This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 LIMA 004176 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/P 
STATE FOR WHA/PPC 
ONDCP FOR D. GEDDINGS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2015 
TAGS: SNAR KCRM ASEC PREL PE
SUBJECT: PERU: NARCOTICS AFFAIRS SECTION, AUGUST 2005 
 
REF: A. LIMA 3847 
     ¶B. LIMA 3416 
     ¶C. LIMA 3264 
     ¶D. LIMA 3033 
     ¶E. LIMA 2813 
     ¶F. LIMA 2699 
 
Classified By: NAS Deputy Director Robert Goldberg. Reason 1.5 (b),(d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (SBU) Hostile crowds and random gunshots have not stopped 
eradication efforts in Mazamari and the Huallaga in August. 
Eradication continues despite having discovered improvised 
explosive devices in the fields, rigged to explode when a 
plant is uprooted.  As of August 31, CORAH has eradicated a 
total of 5,674 hectares, and the 8,000-hectare annual goal 
now looks within reach.  DIRANDRO is working out of the 
NAS-constructed police base in Palmapampa to destroy 
cocaine-base laboratories and seize precursor chemicals and 
coca leaf in the Apurimac and Ene Valleys.  The operation has 
driven down the price of coca leaf and increased the 
cost--and scarcity--of chemicals.  USAID and CORAH are 
developing a plan to educate farmers on the negative impact 
growing coca has on their families. The Constitutional 
Tribunal is expected to rule on the legality of the regional 
coca ordinances in September; meanwhile, the new coca law the 
GOP sent to Congress is stalled for the foreseeable future. 
The new chemical control law remains in limbo due to GOP 
gridlock.  NAS Aviation provided crucial support after an 
airliner crashed near Pucallpa Airport.  The Manifest Review 
Unit in Callao is now proving its worth in cocaine seizures 
and intelligence.  The final workshop on "Community Anti-Drug 
Coalitions" trained NGOs in a new approach to community 
intervention, evaluation, and sustainability.  Meetings with 
the Ministry of Education suggest a possible revival of a now 
dormant Culture-of-Lawfulness initiative.  (END SUMMARY) 
 
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SECURITY INCIDENTS DURING ERADICATION IN SANTA LUCIA 
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¶2.  (C) On August 1 during eradication operations at Santa 
Rosa de Mishollo, home territory of cocalero leader Nancy 
Obregon, DIRANDRO security forces accidentally wounded a 
17-year-old boy.  The boy was flown by helicopter for medical 
attention and later taken home.  In another incident on 
August 4, shots were fired into the CORAH/DIRANDRO camp.  No 
one was hurt.  The PNP Special Operations Group (GOES) 
arrested several people and seized some guns.  Between August 
27-31, a total of 9 improvised explosive devices (IED) were 
found in fields during eradication operations in the Santa 
Rosa area near Santa Lucia.  The IEDs were placed at the root 
of coca plants.  A CORAH worker was hit and hospitalized when 
he triggered an IED; his injures were not life threatening. 
The rest of the devices were located and disarmed.  Plans are 
under way to use trained explosive-sniffing dogs to clear the 
areas where CORAH plans to work. (See Ref A.) 
 
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ERADICATION UPDATE 
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¶3.  (U) In the first eight months of 2005, CORAH eradicated 
5,674 hectares of coca.  Presently, CORAH is eradicating an 
averaging of 50 hectares a day in areas near Santa Lucia and 
Mazamari.  Operations included communities in the San Martin 
and Huanuco departments that had not complied with their 
alternative development agreements with USAID.  NAS and USAID 
are coordinating closely on increasing the number of brigades 
used for locating, measuring, and eradicating coca in 
alternative development areas. 
 
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POLICE: NEW RESOLVE, NEW TACTICS, NEW SUCCESSES 
--------------------------------------------- --- 

