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FM AMEMBASSY PRAIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1868
INFO RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 0271
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 0637
RUEHPA/AMEMBASSY PRAIA 2750

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PRAIA 000211 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INLJOHN LYLE AND AF/W 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PREL EFIN ASEC CV
SUBJECT: CAPE VERDE SUBMISSION FOR 2010 INCR REPORT, PART I 
 
REF: STATE 097230 
 
¶1. Per reftel, Embassy Praia submits the following draft text 
for the 2010 INCSR report in addition to the e-mail version we 
have sent in for review.  Please direct questions or comments to 
Dana Brown (browndml@state.gov) 
 
 
 
Cape Verde 
 
 
 
¶I. Summary 
 
 
 
Because of its location in the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Verde is an 
important transit country for narcotics entering Europe from 
South America and Africa. Narcotics enter Cape Verde by 
commercial aircraft and maritime vessels, including yachts. 
Cape Verde works with international donors like the United 
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Governments of 
Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Brazil, and the United States 
to fight international narcotics trafficking and reduce local 
demand.  Cape Verde is a party to the 1988 United Nations 
Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and 
Psychotropic Substances. 
 
 
 
II. Status of Country 
 
 
 
Cape Verde's strategic location on the maritime and aerial 
routes between mainland Africa, Europe, and South America makes 
it an attractive transit point for drug shipments from the 
Caribbean, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil en route to Europe. 
The country's numerous beaches, extensive territorial waters, 
and an inadequately-monitored economic zone allow drugs to pass 
through undetected.  Cocaine is the most trafficked narcotic, 
mainly coming from Brazil, but crack cocaine, "cocktail" (a 
mixture of cannabis and crack, called "cochada" in Cape Verde), 
and locally-cultivated marijuana are also trafficked.  There are 
also reports that Ecstasy is trafficked through Cape Verde from 
Europe.  Cape Verdean authorities are concerned about drug abuse 
within the prison system and drug-related crime. 
 
 
 
III. Country Actions against Drugs in 2009 
 
 
 
Policy Initiatives. 
 
 
 
Cape Verdean law makes "consumption [of drugs], drug 
trafficking, and revenues resulting from drug trafficking" 
criminal offenses, punishable by one to twenty years' 
imprisonment.  In May 2009, the Cape Verdean Parliament approved 
a new law designed to combat money laundering allowing for 
greater control of offshore banks, and granting authorities more 
power to seize assets of drug traffickers.  In September 2009, 
the United States African Command (AFRICOM) and the U.S. 
Department of the Treasury sponsored, with the assistance of the 
U.S. Embassy and the Cape Verdean Judicial Police, a course in 
the capital city of Praia on financial investigation techniques 
and processing of evidence.  Representatives from the Cape 
Verdean Central Bank, Financial Information Unit (FIU), Customs, 
 and Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) attended the 
course, as well as members of the Judicial Police from Cape 
Verde and Guinea-Bissau. 
 
 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts. 
 
 
 
Cape Verde has two separate law enforcement agencies that fight 
narcotics trafficking: the Judicial Police and the National 
Police. The Judicial Police is a unit of the Ministry of Justice 
with overall responsibility for coordinating criminal 
investigations. The National Police reports to the Ministry of 
Interior.  To date in 2009, the Judicial Police has detained 141 
persons, primarily Cape Verdean, Nigerian, and Portuguese 
nationals, for drug trafficking, and seized 21 kilograms of 
 
PRAIA 00000211  002 OF 004 
 
 
cocaine and 640 kilograms of cannabis. 
 
 
 
Specific cases included: 
 
 
 
*       July 10, 2009:  two suspects arrested in Sco Vicente for 
transporting the equivalent of 5, 200 hits of cocaine; 
 
 
 
*       October 7, 2009:  two suspects arrested in Sco Vicente for 
transporting 164.7 grams of cocaine; 
 
 
 
*       October 9, 2009:  four suspects arrested in Sco Vicente 
for transporting 63.8 grams of cocaine; 
 
 
 
*       October 13, 2009:  three suspects arrested in Sal for 
transporting 7,035 kilograms of cocaine in the city of Praia; and 
 
 
 
*       October 27, 2009:  the Sal Criminal Court sentenced five 
individuals to sentences ranging from 12 to 24 years for 
trafficking 70 kilograms of cocaine.  As part of the same 
proceeding, the court sentenced a Cape Verdean border patrol 
officer to twenty-five years in prison for involvement in a drug 
trafficking ring. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Corruption. 
 
 
 
The government of Cape Verde does not encourage or facilitate 
the illicit production or distribution of drugs, or the 
laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. 
Nonetheless, in June 2008, three Judicial Police officials were 
arrested for diverting over 135 kilograms of cocaine seized in a 
drug investigation to the black market.  The Judicial Police 
conducted a full investigation, and the three suspects are 
currently awaiting trial. 
 
