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### Viewing cable 09LAPAZ1784, BOLIVIA: COUNTER-NARCOTICS NEWS AND TRENDS

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09LAPAZ1784 | 2009-12-17 21:09 | 2010-12-03 21:09 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy La Paz

`

    VZCZCXYZ0000
    RR RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHLP #1784/01 3512151
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 172150Z DEC 09
    FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0260
    INFO RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
    RHMFISS/DIRJIATF SOUTH
    RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
    RHMFISS/NATIONAL DRUG INTELLIGENCE CENTER JOHNSTOWN PA
    RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
    RHMFIUU/DEPT OF STATE AIR WING PATRICK AFB FL
    RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
    RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION
    RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
    RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
    RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
    RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0023
    RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA
    RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO
    RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

` `

    UNCLAS LA PAZ 001784

    SIPDIS
    STATE PASS TO CNC LINEAR WASHINGTON DC
    JIATF SOUTH FOR USCINCSO MIAMI FL//SCJ2/SCJ3/SCJ5/SCFA
    DEPT FOR INL, WHA/PPC, WHA/AND
    USAID FOR LAC/SA
    JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLA AND NDDS
    CUSTOMS FOR LA OPS, INTELLIGENCE
    DEA FOR OEL

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: SNAR BL KJUS PHUM
    SUBJECT: BOLIVIA: COUNTER-NARCOTICS NEWS AND TRENDS

    REF: LA PAZ 1589

    ¶1. 1. Summary and comment: Bolivian Counternarcotics (CN)
    officials have voiced public concern over a number of negative
    trends, including a sharp rise in the number of cocaine
    laboratories seized, the GOB's inability to track the rising number
    of small aircraft used to transport drugs to neighboring countries,
    the increasing presence of foreign drug cartels, and increased coca
    cultivation. Despite positive interdiction and eradication
    statistics (septel), local contacts believe these trends will
    worsen without immediate GOB attention. GOB officials recognize
    the problems, and the overwhelming victory of the ruling Movement
    Toward Socialism (MAS) party (reftel) will give President Morales
    additional power to shape CN policy. Still, he will face
    challenges in stepping up eradication and interdiction efforts,
    risking the anger of coca farmers, the core of his political base.
    This is the first in a series of NAS reports on counternarcotics
    trends and policy in Bolivia. End summary and comment.

    Proliferation Of Cocaine Laboratories

    ¶2. 2. The Department of Cochabamba has become a center for the
    production of cocaine base, according to statements made by FELCN
    commanders to Bolivian press. FELCN Cochabamba Director Colonel
    Elvin Baptista told reporters November 30 that FELCN destroyed 600
    cocaine factories in Cochabamba during 2009. Baptista explained
    that most were found in rural areas, close to rivers or other
    sources of water, and used Colombian methods, which consist of
    grinding up coca using electric motors, and then mixing it with
    precursor chemicals in rigid plastic containers.

    ¶3. 3. FELCN director Colonel Oscar Nina said on November 12
    that the Department of Santa Cruz has become a major center for
    crystallization (purification) of cocaine that is processed in
    other regions of Bolivia. He explained that FELCN had discovered
    16 cocaine crystallization labs during recent operations, one of
    which had the capacity to produce 100 kilos per day of high purity
    cocaine. The cocaine is produced in Santa Cruz, and the drug is
    then exported to Europe and the United States through ports in
    Chile and Brazil, according to Nina. (Note: DEA estimates less than
    one percent of cocaine seized in the U.S. can be chemically traced
    back to Bolivia. End Note).

    ¶4. 4. FELCN reported that it destroyed an average of two labs
    per day in the Department of La Paz in 2009. El Alto, the
    sprawling city of mostly poor immigrants that sits on the high
    plain above the city of La Paz, has become a major center of lab
    activity. FELCN La Paz commander Colonel Fernando Amurrio reported
    that FELCN destroyed 133 factories in El Alto during the first 10
    months of the year. Many of these labs are small Colombian-style
    labs hidden inside houses, making them difficult to detect. La Paz

    is considered a transit point where coca is converted into cocaine
    base paste and cocaine and then shipped to Santa Cruz or other
    areas of Bolivia to be exported. During a series of coordinated
    operations in the Department of La Paz November 20-26, FELCN seized
    93 kilos of cocaine and five tons of marijuana, detained 17 people,
    and seized five vehicles.

    ¶5. 5. FELCN destroyed two large-scale cocaine factories on
    November 25 in the Sicaya municipality in the Department of
    Cochabamba. FELCN estimated that during their three months of
    operation the factories had produced 180 kilos of cocaine base
    paste, and estimated that they could have produced one ton per year
    if they had remained in operation. The seizures brought the total
    number of seized factories in the region to 12 during the month.
    Cochabamba and MAS deputy Edmundo Novillo noted that increasing
    middle class involvement in coca production and ancillary
    activities, in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, will require greater GOB
    response.

    ¶6.

    Growing Community Involvement in Production and Trafficking

    ¶7. 6. The current rise in the net amount of coca grown and
    cocaine produced in Bolivia has deepened rural community
    involvement in the drug trade, according to numerous NAS contacts
    in FELCN and the GOB's Directorate of Coca Production (DIGPRO
    COCA). Contacts report that drug traffickers pay between $8,000 to
    $10,000 to small rural communities, to buy their cooperation in
    establishing cocaine factories, and then share profits with the
    community to retain acceptance and trust.

