VZCZCXRO6722
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DE RUEHSO #0785/01 2011835
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201835Z JUL 06
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5435
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6512
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 3050
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 7287
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 2686
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2361
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RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
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RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 000785 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, NEA/NGA 
H PASS SEN CORNYN 
NSC FOR FEARSTREASURY FOR OASIA, DAS LEE AND DDOUGLASS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
TAGS: OREP PGOV PREL ETRD PTER EFIN BRPA
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: SENATOR CORNYN VISITS TRI-BORDER REGION 
 
REF: (A) Asuncion 731 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  Senator John Cornyn of Texas and his Foreign 
Affairs Advisor Russ Thomasson visited Brazil and Paraguay on July 
1-3 in order to study issues involving the tri-border region.  The 
Senator sits on several subcommittees that provide oversight for 
matters involving the region, including the Armed Services 
Committee's Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, which 
he chairs, and the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on 
Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship, which he also chairs. 
 Senator Cornyn also sits on the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee 
on Intellectual Property, and on the Subcommittee on Terrorism, 
Technology, and Homeland Security.  He began and ended his visit to 
the region in Sao Paulo, where he was hosted by the Consul General 
and given briefings at the Consulate General, including a core 
Country Team briefing with Embassy Brasilia led by Charg Chicola 
via Digital Video Conference (DVC).  On the Brazilian side of the 
tri-border area the Senator met a federal police commander who 
described the challenges of managing with limited resources a busy 
border crossing known for contraband smuggling, and toured the 
warehouse facilities where seized contraband is kept.  The Senator 
also crossed the infamous Friendship Bridge for several meetings in 
Paraguay (ref A).  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------- 
OVERVIEW FROM U.S. MISSION BRAZIL 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Upon arrival to Brazil on July 1, Senator Cornyn was 
given a briefing via DVC by Charg d'Affaires Phil Chicola regarding 
the relationship between the United States and Brazil, and the 
priorities and strategies of the U.S. Mission to Brazil.  The Charg 
was joined by several Embassy Section Chiefs, and in Sao Paulo, 
several other Embassy Attaches and Consulate General Section Chiefs 
were also present to answer questions and brief the Senator on 
specific areas of interest.  Significant attention was paid to 
immigration issues, as prior to October 2005 when Mexico renewed its 
visa requirement for Brazilians, Brazilians had become the second 
highest population attempting entry into the United States illegally 
in the category of Other than Mexicans (OTMs).  Additionally, 
Non-Immigrant Visa (NIV) applications have increased by over forty 
percent at all U.S. NIV posts in Brazil in the last year and a half, 
with no signs of demand slowing. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Senator Cornyn was also given a classified briefing by 
several law enforcement and security offices at the Embassy and 
Consulate General, focusing on issues of transnational threats 
including terrorist financing, drug trafficking, and contraband 
goods that are presented by the porous and largely uncontrolled 
borders where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
TRYING TO STEM THE CRIME WITHOUT CHOKING THE TRADE 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Senator was taken to the tri-border area, and on July 
2 he met with Jose Carlos de Araujo, regional police commander for 
Brazil's combined revenue and customs agency (Receita Federal). 
Araujo gave an overview of the challenges he faces commanding an 
under-manned border crossing between Brazil and Paraguay that is 
choked with both foot and vehicle traffic on most days.  Contraband 
goods, both fake items with false labels and goods that are not 
declared for customs and tax purposes, are known to flow across the 
border almost freely for sale largely in the metropolis of Sao 
Paulo.  Araujo said more than 10,000 people, mostly Brazilians, make 
their living from illegal cross-border trade, which is valued at 
nearly one billion dollars per year.  One of the greatest 
challenges, he said, was convincing people that these activities are 
not only illegal, but simply wrong.  Another challenge is the 
integration of federal, state and local law enforcement to combat 
the movement of contraband and related criminal activity. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Araujo noted some success in the last five years, during 
which time Brazil has gradually tightened controls on the bridge. 
He notes that there was a time when literally hundreds of busses 
would gather in a tight convoy on the Paraguay side of the border 
and drive across the bridge into Brazil without stopping, usually 
 
SAO PAULO 00000785  002 OF 002 
 
 
laden with contraband goods.  The handful of Araujo's men and 
highway patrolmen could do nothing to stop them.  Even on normal 
days, when Brazilian officials check suspicious vehicles crossing 
the border, the resulting wait on the Paraguay side can reach more 
than three hours.  When officials hold up traffic for too long, they 
often face revolts by local businessmen claiming their livelihoods 
are being ruined by government bureaucracy. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Araujo said that, in general, busses are no longer used to 
transport contraband across the bridge because his men eventually 
became effective at stopping and impounding them.  Taxis and 
personal cars are now the most common modes of transporting illegal 
merchandize, with smugglers brazenly filling vehicles' trunks and 
back seats with goods.  Brazil has recently built a new warehouse to 
hold contraband goods, and a large new Customs and Immigration 
facility at the Brazilian end of the narrow, two-lane cross-border 
bridge is nearing completion.  The Brazilian government plans to 
open more traffic lanes on its side, as well as a larger inspection 
area to fulfill Araujo's goal of eventually conducting 100 percent 
inspections of vehicles and people entering Brazil from Paraguay. 
 
-------------------- 
HOW THE USG CAN HELP 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  When asked by the Senator how the USG might help his 
efforts, Araujo stated plainly that first, we may be able to 
influence the government of Paraguay to be less antagonistic; he 
said the GoP often decries Brazilian customs and border control 
efforts as corrupt and unfair to Paraguayan interests.  Secondly, he 
suggested that we may be able to stem some of the contraband 
movement and financing that the GoB believes passes through 
companies based in Miami.  (NOTE:  The Consul General passed this 
information to officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security, who will follow up with Araujo on this issue.  END NOTE) 
 
------------------------ 
BEYOND FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE 
------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  After a tour of the Brazilian Customs warehouse that 
stores contraband goods, the Senator was taken across the infamous 
Friendship Bridge between Brazil and Paraguay, shown several ways 
that contraband makes its way across the border, and then was hosted 
by Embassy Asuncion in several meetings and tours in Paraguay.  The 
Paraguay portion of the CODEL is reported in ref A from Embassy 
Asuncion. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT:  This CODEL was a good opportunity for regional 
missions to highlight to the Senator the realities on the ground 
regarding issues of immigration, contraband and transnational crime 
that involve the tri-border region.  A general lack of resources 
still plagues Brazil's efforts to better control its borders, but it 
appears that progress is being made, however incrementally.  We will 
continue our efforts to provide what assistance we can to GoB 
officials, and to explore opportunities for greater bilateral and 
multilateral cooperation.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶10.  (U) This cable was coordinated/cleared by Embassy Brasilia, 
Embassy Asuncion, the Chief of the U.S. Army Liaison to the Senate 
(Barbero), and the Office of Senator John Cornyn. 
 
MCMCULLEN