¶4.  (SBU) In May 2005, approximately 200 new police graduated 
from the NAS-sponsored Basic Training Academies in Santa 
Lucia and Mazamari.  These new police were assigned to the 
Special Operations Unit to support eradication, cocaine 
laboratory destruction, and vehicle search operations. 
DIRANDRO's Special Operations Units confronted unruly mobs 
and pacified hostile areas in the Upper Huallaga Valley 
(Pizana, Polvora and Santa Rosa) to allow eradication to 
occur.  Up to 300 police have been deployed to protect 
eradication workers and helicopter operations.  As a result, 
the rate of coca eradication increased substantially and NAS 
helicopters operated without incidents.  The PNP also 
destroyed 88 cocaine-base laboratories in the Monzon and 
Upper Huallaga.  This is in stark contrast to past when 
eradication operations were suspended due to strong local 
resistance and an inadequate response by the PNP. 
¶5.  (SBU) At NAS's suggestion, DIRANDRO is now using the 
price of an arroba (11.5 kg) of coca to trigger cocaine-base 
laboratory interdiction operations.  Interdiction drives down 
the price. The Police return to zones when arroba price rises 
again.  In early August, the price of an arroba of coca 
dropped from 120 to 60 Soles after the PNP began operations 
in the Apurimac and Ene River Valleys (VRAE).  On August 10, 
after a two-week lull in interdiction activities, an arroba 
rose to 90 Soles.  The next day, DIRANDRO started 
interdiction operations again, seizing approximately 200 
kilos of cocaine base.  DIRANDRO also destroyed 208 
cocaine-base laboratories and tons of precursor chemicals and 
coca leaves, causing a loss to the laboratory operators of 
the equivalent of US$1.4 million and the possible production 
of 3.9 tons of cocaine base. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) With support from NAS, DIRANDRO formed a Mobile 
Road Interdiction Group, which is using a gamma-ray machine 
to inspect vehicles transiting through the Ayacucho area.  On 
August 1-8, this group arrested 4 traffickers and seized more 
than 150 kilos of chemicals, three vehicles, and a building. 
These seizures alone are valued at USD 137,000.  The 
activities of this group have forced drug traffickers to 
transport chemicals via mules on back roads and via rivers, 
causing the price of precursor chemicals to double. 
 
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ICT CONDUCTING SURVEY ON COCA CULTIVATION 
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¶7.  (U) NAS has advised the Institute for Tropical Crops 
(ICT) and CADA that they must survey farmers who are 
receiving technical assistance in cacao management.  The 
survey will provide baseline information to ensure that the 
farmers are eliminating their coca.  The survey will take 
three months to complete. 
 
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ERADICATION: NEW PUBLIC RELATIONS MESSAGE PLANNED 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 

¶8.  (U) Discussions continue with USAID and CORAH about a 
plan to educate farmers on the negative consequences for 
their families of growing coca.  The theme of this plan is 
"Familia, Si" (Family, Yes). 
 
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WAITING FOR COURT RULING ON REGIONAL ORDINANCES 
--------------------------------------------- --- 

¶9.  (U)  Peru's Constitutional Tribunal has been asked to 
rule on the constitutionality of ordinances promulgated by 
three regional governments (Cusco, Puno, and Huanuco) that 
would legalize coca (Refs B through F). 
 
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PRECURSOR CHEMICAL CONTROL LAW LANGUISHES 
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¶10.  (SBU) Progress has stalled within the GOP to implement 
the much-touted chemical-control law.  The initial concept 
was to place the data collection function in the Ministry of 
Production (MinPro).  However, as the MinPro does not have an 
appropriate, networked data collection system, it would have 
to be built, a costly project.  A USG-funded NGO came up with 
a better option--to use the Peruvian tax collection agency 
(SUNAT) to collect and distribute the data, since it has the 
technical capability and an extensive network.  The challenge 
is bringing MinPro and SUNAT together.  MinPro wants to 
maintain control over the information system. 
 
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NAS AVIATION AIDS VICTIMS OF PLANE CRASH IN PUCALLPA 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 

¶11.  (U) On the afternoon of August 23, a Boeing 737-200 
crashed during a storm about 4.4 miles short of the runway at 
the Pucallpa airport.  NAS flight crews, firemen, and medics 
from the NAS Main Operating Base (MOB) in Pucallpa were 
immediately mobilized to assist local authorities.  The 
aircraft (flight 204 of TANS airline, operated by the 
Peruvian Air Force) broke in two when it crashed. The NAS 
Forward Coordinator sent two helicopters to the crash site to 
help evacuate the survivors to local hospitals and transport 
the dead.  (NOTE: 45 people died and 53 were injured.  3 
Americans died, 7 survived.  No USG employees or contractors 
were aboard the flight.) The NAS helicopters, flown by US and 
PNP pilots and crews, operated at the crash site at night 
using night-vision equipment.  NAS also provided logistical 
support and a communications center for the Embassy response 
effort as well as for the NTSB investigators and Peruvian 
civil aviation authorities.  The following day, NAS personnel 
located the aircra 
ft voice recorder. 
 