    ¶8. 7. In a November 26 operation in the indigenous community
    of Machak Marca de Pocona (in Cochabamba Department), FELCN
    destroyed 32 Colombian-style labs but was able to make only one
    arrest because the entire community fled when tipped off about the
    raid. (Note: Locals in such remote areas can often easily spot
    official vehicles from miles away, due to the lack of vegetation
    and building development. End note.) The local FELCN commander
    expressed his amazement to Bolivian reporters at the degree of
    involvement of the entire community in the production activities.

    CN Police Concerned About Trafficking Via Small Aircraft

    ¶9. 8. FELCN Director Colonel Oscar Nina told reporters
    November 1 that Bolivia CN forces lack the capacity to detect the
    high and rising number of small aircraft that transport drugs to
    neighboring countries. Nina explained that FELCN lacks radar or
    other technological equipment to confront the problem. Vice
    Minister of Social Defense Felipe Caceres told reporters November 9
    that the GOB's "weakness" in its war against drugs was on the
    country's borders. Caceres noted that President Morales had
    instructed the Defense Minister to work on acquiring additional

    planes, helicopters and radars to close this gap. (Many of our
    Bolivian CN contacts in the Department of Santa Cruz have told us
    frequently that Bolivia's lack of control over its airspace results
    in near free rein for air trafficking. Sources tell us that 175
    suspicious flights were tracked by Brazilian government mobile
    radar on the border between Bolivia and Brazil in a two-month
    period last fall.)

    Involvement of Foreign Drug Cartels

    ¶10. 9. Bolivian press reported extensively on FELCN Commander
    General Oscar Nina's October 28 statement that Mexican drug cartels
    are investing in cocaine manufacturing in Bolivia to secure
    sufficient supply to satisfy market demand. Nina stated that
    Mexicans employ Colombian drug mafias, which in turn hire local
    drug gangs. He also stated that Colombians have taken the place of
    Peruvians, who until recently dominated the Bolivian cocaine
    market.

    ¶11.

    ¶12. 10. The District Prosecutor's Office in Santa Cruz recently
    expressed concern about the presence of foreign assassins who are
    hired by drug traffickers to commit murders in Bolivia.
    Anti-corruption Special Prosecutor Alex Oswaldo Cespedes told
    reporters November 16 that seven people had been killed in Santa
    Cruz over the preceding 59 days, and that he believed foreign
    assassins ("sicarios") bore responsibility. Cespedes said that a
    major increase in drug trafficking activities in the city had made
    conditions ripe for the creation of drug trafficking organizations.
    The commander of Bolivia's Special Anti-Crime Police Force, Colonel
    Miguel Gonzalez, said it is too early to conclude that foreign
    assassins were involved.

    Increase in Coca Cultivation

    ¶13. 11. The GOB announced December 9 that coca cultivation had
    increased 6% in 2009 compared to the prior year, or by roughly
    1,830 hectares. Vice Minister of Social Defense Felipe Caceres
    told NAS Director that the two main national parks have more than
    2,000 hectares of illegal coca - 1,081 hectares in Isiboro-Secure
    and 972 hectares in Carrasco. He said the GOB knows it will have
    to resort to forced eradication in 2010, noting that many cocaleros
    do not respect the limits on cultivation set by the GOB.

    Coca Union Says Much Coca Circumvents Legal Markets

    ¶14. 12. The Yungas Coca Producers' Association (ADEPCOCA), the
    union formed by 30,000 coca growers from twelve provinces of Los
    Yungas, released a report on November 10 that stated that of the
    16,127 metric tons of coca leaf grown annually in the Yungas, only

    4,887 metric tons (30 percent) arrives at the legal coca market in
    Villa Fatima in La Paz. The destination of the remaining 11,240
    metric tons is unknown, according to the report. The ADEPCOCA
    report also stated that of the 54,000 metric tons of coca grown
    nationwide each year, only 21,778 metric tons (40 percent) reaches
    the two legally sanctioned markets -- Villa Fatima in La Paz and
    Sacaba in Cochabamba.

    Lobbying For A New Legal Coca Marketplace

    ¶15. 13. Coca growers of the Munecas Province in the Department of
    La Paz presented to Congress a draft bill to create a new legal
    coca market in the city of El Alto, next to La Paz, and branches in
    La Paz and Cochabamba. Currently, there are two legal markets -
    Villa Fatima in Los Yungas and Sacaba in Cochabamba.

    Bolivians Polled On Views Of Coca Situation

    ¶16. 14. Equipos Mori conducted a November poll in Bolivia's nine
    departments that found:

    * 60% of Bolivians believe that coca cultivation has
    increased since Evo Morales became President;

    * 75% believe coca eradication should continue;

    * 61% believe that there should be additional government
    control over coca production; and

    * 55% believe the state should control production and
    commercialization of coca.

    ¶17. 15. Comment: It may not be surprising that many Bolivians are
    concerned about coca expansion and support eradication. Those
    directly involved in coca production are a relatively small, but
    influential, percentage of the overall Bolivian population. There
    are approximately 44,000 families in the Chapare (an average of
    five people per family) that are directly involved in growing coca,
    and 26,000 families in the Yungas (an average of four people per
    family). The total Bolivian population is approximately 9 million.

    ¶18.
    Creamer

`