. Drug Awareness/Demand Reduction: The recognition of the seriousness of the increase in drug use in Brazil, particularly among young people, has led to the passage of drug legislation that emphasizes demand reduction. In FY 2004 the Drug Awareness/Demand Reduction project will continue support for demand reduction programs through SENAD, focusing on drug education. The goal of this project is to increase public awareness of the drug problem in Brazil and enhance the capacity of the GOB to reduce the demand for illegal drugs. INL will seek to build public support for counternarcotics efforts by providing grants to individual state drug councils, federal and state government agencies, university educational research and treatment groups, and private organizations and youth programs. Progress will be measured in terms of the capacity of Brazilian organizations to provide effective demand reduction programs and any changes in the public’s drug consumption patterns. Program Development and Support (PD&S): PD&S funds will provide necessary resources for salaries, benefits, and allowances of U.S. and foreign national direct hire and contract personnel, field travel, International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) costs, and other general administrative and operating expenses for program planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Brazil Budget Summary ($000)
1Includes $ 93.0 million in FY 2003 Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funds (FY 2003 FOAA, PL 108-7) transferred and merged in to the ACI account to help the Colombian Military defend the Cano-Limon pipeline against sabotage by illegal armed groups. Program Objectives and Performance Indicators INTERDICTION/ERADICATON The cultivation of coca leaf and opium poppy is reduced to a minimal level.
The capability of the Government of Colombia to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations and prevent their resurgence is strengthened.
The cocaine and heroin processing industries are disrupted and the diversion of licit chemicals into illicit channels is significantly reduced.
STABILIZATION The Government of Colombia capability to establish the rule of law throughout its territory, reducing the numbers of illegal armed groups, is greatly enhanced.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Expanded alternative development projects and social and infrastructure projects increase legal economic opportunities to former small field coca growers and to vulnerable groups.
Program Justification Colombia continues to be the dominant supplier (some 90%) of cocaine sold in the U.S. and a leading supplier to European markets. Colombia is also a major source of heroin in the U.S., particularly in eastern cities. Besides being a producer of raw materials for cocaine and heroin, Colombia is a major manufacturer of refined drugs as well as the home and headquarters of major trafficking criminal and narco-terrorist organizations. INL funding supports Government of Colombia’s (GOC’s) continuing efforts to counter the huge illegal narcotics industry and the threat it poses to Colombia’s democracy and its economy (as well as that of its neighbors), and to the security, health, and well being of U.S. citizens. The funding requested in FY 2005 will build upon the successes of the Plan Colombia Supplemental of 2000 and subsequent Andean Counterdrug Initiative programs. Our specific goals are to pursue vigorous eradication and interdiction efforts that will disrupt and destroy the production and transport of drugs destined for U.S. and other markets; promote alternative development designed to provide legal, viable, economic options to farmers and others in the illegal drug trade; reestablish government control and the rule of law in conflict areas; assist in the institutionalization and professionalization of Colombian counterdrug entities to improve their effectiveness and capabilities while enhancing the respect for basic human rights; and ameliorate the suffering of citizens adversely affected by violence associated with the illegal drug trade. Program Accomplishments In 2003, the aerial eradication program improved upon the record levels of spraying accomplished in 2002. The U.S. government estimates that spraying reduced the Colombian coca crop by 21 percent in 2003 to 113,850 hectares. This is the second straight year of a double-digit coca decline in Colombia and a 33 percent reduction from the peak growing year of 2001. Aircraft sprayed 127,000 hectares of coca through the year in the face of an increasingly hostile security environment (ground fire impacts doubled in 2003). In addition, 3,830 hectares of opium poppy were eradicated in 2003 (2,821 sprayed and 1,009 hectares manually eradicated). Opium eradication built on the 25 percent reduction during 2002 and further reduced the Colombian poppy crop by more than 10 percent in 2003 to an estimated total of 4,400 hectares. Colombian interdiction programs continued to attack the heart of