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### Viewing cable 09BUENOSAIRES1272, ARGENTINA: 2009-2010 International Narcotics Control

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09BUENOSAIRES1272 | 2009-11-20 18:33 | 2011-04-10 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Buenos Aires
Appears in these articles: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1364384-el-temor-oculto-del-gobierno-a-nuevos-actos-terroristas

`

    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

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