 
 
Agreements and Treaties. 
 
 
 
Cape Verde is a party to the 1988 United Nations Convention 
Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic 
Substances, the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on 
Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 
United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances.  Cape 
Verde is also a party to the United Nations Convention against 
Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against 
trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.  Also, on April 
23, 2008, Cape Verde ratified the UN Convention against 
Corruption. 
 
 
 
Cultivation/Production. 
 
 
 
Cape Verde is not a significant producer of narcotics.  Small 
quantities of marijuana, however, are sometimes cultivated 
domestically.  In September 2009, for example, the Judicial 
Police seized 120 kilograms of marijuana cultivated on Santiago 
Island. 
 
 
 
Drug Flow/Transit. 
 
 
 
 
PRAIA 00000211  003 OF 004 
 
 
Cape Verde is located in the mid-Atlantic off the coast of West 
Africa, and therefore occupies a strategic location on the 
maritime and aerial routes between mainland Africa, Europe, and 
South America.  As such, it is an attractive transit point for 
cocaine, marijuana, and other illegal drugs trafficked to Europe 
from the Caribbean, Colombia, and Brazil.  In addition, 
narcotics from Europe are sometimes smuggled through Cape Verde. 
 The U.S. has not been identified as a significant direct 
destination for drugs transiting through Cape Verde. 
 
 
 
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. 
 
 
 
The National Commission for Combating Drugs (CNLCD), organized 
under the Ministry of Justice, is responsible for coordinating 
Cape Verde's counter-narcotics programs.  The CNLCD gathers 
statistics, disseminates information on narcotics issues, and 
manages government treatment programs for narcotics addictions. 
It also runs a hotline and manages several public awareness 
campaigns.  In addition, Cape Verde has a drug rehabilitation 
shelter located on Santiago Island. 
 
 
 
Moreover, an administrative body, CAVE INTERCRIN (Cape Verde 
Integrated Crime and Narcotics Programme), supports the 
self-sustainable and healthy development of Cape Verde by 
preventing the spread of illicit drugs, crime, and other 
anti-social behaviors.  CAVE INTERCRIN aims to improve Cape 
Verde's law enforcement and border patrol capabilities through 
upgrades to the government's communication, intelligence, and 
communication capabilities, as well as through computer-based 
training programs. 
 
 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
 
 
Bilateral Cooperation. 
 
In 2009, the United States and Cape Verde cooperated on many 
fronts to combat drug trafficking.  One of the largest 
cooperative efforts, led by AFRICOM and coordinated by the U.S. 
Embassy, is the Counternarcotics Maritime Security and 
Interagency Fusion Center (CMIC), an institution to be operated 
by Cape Verdean military and police to coordinate maritime 
security and law enforcement. 
 
 
 
Moreover, this year the Cape Verdean and U.S. Governments 
continued their groundbreaking joint law enforcement activities. 
 In June 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard deployed a cutter with a 
Cape Verdean law enforcement detachment (LEDET) aboard to 
conduct law enforcement operations in Cape Verdean territorial 
waters-representing the first multilateral combined maritime law 
enforcement operation ever conducted in Africa.  It also marked 
the first time a non-U.S. LEDET worked with the U.S. Coast Guard 
on a U.S. military vessel.  In 2009, another LEDET operation, 
involving four Cape Verdean Coast Guard officers and two members 
of the Judicial Police on board a U.S. vessel, took place.  In 
addition, the U.S. Government is negotiating an agreement to 
allow future LEDETs with the Cape Verde Ministry of Defense. 
According to Cape Verde's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 
agreement will be approved in the near future. 
 
 
 
The Africa Partnership Station initiative, funded by AFRICOM, 
also continued work with the Cape Verdean military this year, 
paying for officers to attend training classes.  For example, 
three officials-one each from the Cape Verdean Coast Guard, 
Judicial Police, and Ministry of Justice, participated in a 
training program in Dakar, Senegal.  Lastly, as described above, 
AFRICOM and the U.S. Department of Treasury sponsored a course 
on financial investigation techniques and evidence processing, 
which was attended by Cape Verdean law enforcement officials. 
 
 
 
The Road Ahead. 
 
Under current timetables, in 2010 the CMIC will develop into a 
platform for government-wide information-sharing, and further 
 
PRAIA 00000211  004 OF 004 
 
 
progress will be made on the LEDET program.  The United States 
and Cape Verde are also discussing the implementation of a 
Status of Forces Agreement, to further improve cooperation on 
counter-narcotics issues. 
MYLES