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R 192210Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0517
INFO RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
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RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
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RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO

UNCLAS BRASILIA 000184 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
FROM AMBASSADOR SHANNON FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER 
STATE FOR WHA, WHA/BSC, USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KJUS KCRM JUS OAS BR
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE FEBRUARY 23-26 VISIT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL 
ERIC HOLDER TO BRAZIL 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  I want to warmly welcome you to Brazil for your visit to 
Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, and to attend the 8th Meeting of 
Justice Ministers of the Americas (REMJA).   The Government of 
Brazil (GOB) is enthusiastic that you have decided to attend the 
REMJA, and you will be eagerly received at your Brazil-specific 
meetings.  Within the broader bilateral relationship, justice and 
law enforcement issues are among those with the greatest potential 
and where Brazil's growing international clout can be significant 
as we seek to obtain our objectives in South America, in 
multilateral organizations, and increasingly in other regions of 
the world.  At the same time, longstanding wariness in some sectors 
of Brazilian government and society with regard to U.S. dominance, 
motives, and actions continues to require careful handling as 
Brazil asserts itself on the global stage, and puts a premium on 
regular dialogue and sustained relationship-building.  Nonetheless, 
the GOB remains genuinely interested in developing a deeper 
relationship with the Obama Administration, and your engagement 
with Brazilian government leaders will provide a significant boost 
to our efforts to pursue a closer partnership on law enforcement 
issues. 
 
Brazil's Rapid Ascendancy... 
 
¶2. (SBU) Brazil is changing rapidly.  Already one of the world's 
top-ten economies before the financial crisis, the continuation of 
solid economic management and better-than-expected performance has 
brought Brazil out of the crisis earlier than most countries and in 
a relatively stronger position.  In addition to its open and stable 
economy, Brazil's ascendancy is being driven by solid democratic 
institutions, a competitive private sector, an ample resource base, 
and a government intent on reaching beyond Brazil's traditional 
role as a leader of South America.  While continuing to pursue 
stability among Brazil's ten South American neighbors, President 
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Foreign Minister Celso Amorim have 
spent seven years aggressively reaching out to Africa, the Middle 
East, and Asia, as well as taking a prominent role in global trade, 
climate change, nuclear non-proliferation, and economic 
discussions.  With its increasing global economic and diplomatic 
prominence, U.S. law enforcement interests in Brazil are also 
increasing, as the growth in legal trade, travel, communication, 
and finance in and through Brazil bring with them increased 
opportunities for criminal exploitation. 
 
...Is Coupled with Emerging Country Problems 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Brazil's emergence on the global stage comes even as the 
country continues to face notable challenges at home, which also 
touch directly on U.S. law enforcement interests.  Some 50 million 
Brazilians, mostly in the northeast, are among the poorest in Latin 
America, and the gap between rich and poor is among the highest in 
the world.  Although many jurists are top-flight, Brazil's judicial 
system is often described as dysfunctional, hobbled by overlapping 
jurisdictions, lack of training, stultifying bureaucracy, and 
overwhelming backlogs.  Persistent and widespread corruption 
affects all three branches of government.  Enforcement capability 
suffers from lack of training, bureaucratic rivalries, corruption 
in some agencies, and police forces too small to cover a country of 
almost 200 million inhabitants.  The slums of Rio de Janeiro, S????o 
Paulo, and other major cities often have little government 
presence, opening them to exploitation by increasingly powerful 
criminal gangs.  Murder rates in many Brazilian cities are ten 
times those in the most violent U.S. cities, and Brazil now ranks 
second only to the United States in consumption of cocaine, in 
addition to being a major transit point for drugs headed to the 
Europe and the United States. 
 
Successful Cooperation on Law Enforcement...to a Point 
 
¶4. (SBU) USG law enforcement agencies (LEAs) with a presence in 
Brazil all enjoy a cooperative and active relationship with 
Brazil's Federal Police (DPF).  Over the last several years, we 
have made a concerted effort to reach beyond traditional contacts 
 
 
to non-traditional executive branch agencies and non-executive 
branch partners, including state and municipal governments, 
legislators, the private sector, and civil society.  We have made 
new inroads with the judiciary and prosecutors, and spearheaded 
landmark Mission programs aimed at bringing them together with 
police to address common law enforcement objectives.  This outreach 
has paid dividends in opening new areas of cooperation with eager 
partners and in increasing the chances of arrests, prosecutions, 
and convictions in cases important to the United States. 
 
¶5. (SBU) At the same time, our increasing cooperation has been 
viewed with caution by some political elements of the GOB, who are 
concerned to maintain an equal partnership between our two 
countries and protect Brazilian sovereignty.  This has had the 
effect of limiting cooperation to operational levels, and has 
occasionally placed limitations on cooperation even at those 
levels.  This divide between policy and operational levels has been 
most noticeable as we seek to help Brazil strengthen its borders 
against international organized crime; generally good cooperation 
at an operational level has been offset by a reluctance to engage 
at a policy level on common threats in South America. 
 
Prospects for Enhanced Policy Cooperation Are Growing 
 
¶6. (SBU) Over the last months, the prospects for deepening our 
partnership have improved considerably.  Brazil is rethinking its 
security and law enforcement strategies as it prepares to host the 
soccer World Cup in 2014 in twelve separate venues, and as Rio de 
Janeiro begins preparations to host the summer Olympic Games in 
¶2016.  The worsening situation in Bolivia with respect to drug 
trafficking has led the GOB to consider ways of working more 
closely with the United States.  And in addition to hosting the 
REMJA, Brazil will host the once-every-five-years UN Crime Control 
Conference in April, and has launched a candidate to head the UN 
Office on Drugs and Crime. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Your visit comes as Brazil gets back to business after the 
Carnival break and before electoral races for the October elections 
for Brazil's next president, most members of congress, and all 
state governors begin in earnest this June.    Although a new 
government will take office January 1, 2011, I believe there is 
ample opportunity to strengthen our collaboration across the full 
range of security issues that will carry through from this 
government to the next. 
 
¶8. (SBU) As you meet with Brazilian officials, I believe you will 
find them eager to increase our ties.  Police, prosecutors and 
judges all require additional training, and we have been 
particularly attentive to ways in which we can foster cooperation 
among the different branches.  Prosecutors and judges, in 
particular, need basic training to help them move toward a more 
efficient accusatory system, and need specialized training in 
specific areas of interest to the United States:  gangs and 
organized crime, drugs, trafficking in persons, and money 
laundering. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The presence of U.S. Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) in 
Brasilia has amply demonstrated its value to our interests. 
However, as Brazil's global economic and political clout continues 
to grow, I expect that our needs in the law enforcement area will 
continue to rise.  I am currently reviewing our law enforcement 
presence in Brazil, and will value your input on how we can best be 
equipped to effectively combat international crime, organized 
crime, drug trafficking and terrorism in partnership with Brazil. 
SHANNON