drug production. The Colombian Army (COLAR) Counterdrug (CD) Brigade destroyed 16 cocaine-processing laboratories and over 948 cocaine base laboratories while seizing 4.2 metric tons of cocaine. The CD Brigade also provided valuable mobile ground support for aerial eradication, an increasingly vital mission as sustained high spray levels are straining the drug industry. The Colombian National Police (CNP) Directorate of Anti-Narcotics (DIRAN) destroyed 86 cocaine-processing laboratories, over 300 cocaine base laboratories, and seized over 37 metric tons of cocaine and over 13 metric tons of coca-base. In 2003, U.S. funds assisted over1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and over1,170 ex-combatant children. The Early Warning System, created in 2001 by Plan Colombia to prevent massacres and forced displacement, issued 234 alerts that resulted in over 177 GOC responses. Twenty-eight oral trial courtrooms have been constructed with U.S. financing to support the modernization of the justice system, increase access to legal services, and help Colombia’s transition from an inquisitorial to an accusatorial system of justice. An additional eleven justice houses were completed in 2003 bringing the total number of justice houses established with USAID assistance to 33 as of September 30, 2003. These 33 justice houses have enabled the Colombian judicial system to handle an additional 1.9 million cases. Colombian extraditions to the U.S. increased 70 percent in 2003: the GOC extradited 68 fugitives (64 Colombian nationals and 4 others) to the U.S. in CY2003, compared with 40 fugitives (37 Colombian nationals and 3 others) extradited to the U.S. in CY2002. USAID-supported expanded alternative development programs initially concentrated during 2001 in the southern departments of Putumayo and Caqueta into northern and western Colombia. As of September 30, 2003, cumulative results for the alternative development program reported that over 31,000 families had been assisted, and more than 38,500 hectares of licit crops had been established. In addition, USAID assisted local community groups with construction of 630 social and productive infrastructure projects. These results were achieved in spite of formidable security threats and a lack of viable economic infrastructure in many areas. The GOC and USG plan to continue alternative development during FY 2004 and will expand upon successes achieved to date. The program will continue to work with communities to establish coca-free zones and require up-front, manual eradication of illicit crops (or agreement not to plant illicit crops) as a requirement for participation in the program. USAID assistance will support projects that create jobs for ex-coca producers and will focus on activities that increase family income, private sector partnerships, agribusiness promotion, and the development of relevant infrastructure. The program will continue to target areas both in and beyond southern Colombia where illicit crops are currently grown and where there is potential to increase legal economic activities. Through another program, INL supported the reestablishment of a Colombian National Police presence in areas of conflict. With U.S. training and equipment, the CNP established a police presence in county seats of almost every one of the 158 municipalities that lacked any public security at the start of the year. This program directly helped to markedly reduce homicides, massacres, attacks on civilian populations, and internally displaced peoples in Colombia and is key to all of our institution building and alternative development programs. FY 2005 Program Our counternarcotics programs in Colombia will build upon the historic successes of 2003 and 2004 and help President Uribe break the back of narco-terrorism in FY 2005 and consolidate the gains his Administration has made in this area. Aviation costs associated with eradication and interdiction will increase as drug cultivation is dispersed into smaller, more isolated fields. Also current assets will be used to wage an intensified battle against narcotics trafficking and terrorism. Interdiction and Eradication Colombian Army Aviation Support: This funding provides fuel, spare parts, repair and maintenance costs for the current stock of 71 helicopters (32 UH-1N’s, 14 UH-60’s, and 25 Huey II’s) that provide essential airlift capacity for operations against high value narco-terrorist targets. FY 2005 funds will also support helicopters in the infrastructure security project in Arauca. COLAR support includes training crews and providing aviation infrastructure support. The FY 2005 increase comes from the expected growth in missions, area of operations, and number of vetted units receiving U.S. support. The strategic focus will be to increase the COLAR’s ability to target high-value narco-terrorist leadership by using aggressive, smaller, more mobile units. This shift will require sustained higher levels of helicopter airlift support. Colombian Army (COLAR) Counterdrug (CD) Mobile Brigade: Funding for this project will provide ongoing logistical and operations support to the First COLAR CD Brigade in support of its mission to conduct interdiction operations against high-value narco-terrorist targets and support eradication missions. The CD Brigade was retrained and retooled so that it can expand its interdiction against high-value targets and its support of aerial eradication outside southern Colombia in 2003. That has required the purchase of additional military equipment and ammunition, as well as contributions to upgrade selected forward operating locations, general maintenance, and repair costs for this vital unit. Colombian National Police (CNP) Aviation Support: Funding for CNP Aviation Support assists CNP Air Service (ARAVI) helicopters, which serve as transport aircraft and eradication escorts, and ARAVI fixed-wing aircraft that move cargo and troops and conduct intelligence operations. It currently supports 59 rotary-wing and 23 fixed-wing ARAVI aircraft; by FY 2005 these numbers will increase to 62 and 24 respectively. Major purchases include: additional aircraft for support, transport, and intelligence gathering; operation and maintenance costs; training for CNP personnel; and upgrading existing aircraft. Funding will also be used to purchase spare parts, tools, maintenance labor, ammunition, training, communications support and aviation-related infrastructure costs. Aggressive spraying in 2003 and 2004 should offset replanting and new cultivation, and by 2005 the program should be entering a "maintenance spraying" phase. Nonetheless, field dispersal, smaller fields, and aircraft range limitations will diminish efficiency and keep eradication flight hours high. CNP Support for Eradication: Funding will provide for operations and maintenance for the current stock of eradication aircraft: spray aircraft, escort helicopters, imagery gathering aircraft, and heavy transport aircraft. These funds will purchase additional Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) and camera platform aircraft, and will also be used to buy the glyphosate and surfactant used for eradication. INL expects more dispersed cultivation, as noted above, which will raise transport costs for both fuel and herbicide. CNP Support for Interdiction: These funds support non-aviation CNP anti-narcotics directorate (DIRAN) activities, including training and equipping DIRAN's 20 operational companies and three airmobile interdiction companies (Junglas). Equipment and training will also support road interdiction operations. Funding will cover all DIRAN training costs in Colombia and in U.S. Military and commercial training institutions. It will also upgrade existing DIRAN interdiction facilities and construct new transitory facilities, especially along Colombia's eastern, southern and western zones so that DIRAN can project force into those remote, but critical areas. For the Port Security program, funding will provide equipment and training for port and police personnel plus polygraph testing. For the Airport Security program, INL will: purchase small equipment; fund operational expenses and machine maintenance costs; training costs of new anti-narcotics police assigned to the airports, and re-certification costs of canines and handlers. CNP Administrative Support: The focus here will be on new base construction, munitions and arms, upgrading of security and equipment, and establishment of interoperable communications and information systems. Program Development and Support (PD&S): PD&S funds are used for the salaries, benefits, and allowances of direct hire and contract U.S. and foreign national personnel, residential leasing, field travel, International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) costs, and other general administrative and operating expenses for counternarcotics and anticrime program planning, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Alternative Development and Institution Building The first three programs, Support for Democracy, Alternative Development, and Support to Vulnerable Groups, are carried out by USAID. Programs under the "Public Security Assistance" heading are carried out by INL and the U.S Department of Justice. Support for Democracy (USAID): These are divided into five interrelated components: protecting and promoting human rights; modernizing the criminal justice system; strengthening local governance; increasing government transparency and accountability; and supporting public and private sector peace initiatives. Project activities in 2005 will assist the GOC to establish the last two Justice Houses and the last two Oral Trial courtrooms envisioned under Plan Colombia in 2000. The Justice Houses are expected to resolve an additional 695,000 cases in 2005. Assistance will be given to offices of an additional 20 human rights or labor organizations that are targets for potential human rights abuses, and to an additional 1,000 threatened individuals. USAID