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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SAO PAULO 000242 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, INL, DRL 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR DS/IP/WHA, DS/IP/ITA, DS/T/ATA 
DEPT FOR EB/TPP/IPE JENNIFER BOGER AND JOELLEN URBAN 
DEPT FOR EB/TPP/MTA/IPC RACHEL WALLACE 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR CHRIS WILSON, KATHERINE DUCKWORTH AND JENNIFER 
CHOE GROVES 
NSC FOR TOMASULO 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID FOR LAC/AA 
 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KCRM SNAR KIPR SENV ASEC PARM BR
 
SUBJECT: DRUGS, ARMS AND CONTRABAND CONTINUE TO ENTER BRAZIL 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Brazil continues to wrestle with the serious challenge 
posed by increasingly creative traffickers of drugs, arms and 
IPR-infringing products, according to law enforcement officials and 
NGO representatives in Sao Paulo and Foz do Iguacu.   Growing 
demand, both domestic and international, is enhancing Brazil's 
position as a destination and transit country for drugs entering 
from Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay.  Brazil's southern Tri-Border 
Area (TBA) is a center of this activity with much of this traffic 
entering over Foz do Iguacu's Friendship Bridge in addition to other 
methods of transportation including airplanes, boats, and human 
mules.  Law enforcement entities on all sides of the borders in this 
area are prone to malfeasance and there remains a need to increase 
tri-border legal cooperation.  The use of youth in trafficking is 
also on the rise, bringing into play questions of human rights in 
addition to public security.  Septel will report on Brazil's fight 
against trafficking in persons in the TBA.  End Summary. 
 
Sao Paulo State Experts on Drug Trafficking 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Sao Paulo State Civil Police Chief Marcia Heloisa Mendonca 
Ruiz, who heads a division working primarily on trafficking in 
persons (see septel), told Poloff that she has investigated cases of 
Peruvians used as drug mules and has heard of many Bolivians 
involved in drug trafficking into Brazil as well.  General Commander 
of the State Military Police Col. Antonio Diniz said that while Sao 
Paulo State has an effective apparatus to gather intelligence on 
drug-related crimes, the situation is becoming increasingly 
difficult to combat.  The Military Police are attempting to identify 
emerging areas of concern to take preventive action to avoid future 
problems related to drug trafficking, but they find themselves 
continually playing catch-up with the criminals, he said. 
 
Drugs Entering Brazil from Regional Neighbors 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Paulo Illes, Coordinator of the Sao Paulo-based Center for 
the Help of the Migrant (CAMI), an NGO that provides support to the 
large primarily Bolivian immigrant population in Brazil, said that 
Bolivians are regularly used as drug mules crossing into Brazil.  He 
told Poloff that more than 400 Bolivian women involved in drug 
trafficking are imprisoned in Sao Paulo jails, and recounted stories 
in which whole families swallow drugs in order to avoid detection 
when entering Brazil. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) A wide range of contacts said that with Brazil's continued 
economic growth, they expect drug trafficking into and through the 
country to steadily increase.  Police Chief Ruiz, CAMI Coordinator 
Illes and former Minister of Justice and Secretary of State for 
Human Rights Jose Gregori, who is currently serving as President of 
the Sao Paulo Municipal Commission for Human Rights, all agreed that 
Brazil's relative regional wealth attracts its neighbors' citizens 
to pursue sometimes illegal means to make money.  Illes cited 
desperation in Bolivia and Paraguay over unemployment as a force 
driving individuals away from traditional jobs into illicit means of 
earning income.  Gregori noted the important role of the media in 
highlighting concerns about foreigners involved in drug trafficking 
in Brazil.  He predicted that as the media increase their coverage 
on this issue, public tolerance will diminish and pressure against 
 
SAO PAULO 00000242  002 OF 005 
 
 
communities used as trafficking centers or routes will increase. 
The overwhelming drive to make a living and provide for one's 
family, however, means that it is unlikely that individuals involved 
in drug trafficking are going to stop, he added. 
 
