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UNCLAS LIMA 003823 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SNAR PE
SUBJECT: COCALEROS USE CONGRESS TO PUSH PRO-COCA/ANTI-U.S. MESSAGE
 
REF: A. LIMA 3677 B. 05LIMA 4441 C. 03LIMA 983
 
Sensitive But Unclassified, Please Handle Accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Pro-cocalero congressional representatives 
ranted about the benefits of coca and the costs of U.S. 
imperialism disguised as counternarcotics policy at a recent 
"Coca and Biodiversity" conference held in a Congressional 
annex.  Cocalero leader Nelson Palomino also participated. 
The well-attended event highlighted that cocaleros now have a 
foothold in Congress, and are using coca as a banner for a 
larger anti-system, anti-U.S. message.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On September 16 Poloff attended a "Coca and 
Biodiversity" conference (9/16), at the Congressional annex 
building in downtown Lima.  Huanuco Congresswoman Yaneth 
Cajahuanca of the Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP) organized 
the event, which was co-sponsored by a natural medicine and 
nutrition organization and the Kuska Peru political group led 
by cocalero leader Nelson Palomino.  Approximately 150 people 
of diverse age and gender filled the auditorium.  A handful 
of people were chewing coca leaf - a rare sight in Lima. 
 
¶3. (U) Two themes dominated the discussion: the clear 
difference between coca producers and narcotraffickers 
(though 90 percent of coca production goes to 
narcotrafficking) and coca's historical, cultural, and 
nutritional value.  Vendors selling "coca flour" and coca 
baked goods at the conference received much positive 
attention.  (Note: The "flour" is a nutritional supplement to 
be mixed with water or milk that includes 9-10 healthy 
additives (e.g., soy, rice, whole wheat, etc.) in addition to 
coca. End Note.) 
 
¶4. (U) Ricardo Soberon, staffer for cocalero Congresswoman 
Nancy Obregon, said coca was Peru's biggest renewable natural 
resource, but was a "sequestered plant" made taboo by "a dark 
force" (the U.S.).  Soberon told the crowd that the U.S. uses 
the drug war as a pretext for its presence in Peru to steal 
the country's natural resources.  He added that the U.S. is 
"like an octopus with tentacles spreading misinformation in 
all the press," and that the GOP Ministries obey the orders 
of the U.S. Embassy.  Soberon closed his diatribe with a 
commitment by Congresswoman Obregon to present new coca 
legislation recognizing coca's historical, traditional, and 
cultural significance, regionalizing management of the licit 
market, and protecting coca producers and including them in a 
dialogue.  His speech got strong applause.  (Note: On 
September 19, Obregon and other pro-coca Congressmembers 
submitted a draft bill to declare coca and its traditional 
use as natural patrimony. End Note.) 
 
¶5. (U) In a subsequent presentation, cocalero Congresswoman 
Yaneth Cajahuanca said she, like farmers in the field, chews 
coca because it energizes her and helps her work.  She said 
farmers in her district have no alternative to coca for cash 
income and claimed fumigation had dried up coca crops in 
Huanuco. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Radical cocalero leader Nelson Palomino closed out 
the event.  His discourse reportedly united indigenous rights 
and pride with coca as a cultural element.  Palomino was 
released from jail in June on parole after completing a third 
of his 10-year sentence for kidnapping, burglary, aggravated 
theft, public disturbance, and support of crime and coercion 
(Refs B, C).  Since his release he has criticized the GOP's 
drug policies and formed a regional pro-coca political 
movement called "Kuska Peru" (Quechua for "Together for 
Peru.")  Palomino's stature as a political leader has been 
strengthened through the cocalero dialogue with the 
government, meetings with senior GOP officials including 
President Garcia, and in conferences such as this. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: The conference highlights the emergence of a newly empowered leadership of pro-coca political leaders inside and outside of Congress. Some observers believe Palomino's and other cocalero leader's political stars are rising, enabled by the government's decisions to elevate them to the status of valid interlocutors. These pro-coca leaders are attempting to shape the GOP's policy through the on-going government dialogue and legislative proposals. It further suggests the consolidation of the coca leaf, and its cultivation free from the interference of outside powers, as the banner of a larger anti-systemic, anti-U.S. political movement that now has a foothold in Congress. End Comment.

STRUBLE