VZCZCXRO2915
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHVN #0089/01 0391013
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 081013Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1810
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0024
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0124
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENTIANE 000089 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/AAE 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS 
PACOM FOR JIATF-W 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2018 
TAGS: SNAR XC LA
SUBJECT: GOL SAYS COOPERATION WITH US ON COUNTER NARCOTICS 
IMPROVING 
 
REF: VIENTIANE 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Ravic R. Huso for reason 1.4 (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: The Ambassador met with Minister of the 
President's Office and Chairman of the Lao National 
Commission for Drug Control and Supervision (LCDC) Soubanh 
Srithirath to discuss counter narcotics and transnational 
crime cooperation.  The Minister noted the marked improvement 
in the GOL-USG  working relationship on drug sector issues 
that has occurred during the past several months.  Soubahn 
cautioned, however, that there are daunting challenges that 
must be overcome before Laos and ASEAN can hope to be truly 
drug free, problems that Laos can only solve through close 
collaboration with the U.S. and the international community. 
In response to the Ambassador's call for better cooperation 
on two drug demand reduction projects that Soubanh had put on 
hold, the Minister agreed to proceed immediately with one and 
to work with the Embassy to seek a path forward on the other. 
 End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  The Ambassador and Transnational Crime Affairs 
Officer met with Minister Soubanh to discuss U.S.-Lao 
cooperation on transnational crime.  The Ambassador said that 
while funding for our crop control , demand reduction, and 
law enforcement programs had declined in recent years, the 
Embassy remained strongly committed to these programs.  He 
outlined the Embassy's counter narcotics objectives, stating 
that Laos needs to achieve two goals.  First, it must further 
reduce opium production through sustained alternative 
development, an effort that must continue until the potential 
for resurgent poppy cultivation has permanently diminished to 
a negligible level.  Second, Laos must reduce trafficking and 
abuse of methamphetamine.  The U.S. will continue to 
cooperate with Laos to achieve these goals. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Minister Soubanh observed that there had been a 
distinct improvement recently in U.S.-Lao drug sector 
cooperation, and that the Embassy and LCDC staffs were 
working together very effectively.  Soubanh emphasized the 
Laos needs for the U.S. to continue its assistance and 
maintain its role as the strategic partner in counter drug 
programs. 
 
¶4.  (C) Soubanh stated that one serious impediment to further 
reduction in opium cultivation was the rapid rise in the 
opium farm gate price, now averaging $760 per kilogram. 
Soubanh said that a family working a half hectare plot can 
expect a yield of three kilograms, netting more than $2200, a 
very good income by local standards in the highlands.  He 
lamented that prices were so high that even some district 
level officials had been caught planting poppy.  He said that 
the harvest would be at its height during January and 
February. 
 
¶5. (U) Soubanh commented that the ongoing opium awareness 
campaign was critical to these efforts, as without the 
deployment of the awareness teams, there was no way to 
prevent the harvest from going forward.  (Note:  During the 
2007-2008 opium growing season, the Embassy has more than 
doubled the funding available for this campaign over previous 
years, and for the first time ever, the GOL will deploy 
awareness teams into the countryside multiple times during a 
single growing season.  End note).  More long term, Soubanh 
said that reducing the number of opium addicts was equally 
critical, as they sustained the domestic demand which kept 
prices high and made opium an attractive crop.  He expressed 
concern over the current rate of recidivism, and said that 
the number of addicts is climbing back toward previous 
levels.  Soubanh suggested that opium addiction could only be 
brought under control through cooperation between the GOL, 
the USG, and UNODC. 
 
¶6. (C) With regard to regional cooperation, Soubanh said that 
"making ASEAN drug free by 2015 was, "easy to say, but hard 
to do."  The Minister had recently met in Siem Reap with 
Vietnamese and Cambodian delegations to discuss counter 
narcotics cooperation between the three nations.  He 
commented that Vietnam had accused Laos of being a source 
country for heroin, a point to which Soubanh took particular 
umbrage.  He vociferously asserted that while heroin from 
Burma did pass through Laos, heroin is not refined on Lao 
territory. 
 
 
VIENTIANE 00000089  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7.  (C) The Ambassador turned to the subject of future 
cooperation between Laos and the United States on drug demand 
reduction projects.  He explained to the Minister that 
because not all funding is controlled by the Embassy, it may 
be necessary to demonstrate flexibility over the  means of 
implementation for a given project.  He asked for Soubanh's 
assistance moving forward with two demand reduction projects, 
the INL/C/CJ funded drug counselor training provided by 
Daytop International, and the similarly funded construction 
of the Vientiane Provincial Drug Treatment Center, preferably 
with contracting support provided by Navy's Regional Officer 
in Charge of Construction (ROICC) based in Bangkok.  (Note: 
Soubanh had previously expressed reservations about both the 
Daytop Program and the involvement of Navy personnel in 
contracting for counter narcotics programs.  End note). 
 
¶8.  (C) Soubanh agreed to the use of Daytop International to 
provide drug counselor training, as need is urgent, and said 
he would leave it to his staff to work out any issues with 
the TCAS.  With regard to using ROICC as a contracting agent, 
Soubanh said that he was unfamiliar with that organization or 
its mode of operation, and asked that the TCAS provide a 
sample contract from ROICC and a summary of the procedures 
they would employ to monitor construction projects in Laos. 
This would help him to make a decision on how best to move 
forward (Note:  these documents have been provided to 
Soubanh.  End note). 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The Ambassador tendered the possibility of a visit 
to the U.S. by senior Lao officials so that Lao law 
enforcement policy makers could discuss transnational crime 
issues with interlocutors in the USG including the 
Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and law 
Enforcement (INL), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 
and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). 
Soubanh stated that he was very interested in this 
opportunity, and would ask his staff to discuss the details 
with the Embassy's TCAS. 
 
¶10.  (C) Comment:  The trend in counter narcotics cooperation 
between the U.S. and Laos is positive, especially in terms of 
the working relationship on crop control and law enforcement 
programs.  Both the Embassy's TCA and DEA offices have noted 
a marked improvement in their areas of responsibility. 
Soubanh's intransigence on some demand reduction projects had 
been a cause for concern recently, but the greater 
flexibility he demonstrated during this meeting indicates 
that the GOL's position has turned for the better.  End 
Comment. 
Huso