Trafficking Issues Over Friendship Bridge 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) During a recent three-day visit to the State of Parana 
(population approximately 11 million) in Brazil's south, Poloff saw 
several Federal Highway Police lots full of apprehended vehicles 
used to transport drugs into Brazil.  Buying off police officers is 
common, a range of local NGO contacts claimed, indicating that the 
actual number of vehicles in the lots is small in comparison to the 
number of traffickers that make it past corrupt officials and even 
random inspection.  Upon arrival in the City of Foz do Iguacu 
(population approximately 300,000) at the state's western tip and in 
the heart of the Tri-Border Area (TBA) where Brazil's borders meet 
with Paraguay and Argentina, it is impossible to overlook the 
vibrant regional trade, both legal and illicit.  Foz do Iguacu is 
the entry-point for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of 
counterfeit and pirated electronic devices, computers, CDs and DVDs, 
perfumes, retail goods and many other products.  (Note: Foz do 
Iguagu Bird Park Financial Director John Legatt told Poloff that 
trafficking in endangered species is common in the region as well. 
End Note.)  Additionally, because Paraguay has no port of its own, 
Foz do Iguacu serves as one of the main entry points into Brazil for 
Paraguayan overseas exports.  The main checkpoint for these products 
to enter Brazil is over the Friendship Bridge, where, according to 
Brazilian officials, approximately ten thousand vehicles pass every 
day.  Customs control is weak on both the Brazilian and Paraguayan 
sides of the bridge. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Meanwhile, attempts to increase commerce and bring order to 
the area are likely to further contribute to illicit trade in the 
region.  Foz do Iguacu Mayor Paulo Mac Donald Ghisi told Poloff that 
Brazil and Paraguay plan on constructing a bridge in the next two 
years that will triple the amount of commerce between the two 
countries, but with the unfortunate side-effect of more trade in 
pirated goods.   Additionally, a legislative attempt to help bring 
some order to small scale trading across the border, known as the 
"sacoleiros" (or peddlers) bill, is under discussion in Brazil's 
Congress.  According to its supporters, the bill simplifies 
procedures and charges a lower, unified customs rate for registered 
importers.  The Government's allies in Congress have pushed for the 
body to quickly move on the legislation, and it is poised for final 
passage, possibly this month.  Business organizations assert, and 
the Embassy law enforcement community agrees, however, that due to 
lack of provisions for effective enforcement, the practical effect 
of the bill will likely be to facilitate unlawful commerce along 
with legitimate trade. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Foz do Iguacu Customs Chief Gilberto Tragancin said that 
he believes as the number of inspections increases on the Friendship 
Bridge, the incidence of IPR-infringing goods and contraband will 
decrease.  (Note: Poloff's car was not inspected entering or exiting 
Brazil, nor did Poloff observe any other vehicle undergoing 
inspection.  End Note.)  He said that Customs does not inspect every 
vehicle entering or exiting Brazil because the policy would 
discourage bilateral commerce, and because his agency lacks the 
manpower to do so.  While IPR-infringing products entering from 
Paraguay used to originate in China, he has seen an increasing 
amount of such articles produced in Paraguay coming into Brazil, and 
said that drug traffickers use the same routes to enter Brazil. 
 
SAO PAULO 00000242  003 OF 005 
 
 
Tragancin said that his agency regularly apprehends revolvers, 
pistols and heavy ammunition on the Friendship Bridge being sold 
primarily to organized criminal gangs from Sao Paulo and Rio de 
Janeiro.  He added that heavy arms (for example fully automatic 
weapons such as the AK-47)increasingly enter Brazil on small planes 
flying in from Paraguay and landing on hidden airstrips. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Tragancin claimed that Paraguayan law enforcement and 
Customs seldom take action to clamp down on IPR, arms and drug 
concerns, stating to their Brazil counterparts that Paraguayan 
authorities do not have resources or staff to conduct such 
operations.  Tragancin told Poloff this is just an excuse to cover 
for the reality that Paraguayan officials and the police earn a 
profit from the producers and traffickers of drugs and fake 
products.  (Note: Luiz Bernardi, Regional Superintendent for Customs 
in Parana and Santa Catarina States, said that unlike Paraguay, 
Argentina is an active partner with a clear organizational structure 
staffed by officers who are not as evidently susceptible to bribes. 
End Note.) 
 
Adults Also Use Air and Sea 
--------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Joacir Araujo dos Santos, Superintendent of  the Brazilian 
Airport Infrastructure Company (INFRAERO) in Foz do Iguacu, the 
agency that administers Brazil's airports, said that drugs are 
seized regularly on or with people trying to leave Foz do Iguacu on 
planes after bringing in the narcotics from Paraguay.  (Note: During 
Poloff's visit, INFRAERO and the Federal Police detained a 
71-year-old Brazilian with 4 kilograms of cocaine on his body 
attempting to board a flight.  End Note.)  Santos said that INFRAERO 
and Federal Police agents need much more staff and more 
narcotics-detection equipment to handle all of these drug-related 
crimes.  Teresinha Krasupenhar, an official with the Itaipu 
Bi-national Dam Public Relations Division, stressed that boats 
carrying contraband and drugs cross into Brazil from Paraguay 
constantly.  (Note:  The Itaipu Dam, the world's largest operational 
hydroelectric power plant, sits on the Parana River that separates 
Brazil and Paraguay.  End Note.)  Krauspenhar told Poloff that fewer 
boats are entering Brazil since dam authorities began asking for the 
Federal Police's assistance, but the phenomenon is still not 
unusual. 
 
