VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1272/01 3241834
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201833Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0076
INFO MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001272 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: 2009-2010 International Narcotics Control 
Strategy Report Part 1 Draft 
 
REF: A) STATE 97230; B) CRAIG-HOOKER 11/10/09 EMAIL 
 
¶1. (U) Per reftel, Buenos Aires draft INCSR report follows, with 
partial changes suggested by INL Washington in response to first 
draft (ref. B). 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Argentina 
 
 
 
Part I. Summary 
 
 
 
Argentina continued to be an important transshipment route for 
Andean-produced cocaine during 2009, with most of the traffic going 
to Europe as well as ephedrine bound for illicit trafficking in 
Mexico and the United States.  Marijuana also entered the country 
in significant quantities, much of it for domestic consumption. 
Argentina is a source country for some precursor chemicals sent to 
neighboring countries for the production of cocaine.  Argentina is 
not a narcotics-producing country, though there is evidence of 
small labs operating in remote areas in the northwest that 
transform cocaine ""base"" into cocaine hydrochloride (HCl).  An 
Argentine Supreme Court decision in September 2009 decriminalized 
the personal possession of small quantities of marijuana; the 
decision is thought to imply similar treatment for other drugs, but 
does not alter criminal penalties for selling or trafficking drugs. 
Argentine law enforcement agencies sustain counter-drug operations 
as a priority.  The country is a party to the 1988 United Nations 
(UN) Drug Convention. 
 
 
 
Part II. Status of Country 
 
 
 
Argentina is a transhipment route for cocaine from Bolivia, Peru, 
and Colombia destined for Europe and other destinations.  Large 
seizures of cocaine in Europe have been linked to Argentina, and 
individual carriers of small quantities from Argentina to Europe 
are regularly discovered.   There is evidence of increasing use by 
traffickers of light aircraft to bring drugs into the country 
across the long northern borders with Bolivia and Paraguay.  A 
cheap, readily available and mentally debilitating drug ""paco"" (a 
derivative of cocaine production) is consumed in Argentina's poorer 
neighborhoods.  Seizures of illicit ephedrine continued to be 
significant during 2009. 
 
 
 
Argentina cooperated effectively with the United States, European 
and other South American partners in narcotics investigations and 
regularly participated in U.S.-sponsored training in 2009. 
Argentina's enforcement efforts would benefit from increased 
regulatory authorities to seize unregistered precursor chemicals 
and to fine those found in possession of them. 
 
 
 
Part III. Country Actions Against Drugs 
 
 
 
Policy Initiatives:  In September 2009, Argentina's Supreme Court 
issued a ruling acquitting a group of young men convicted for 
possessing small amounts of marijuana.  Statements by members of 
the Court made it apparent the ruling was intended to decriminalize 
personal possession of small amounts of marijuana and that it may 
be applied to other drugs as well.  Convictions of the drug dealers 
in the same marijuana case were upheld.  Government of Argentina 
(GOA) officials have also advocated decriminalization of personal 
possession of small quantities via legislation as well, arguing 
that such a measure would permit shifting of scarce police and 
judicial resources away from individual users and toward drug 
trafficking organizations, as well as freeing up funds for 
substance abuse treatment. 
 
 
In September 2009, the GOA established, under the authority of the 
Chief of Cabinet, a National Coordinating Commission for Public 
Policy Regarding Prevention and Control of Illicit Drug 
Trafficking, International Organized Crime, and Corruption.  The 
Commission was composed of leading jurists, social scientists and 
scientists who had participated in a 2008-2009 Scientific 
Assessment Committee focused on the same issues.  The new 
Commission is to have a leading role in implementing a National 
Counter-Drug Plan.  Many elements of the plan focus on efforts to 
deal with prevention and treatment of addictions.  It also 
envisions a role in enhancing coordination among national law 
enforcement activities as well as addressing cooperation with 
international partners.  The commission has proposed tighter 
controls over certain medicines as well as mechanisms to detect 
suspicious patterns in the trade of precursor chemicals.  The 
National Plan envisions redefining the role of SEDRONAR, the 
Secretariat of Planning for the Prevention of Drug Addiction and 
Drug Trafficking. 
 