will continue strengthening the Early Warning System to prevent massacres and forced displacements while promoting respect for human rights. The Peace Activities Program will continue to support the High Peace Commissioner’s office in negotiations related to potential peace settlements and, if approved, help in the reintegration of ex-combatants. Alternative Development (USAID): These funds will be used to increase legal economic opportunities for small producers of coca and poppy as an alternative to illicit cultivation. The funding will support four principal activities: licit employment and economic opportunities; private and public national and local institutions; rural infrastructure; and the management of natural resources and the environment. Projects include: introducing and promoting alternative legal crops and other economic activity in areas of illicit cultivation, developing local and international markets for these products, providing technical assistance and training to improve economic capabilities and efficiency, and building or rehabilitating roads, bridges, electric power grids, schools, health clinics, potable water and sewage systems in remote regions of the country to generate new jobs and improve access to basic services. Support to Vulnerable Groups (AID): These funds will support programs that provide economic and social opportunities to vulnerable groups, particularly internally displaced persons (IDP). USAID will assist no less than 170,000 IDPs in areas of credit, micro-enterprise, vocational training, job placement, health care, social and psychological counseling, shelter and housing, income generation, increased access to education and improved/expanded basic community infrastructure (such as water and sewage systems, centers for conflict resolution, etc.) and institutional strengthening. By providing viable employment options and improved living conditions, the program discourages families from taking up cultivation of illicit crops. Working with a municipal focus, the program runs more than 400 projects in 27 departments and 200 municipalities throughout the country. USAID will provide technical assistance to serve at least 350 former child combatants and other vulnerable children. The program is prepared to serve a vastly expanded number of children in the event there is a mass demobilization of illegal armed groups. USAID Operating Expenses: This is the annual operating expense budget for USAID/Colombia. It covers ICASS costs, general administrative and operating expenses as well as salaries, benefits and allowances for Foreign Service National (FSN) and contract employees that manage or support alternative development and related USAID activities. Promote the Rule of Law (INL AND DOJ). These funds will enhance the GOC capacity to address crime and to institutionalize the rule of law throughout its territory. The Reestablish Public Security in Conflict Zones program will expand the CNP presence in conflict zones so that the GOC can provide the social and economic benefits of democracy to all Colombians. Funds will be used to organize, train and equip follow-on municipal police units to be stationed in new areas. Funding will also be used to organize, train and equip 150-man, mobile "Carabineros" (rural police) squadrons. Equipment purchases will include field equipment, weapons and munitions, communications/command and control systems, medical supplies, force protection upgrades, vehicles, and operational logistics support. U.S. funds will also be used to construct hardened police stations in the larger municipalities to provide cover for reinserted units in particularly conflicted areas. Other rule of law programs will train and equip CNP bomb squads; assist in prison reform; support GOC counternarcotics organizations. Support for the Culture of Lawfulness program will promote long-term change in societal attitudes towards the law through school-based programs in Bogotá and Medellin and expand these programs into police and military academies. U.S. DOJ Judicial Reform Programs include support for Human Rights Units to provide training, equipment, and operational funds for existing and projected human rights investigative units as well as maintenance and expansion of the forensic system; Prosecutor/Investigator Training and Technical Assistance to train and assist Colombian prosecutors and police investigators to implement the new criminal procedure code. Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering projects will enhance asset management and tracking; and Code Reform projects will prepare officials for implementation of the new criminal procedure code and development of GOC justice sector organizations.
Colombia Ecuador Budget Summary ($000)
Program Objectives and Performance Indicators INTERDICTION Enhanced Ecuadorian National Police, criminal justice system and military forces efforts and improving cooperation disrupt the transiting of drugs through Ecuador from neighboring countries.