Youth Victim to Trafficking 
--------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Various contacts raised their concern that adults are 
increasingly using children and young adolescents to transport drugs 
and illegal goods from Paraguay into Brazil.  Customs Chief 
Tragancin told Poloff that during one operation, Customs officials 
apprehended two boats, one piloted by a nine-year-old and another by 
a seven-year-old, bearing heaps of counterfeit electronic products 
crossing the short distance over the Parana River into Brazil. 
Customs Superintendent Bernardi even claimed that traffickers are 
using young adolescents to fly small planes bearing narcotics into 
Brazil.  Edinalva Severo from the NGO Sentinel Program for Attention 
to Victims of Sexual Violence, said that children are being 
increasingly used to bring in drugs - she mentioned cocaine, crack 
and marijuana - and small arms and ammunition because they 
physically appear less likely to be involved in illegal activity. 
Noting that Foz do Iguacu has some of the highest rates of youth 
violence and death in Brazil, she asserted that hundreds of children 
have been killed by corrupt police officers benefiting from drug 
trafficking and other adults who do not want these children to 
 
SAO PAULO 00000242  004 OF 005 
 
 
reveal the source of the drugs if apprehended after already having 
made a delivery.    Additionally, if any young traffickers lose the 
drugs en route, they are forced to transport more narcotics into 
Brazil in order to pay back the value of the lost "goods," she said. 
 Severo blamed the police for not investigating leads or confirmed 
cases and for sometimes even supporting trafficking for personal 
profit.  (Note: Members of the Network for the Protection of 
Children and Adolescents in the Tri-Border Frontier, an association 
of NGOs, representatives of major local companies and local 
government agencies were in agreement about this anecdotal 
information, but we do not have the means to corroborate the claims. 
 End Note.) 
 
Federal Judge on Drug Trafficking 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Federal Judge Ricardo Rachid de Oliveira, a former 
participant in International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) training 
in Lima, Peru who is responsible for the adjudication of 
transnational criminal cases in the TBA of Brazil, told Poloff that 
the number of trafficking cases he sees is increasing steadily. 
Federal Police intelligence-gathering skills are improving but the 
amount of cocaine entering Brazil, with Europe as the principal 
destination, is much more than what the law enforcement community is 
able to handle.  Oliveira said that because Brazil has increased its 
drug interdiction operations in the central-western states of Mato 
Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul on the border with Bolivia, and has 
adopted laws having an impact on the number of planes that 
previously flew into Brazil from Colombia, trafficking routes have 
changed.  While drugs used to originate in Bolivia and Colombia and 
enter Brazil directly on their way to Europe, Bolivia and Colombian 
traffickers now have to go through Paraguay.  (Note: Oliveira said 
that depending on the quality of the cocaine, a kilogram costs about 
USD 1500-2500 in Paraguay, USD 2500-3500 in Brazil right when it 
crosses the border, USD 11,000 in Sao Paulo, USD 40,000 in Europe, 
and USD 80,000 in Japan.  End Note.)  Oliveira lamented that neither 
Paraguayan law enforcement authorities nor the judiciary are taking 
any action to inhibit drug trafficking and that corruption in both 
is systemic.  Brazil needs to improve its fight against drug 
trafficking by hiring more police and increasing the presence of 
Customs officials on the border, he said, but as long as Paraguay 
does not "clean up its act," no amount of Brazilian efficiency will 
overwhelm drug traffickers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The Brazilian law enforcement community has led numerous 
successful operations targeting traffickers and their customers 
throughout the country.  Nevertheless, as one contact told Poloff, 
even if the whole Brazilian military were used to seal off Brazil's 
borders, traffickers would still find a way to break through or buy 
off officers.  Bilateral and regional cooperation and greater law 
enforcement within countries from countries of origin are the main 
solutions to limiting the success of trafficking networks. 
Unfortunately, the trade in drugs, arms and counterfeit goods coming 
in from Paraguay is so financially lucrative that traffickers are 
willing and able to cope innovatively with enforcement efforts to 
date.  Increased enforcement may just yield more sophisticated types 
of smuggling, but there is certainly a need for a much stronger 
deterrent than is now being provided.  End Comment. 
 
¶13.  (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Brasilia's Law 
Enforcement Working Group. 
 
SAO PAULO 00000242  005 OF 005 
 
 
 
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