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BEECH 1900 D AIRCRAFT 
---------------------- 

¶12.  (U) NAS pilots completed flight training for the Beech 
1900 D aircraft on August 28.  On September 1, the aircraft 
will be flown to Air Wing (INL/A) in Florida for further crew 
training and preparation for entry into Peru on September 16. 
 
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DRUG SEIZURES INCREASE AT PERU'S SEAPORTS 
------------------------------------------ 

¶13.  (SBU) On August 24, the PNP seized almost 479 kg of 
cocaine from a container at a terminal in the Port of Callao 
through manifest/cargo review and analysis by the NAS/DEA 
Manifest Review Unit (MRU).  Seven people from Mexico and 
Peru were arrested.  Contact information for people in 
Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia was also seized.  The 479 
kg were being transported via a Chilean ship destined for 
Guanajuato, Mexico via the Mexican port of Manzanillo.  The 
95 cocaine packages, each package weighing 5.4 kg, were found 
in plastic barrels filled with frozen maracuya (passion 
fruit) pulp.  Based on this seizure, another container from 
the same company/shippers and with the same product is now 
detained at Callao. 
 
¶14.  (C) This seizure illustrates the value of systemized 
analysis of cargo, and the importance of conducting joint 
police and customs information analysis and follow-on 
operations.  The Peruvian private business sector, including 
exporters, agents, and managers of container stations, know 
about the MRU and are now providing over 100 intelligence 
leads per month.  An MRU is now being planned for Paita 
(Peru's second leading port after Callao), in light of the 
success in Callao.  NAS is currently negotiating with 
SUNAT-Customs on next steps. 
 
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PREPARING TO LAUNCH COMMUNITY ANTI-DRUG COALITIONS 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 

¶15.  (U) On August 15-19, the U.S.-based Community Anti-Drug 
Coalitions of America (CADCA) conducted a two-day workshop 
followed by three days of technical assistance.  Six NGOs 
were selected to participate in this final training session, 
which focused on community interventions, evaluation, and 
sustainability.  The NGOs and CADCA discussed the cultural 
and social hurdles that must be overcome to have successful 
coalitions.  The technical assistance involved visits to the 
coalition districts to speak with community leaders and to 
understand the types of community resources available to the 
NGO coalition teams.  The coalitions will start on October 1, 
along with other demand reduction programs. 
 
¶16.  (U) The coalition effort will include an evaluation team 
and a communications team.  The evaluation team will design 
instruments to measure regularly the effectiveness of 
individual activities and the overall impact of the 
coalitions' efforts.  All coalitions will be evaluated using 
the same criteria and the same instruments by this external 
team.  The communications team will work with the coalition 
teams to develop social marketing campaigns that have a 
consistent message.  Coalition communication activities will 
consist of street fairs, local radio broadcasts, posters, 
personal outreach, parades, etc., taking into account a 
functional illiteracy rate of 80 per cent. 
 
¶17.  (U) While Peru is a developing country with a poverty 
rate of over 50 per cent, the public will to combat illegal 
drugs is already strong.  Many Lima communities have 
organized to fight crime, clean up neighborhoods, and take 
drug dealers off the streets.  All these efforts contribute 
directly to reducing drug consumption.  One goal of the 
coalitions will be to bring together and foster cooperation 
among these disparate groups. 
 
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CULTURE OF LAWFULNESS PLOUGHS AHEAD 
------------------------------------- 

¶18.  (U) The Culture of Lawfulness (COL) program (started in 
2003) had some early successes in training teachers for a 
one-year COL course for first-year high school students. It 
became quickly apparent that the Ministry of Education could 
not provide much needed resources for the program.  So far, 
70 teachers have been trained to teach COL. One significant 
achievement was assisting the GOP in changing the national 
school curriculum to include COL (called Ethics, Values, and 
Citizenship by the GOP).  NAS Program officers met with the 
Vice-Minister of Education, Idel Vexler, to discuss the 
future of the program.  Vexler was supportive of the program, 
but said it needed to be more fully integrated into the 
curriculum to achieve sustainability.  NAS will meet with 
ministry officials in the coming months to determine how NAS 
can support further development of COL. 
STRUBLE