STABILIZATION Government presence along Ecuador’s northern border is enhanced such that incursions from Colombia’s narcoterrorists diminish. CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEVELOPMENT Improvement in law enforcement and judicial capabilities will upgrade government institutions in order for them to better combat drug and other organized crime.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT Improvement in economic/social infrastructure will decrease demand for illicit drugs in Ecuador.
Program Justification Ecuador is a major transit country for drugs and precursor chemicals. Armed violence on the Colombian side of Ecuador’s northern border renders interdiction especially difficult on the Ecuadorian side. As drug eradication and interdiction programs in neighboring Colombia continue to expand, insurgent groups that control the Colombian drug crop cultivation regions increasingly affect Ecuador. The security situation along Ecuador’s northern border, most notably in Sucumbios province where most of Ecuador’s oil wealth is located, has continued to deteriorate due to increased Colombian guerrilla, paramilitary and criminal activity, as well as increasing social unrest fueled by chronic and increasingly high levels of poverty. Cocaine and heroin enter and transit the country primarily by land, but exit the country via commercial containers. Ecuadorian counternarcotics police, with help from the USG, continue efforts to enhance port inspection facilities and to improve drug-detecting technology in ports and airports. Cocaine seizures in 2003 were approximately six metric tons, compared to approximately nine metric tons in 2002. Similarly, heroin seizures decreased from approximately 334 kilograms in 2002 to 270 kilograms in 2003. Joint police/military operations located and destroyed about 5,400 cultivated coca plants in scattered locations along the northern border in 2003. The new Code of Criminal Procedures, promulgated in 2001, has caused confusion as police, prosecutors and judges struggle to agree on how it should be implemented. The USG and other donors are working closely with Ecuadorian law enforcement and judicial authorities to clarify the situation. When fully implemented, this code will strengthen the criminal justice system and speed up the process by converting to oral trial procedures. Ecuadorian alternative development efforts are focused on economic and social development programs along the northern border that are "preventative" rather than "alternative" development, since illicit crop cultivation is not currently significant in the area, but is a major problem in the adjacent coca-cultivating Putumayo region of Colombia. Attention to alternative development will assist the vulnerable population in the northern border areas by strengthening its licit economic base and community infrastructure, thereby building public support for local democratic institutions and enabling the community to better resist the pressures of criminal elements and the illicit coca/cocaine economy. Program Accomplishments In 2003, Ecuadorian army units along the northern border were provided with tactical radio communications, computers, field supplies and ground vehicles, including 100 Humvees and 51 heavy trucks. Resources were provided to the Ecuadorian Navy for expanded patrol and interdiction operations on Ecuador’s northwestern coast. Support to Ecuador’s army and navy is strengthening Ecuador’s northern border and its ability to control of movement of goods and persons through ports. Military-police cooperation in joint missions on the northern border continued to improve. Army and police forces in the northern border area interdicted a large volume of illicit precursor chemicals en route to Colombia. Drug seizures have not increased, but the presence and increasing mobility of Government of Ecuador (GOE) military and police has presented a strong deterrent to any further criminal expansion. A major police counternarcotics base in Sucumbios Province (northeastern Ecuador) was completed in April, with another under construction in San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas Province (northwestern Ecuador). Having police bases in these locations makes it possible to maintain police presence and counternarcotics operations in vulnerable areas on sites significant to the movement of drugs. Two additional bases, in north-central and southwestern Ecuador, were in the design phase. Facilities for the police’s intelligence unit were expanded. Port cargo inspection facilities in Guayaquil were renovated and new facilities in Manta are nearing completion. Guayaquil and Manta, in that order, are the two busiest ports in Ecuador, through which most shipping, licit and illicit, takes place. Well-functioning cargo facilities serve to strengthen control of the movement of goods and persons through ports, although drug seizures have remained small. A port cargo inspection facility was being designed for Puerto Bolivia, Machala, in southern Ecuador. Program security assistance has provided training to improve military and police professionalism and capabilities while reinforcing the principles of civilian rule and human rights. The Port Security project’s U.S. Customs (DHS/ICE) advisor in Guayaquil continued to improve the police’s investigative