 
 
Separately in 2009, law enforcement agencies of the Government of 
Argentina were working to apply additional resources to what many 
viewed as an increasing push by drug traffickers across the 
country's northern borders by both land and air.  One effort 
focused on increasing the current minimal radar coverage in the 
north. 
 
Accomplishments:  Argentine security forces actively seized cocaine 
during 2009, including several seizures during the first half of 
the year of over 200 kilograms of cocaine.  Almost 92 percent of 
total Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)-assisted cocaine 
seizures of 2,373 kilograms from January through September 2009 
were made in the northwest border region by the Northern Border 
Task Force (NBTF), the Gendarmeria (Frontier Guard), or the Salta 
and Jujuy provincial police forces.   Over 14 metric tons of 
marijuana was seized in Argentina during this time frame, 
principally on the eastern border region where Argentina, Brazil 
and Paraguay meet or along the western border with Chile. 
Argentine authorities seized over 8,750 kgs of ephedrine during 
2009 in the greater Buenos Aires area, as well as 80,000 units of 
MDMA seized by provincial law enforcement authorities.  In 
addition, Gendarmeria forces in northern Argentina seized 85 liters 
of sulfuric acid and 200 liters of hydrochloric acid. 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts:  The Government of Argentina is seeking to 
shift resources from the arrest and prosecution of individual users 
toward the disruption and prosecution of drug traffickers and other 
organized crime.  The shift will require further refinement of 
investigative capacities among law enforcement agencies and the 
judicial system and additional refinements to eliminate case 
backlogs and other delays in the legal system. 
 
 
 
Corruption:  The GOA is publicly committed to fighting corruption 
and prosecuting those implicated in corruption investigations.  It 
is not government policy, nor are any senior GOA officials known to 
engage in, encourage, or facilitate the illicit production or 
distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled 
substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug 
transactions.  Independent judges and an active investigative press 
are known to explore allegations of corrupt practices by individual 
law enforcement or judicial authorities. 
 
 
 
Agreements & Treaties:  Argentina is a party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 
Protocol, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances; the UN 
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three 
Protocols; and the UN Convention against Corruption.  The United 
States and Argentina are parties to an extradition treaty that 
entered into force on June 15, 2000, and a bilateral mutual legal 
assistance treaty (MLAT) that entered into force on December 13, 
¶1990.  Both of these agreements are actively used by the United 
States with the GOA.  Argentina has bilateral narcotics cooperation 
agreements with many neighboring countries.  In addition, Spain, 
the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, France, Italy and the 
Netherlands provide limited counternarcotics training and 
equipment.  In 1990, U.S. Customs and Border Protection signed a 
Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement with the Government of 
Argentina.  Argentina is also a party to the Inter-American 
Convention against Corruption, Inter-American Convention of Mutual 
 
 
Assistance in Criminal Matters, the Inter-American Convention 
against Trafficking in Illegal Firearms, and the Inter-American 
Convention against Terrorism. 
 
 
 
Cultivation/ Production: Some marijuana is grown in Argentina, but 
most of that consumed in Argentina appears to enter from 
neighboring countries.  There are occasional discoveries of small 
labs converting cocaine base to HCl in the country, utilizing 
imported cocaine paste.  The discovery of one lab preparing to 
transform ephedrine in 2008 raised concerns about the emergence of 
synthetic drug production in the country, but only small-scale 
production facilities were discovered in 2009. 
 
 
 
Drug Flow/Transit:  Colombian cocaine HCl entering Argentina is 
largely destined for international cocaine markets, primarily 
Europe but also Asia and the United States.  Cocaine HCl seizures 
have risen over time, from a reported 2.5 metric tons (MT) in 2006 
to 7 MT in 2008 and ? MT in 2009.  There is an indigenous 
population along the northern border with Bolivia that 
traditionally consumes coca leaf and maceration pits were 
discovered in 2009, though the scale of production is thought to be 
limited.  Proceeds from drug-smuggling ventures organized in 
Argentina are often brought back to the country by couriers in bulk 
cash shipments and then wired to the United States for investment 
or smuggled directly into the United States.  Most of the marijuana 
consumed in Argentina originates in Paraguay and is smuggled across 
the border into the provinces of Misiones and Corrientes, from 
where it is then transported overland to urban centers or onward to 
Chile.  Argentina received significant ephedrine imports in 2007 
and the first half of 2008, and subsequent investigations and 
seizures indicated that much of the drug was bound for illicit 
commerce to Mexico or the United States.  Argentina changed its 
regulations on ephedrine imports in September 2008, stopping the 
excessive legal trade; Argentine and US law enforcement officials 
continue to collaborate against attempts by drug traffickers to 
illicitly import or transship the chemical. 
 
