VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSN #2720/01 3131723
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091723Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4329
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0001
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 002720 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/PC LAURA MCKECHNIE 
EMBASSIES FOR INL OR NARCOR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PREL EU EC PTER KCRM OTRA
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: MEETING OF MINI DUBLIN GROUP 
 
REF: STATE 179116 
 
¶1. (U)  Post convened a November 9 meeting of the Salvadoran 
Mini-Dublin Group (MDG).  In attendance were representatives 
from the Missions of France, Canada, Japan, Germany, and the 
European Union.  The following provides information requested 
in reftel and a summary of MDG bilateral, counter-narcotics 
support to El Salvador. 
 
General Drug Situation 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (U)  El Salvador continues to be used as a transit country 
for narcotics, mainly cocaine and heroin.  Cocaine from 
Colombia is transited via the Pan-American Highway and via 
maritime routes off the country's Pacific coast.  With the 
implementation of the CA-4 agreement this summer, which 
eliminated immigration and customs inspection among citizens 
of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua within 
that four-country region, trafficking in small and medium 
amounts of cocaine and heroin by bus passengers and motorists 
is increasing.  The Pan-American and Coastal Highways are the 
land routes preferred by traffickers.  As elsewhere in 
Central America, there has been a notable increase in the 
amount of heroin transiting both the international airport 
and land ports of entry.  Both heroin and cocaine also 
transit via Salvadoran airspace, and by sea off the 
Salvadoran coast.  Maritime and land routes were more popular 
than air routes, and El Salvador may continue to see an 
increase in trafficking levels as major organizations 
increasingly move their focus from Caribbean to Pacific 
routes. 
 
¶3. (U)  There is concern that Methamphetamine production 
previously centered in Mexico may be relocating to Central 
America, though specific evidence of such operations in El 
Salvador is yet unclear.  Partly due to the 2001 
"dollarization" of El Salvador's economy, the country is 
increasingly important as a transit point for 
money-laundering operations.  Gang violence is a serious 
problem in El Salvador, and although the major gang 
organizations participate in small-scale trafficking and 
distribution, no evidence exists to date of ties to major 
smuggling operations, or their involvement in major 
Colombia-U.S. drug trafficking operations. 
 
¶4. (U)  Climate and soil conditions do not favor the 
cultivation of coca plants.  Small quantities of Cannabis are 
produced in the mountainous regions along the border with 
Guatemala and Honduras, though the cannabis is of poor 
quality and is destined primarily for domestic consumption. 
The "payment-in-kind" trend, whereby drug traffickers pay off 
their local accomplices with drugs rather than money, may 
hold implications for future patterns of drug consumption in 
El Salvador. 
 
El Salvador's Counternarcotics Strategy 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U)  The GOES places high priority on counternarcotics law 
enforcement, but the resources available are inadequate to 
achieve all of its counternarcotics objectives.  Further 
efforts at judicial reform are of crucial importance in 
offering authorities higher conviction and incarceration 
rates for criminals arrested on narcotics charges.  Although 
recent judicial reforms have not specifically targeted drug 
traffickers, the wider movement toward judicial reform will 
offer benefits in El Salvador's counternarcotics efforts. 
 
¶6. (U)  El Salvador is a party to the following conventions: 
1988 UN Drug Convention; 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic 
Substances; 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as 
amended by the 1972 Protocol; UN Convention against 
Transnational Organized Crime; Central American convention 
for the Prevention of Money Laundering Related to 
Drug-Trafficking and Similar Crimes; Central American Mutual 
Legal Assistance Agreement; and the Inter-American Convention 
on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. 
 
Bilateral Counternarcotics Assistance 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U)  The United States is the only Mini-Dublin Group (MDG) 
member that provides direct bilateral counternarcotics 
assistance to El Salvador.  The other MDG members contribute 
aid through the United Nations, the OAS, or the European 
Union; most such programs provide funding for after-school 
programs for at-risk youth.  Notwithstanding this 
prevention-focused approach, MDG members showed interest in 
increased participation in law enforcement training and 
coordination. 
 
¶8.  (U) In the November 9 meeting, emboffs presented 
Mini-Dublin Group participants with a summary of USG 
counternarcotics programs in El Salvador and other relevant 
assistance, including an outline of programs offered at the 
new International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA).  All MDG 
members expressed agreement with U.S. concerns about 
weaknesses within the country's judicial system and the need 
for reform.  Canada's representative announced that they have 
recently decided to fund two new programs that target at-risk 
youth, and outlined that their efforts would continue to 
focus on prevention.  The German representative noted that 
their Embassy planned to send several Salvadoran National 
Police (PNC) officers to Germany for long-term training, and 
expressed continued support for the programs of multilateral 
organizations.  The French representative reminded the group 
that all French assistance is carried out on a regional level 
targeting all of Central America.  France described the 
multiagency focus of its law enforcement training center in 
Martinique.  The French representative said he would explore 
the possibility of the Martinique center's provision of a 
trainer to assist in El Salvador, and that he would encourage 
an increased focus on Central America.  The meeting's 
atmosphere was cordial and open; all those present expressed 
unabashed praise for USG counternarcotics efforts. 
Barclay