and search techniques, and kept the police coastal units attentive to law enforcement priorities. This activity has made some advances in police professionalization, although much more needs to be done. The northern border area alternative development projects progressed rapidly. Among the most notable achievements to date have been the construction of over 30 potable water systems; the provision of water systems in two temporary shelters for displaced Colombians; construction of several sewer systems to northern border localities; significant land titling initiatives for farmers; and sustained support for Afro-Ecuadorian and indigenous communities along the northern border. FY 2005 Program Interdiction and Eradication Police Operations: Funds will support the Counternarcotics Police Directorate (DNA) port and canine operations; acquisition of law enforcement and communications equipment; vehicle acquisition, maintenance, repair and operational costs; and the cost of providing a port advisor from the U.S. Customs Service (DHS/ICE). Military Coastal Control: Continuation and expansion of the coastal control project is intended to further develop a national coastal surveillance system and provide additional interdiction capability in the form of surveillance, communications and interdiction equipment and training, which will enable the Ecuadorian Navy to observe and analyze coastal maritime activity to detect vessels engaged in illicit activities, and to more effectively patrol coasts and estuaries with limited vessels as a deterrent to illicit activities. Police Facilities Construction: Funding will support expansion of police presence and counternarcotics operations in sensitive locations inadequately protected against narcotics trafficking. The FY 2005 project will continue the expansion of interdiction facilities with an integrated checkpoint and possibly a helicopter facility at Santo Domingo de los Colorados, and will renovate Ecuador’s largest and most active counternarcotics police provincial headquarters, in Pichincha. The project is intended to increase the numbers of counternarcotics police stationed in the target areas, to continually maintain 30- to 40-member units at key interdiction points, including remote outlying sites. Police and Judicial Training: With 150 new DNA personnel annually being added through 2006, the need for basic and advanced training continues, emphasizing ground and airborne field operations, intelligence methods, and cargo and personnel inspection techniques, with military co-trained with police where appropriate. The project will also extend and refine training in implementation of the new Code of Criminal Procedures, working particularly with the National Commission on Judicial Reform, established in 2003. Money Laundering and Chemical Control: Ecuador is a major drug transit country with a dollar based economy and weak banking controls; the country also produces chemical precursors and is a transit corridor for diverted chemicals. In FY 2005, the project will provide training and equipment to assist the GOE as it establishes new financial investigation and chemical control units and the enforcement units that will form from these. Drug Awareness/Public Diplomacy: This project will counter misunderstandings and disinformation in the Ecuadorian public regarding USG policies and activities and the true nature of the drug, terrorism and other transnational challenges by providing informational materials, sponsoring travel to view USG counternarcotics projects and activities, and funding guest speakers. The project will also give direct support to drug awareness projects operated by the GOE. Program Development and Support: PD&S funds are used for the salaries, benefits, allowances and travel of direct hire and contract U.S. and foreign national personnel, residential leasing, ICASS costs and other general administrative and operating expenses for counternarcotics and anti-crime program planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Alternative Development and Institution Building Northern Border Development: The goal of this project, administered by USAID, is to constrain the spread of the illegal narcotics activities into Ecuador by assisting the GOE to strengthen state presence and community structures in the North, generally supporting and expanding licit social, economic and political activities. FY 2005 will focus on increasing the program's geographic reach, while expanding infrastructure, local government institutional support and community strengthening. Over the remaining life of the project,currently due to end in FY 2006, the project will also continue to increase jobs and incomes in the North by supporting the competitiveness of existing rural enterprises. Activities will include capital investment and complementary technical assistance to help local governments build and sustain social and productive infrastructure; technical assistance and training to municipal governments and local communities to identify and resolve local development problems democratically; support for small farmers to legalize land holdings; and support to strengthen the competitiveness of existing agricultural and related enterprises in the North.
Ecuador Panama Budget Summary ($000)
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