 
 
Demand Reduction Programs:  Drug use by Argentine youth has been 
steadily climbing over the past decade, with marijuana prevalence 
among high school students recorded at 8.1 percent in 2007; cocaine 
use among the population aged 15-64 was 2.67 percent, according to 
the United Nations Office of Drug Control.  SEDRONAR has played a 
lead role in coordinating GOA demand reduction efforts, but that 
role may be evolving with the establishment of the National 
Coordinating Commission for Public Policy Regarding Prevention and 
Control of Illicit Drug Trafficking, International Organized Crime, 
and Corruption.  The GOA, in collaboration with private sector 
entities, sponsors a variety of print and broadcast information 
campaigns which have a nationwide reach. 
 
 
 
Part IV. U.S. Initiatives and Programs 
 
Policy Initiatives: U.S. efforts in Argentina focus on four core 
areas: reducing Argentina's role as a transit point for drug 
trafficking by disrupting and dismantling the major drug 
trafficking organizations in the region; promoting regional 
counternarcotics cooperation among Andean and Southern Cone 
nations; and maximizing host nation drug enforcement capabilities; 
and fortifying bilateral cooperation with host nation law 
enforcement agencies. 
 
Bilateral Cooperation: U.S. Government agencies work closely with 
host nation counterparts, including the Argentine Federal Police 
(PFA), the Gendarmeria (Frontier Guard), Prefectura (Coast Guard), 
Special Airport Police (PSA), Customs, and judicial authorities to 
pursue specific investigations and to provide training and 
equipment to enhance host nation capacity.  Key U.S. Government 
agencies operating in Argentina with counterparts include the Drug 
Enforcement Administration (DEA), Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement (ICE), and the Legal Attache (FBI).  The State 
Department and U.S. Military Group, responsive to the U.S. Southern 
Command, provide support for training that contributes to the 
counter-drug mission.  Argentine authorities are receptive to 
training, cooperation on investigations, and equipment donations. 
 
A key element of U.S.-Argentine cooperation, funded with State 
 
 
Department INL and DEA resources, is the Northern Border Task Force 
(NBTF), a joint law enforcement group comprising federal and 
provincial elements operating in Argentina's northwestern provinces 
of Jujuy and Salta to interdict the drug flow from Colombia, Peru, 
and Bolivia.  The U.S. Government also supports an Eastern Border 
Task Force (EBTF), located in Misiones Province, that acts against 
illicit drug smuggling activities in the tri-border area with 
Paraguay and Brazil. 
 
Argentine authorities actively coordinate counter-drug activities 
with neighboring countries.  U.S. Government support has helped 
facilitate this cooperation by supporting joint training and 
seminars in the region and providing software and equipment for the 
sharing of real-time drug investigation leads. 
 
The Road Ahead:  The GOA has made significant progress in enhancing 
its interdiction capabilities and its controls over precursor 
chemicals.  It seeks to apply new resources to prevention of use 
and the treatment and rehabilitation of addiction.  Such efforts 
are crucial given the rapidly changing nature of the drug trade and 
the potentially damaging impact of increasingly potent drugs 
available through international traffic. 
 
 
 
The Embassy has offered additional technical assistance and 
training related to precursor chemicals, investigative techniques, 
interdiction, and legal assistance.  Some steps that could be 
usefully taken by Argentina include:  enhancing the regulatory 
authority of law enforcement agencies to seize unregistered 
precursor chemicals and to levy fines for their transport; 
outlawing money laundering-type transactions without the necessity 
of proving an illicit origin for the money; improving judicial 
procedures for the confiscation and administrative sale of seized 
criminal properties; and enhancing vigilance of the national 
borders and air space, particularly in the north-central part of 
the country. 
MARTINEZ