Cablegate: San Gaban: Passing the Goal

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS LIMA 005033

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INL, WHA; ONDCP FOR GETTINGS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR PE
SUBJECT: San Gaban: Passing the Goal

REF: Lima 4985

1. Summary: Sunday, November 13, the
COCORAH/DIRANDRO/DIRAVPOL coca eradication team surpassed
the 8000 hectare mark, the goal established by DEVIDA for
2005, in the San Gaban area of southeastern Peru. NAS
Director, DEVIDA officials, and the Director of CORAH
visited the eradication camp in Mazuko November 15 to
congratulate personnel. Eradication of nearly all the coca
in San Gaban will be achieved by December 15 or before. It
is probable that nearly 9000 hectares of coca will have been
eradicated by year's end. End Summary.

2. November 15, NAS Director Susan Keogh and Narcotics
Control Officer Fred Brems were joined by DEVIDA officials
on an inspection visit to Mazuko, site of the eradication
team base camp in San Gaban, near Peru's border with
Bolivia. CORAH's Director Col. Jose Yale and Director of
Eradication Operations Miguel Ramos joined the group in the
field. The group flew to a site where nearly 200
eradicators, behind a security shield of 60 Peruvian
National Police, were extracting coca plants. Some of the
plants were 8-12 years old with stems like small trees (they
had been cut back over the years to encourage bushiness),
making eradication a slow and difficult process. Peasants
("peones") with children watched emotionally as plants with
heavy yields of seeds ready for picking were eradicated.
Asked by a DEVIDA official how much money she received for a
bag of coca, the woman who had been working the field -
probably for an absentee landlord - said she did not receive
money, but rather rice and meat for her crop from the pack-
carrier ("mochilero") who picked up the leaf. (Comment:
Most of the people who are growing coca in this region are
also producing cocaine base - it may be that this woman was
not, however. End Comment)

3. On returning to Mazuko, the visitors were met by the
half of the eradication team on rest standing in full
formation. It was obvious to the visitors that morale was
high as the assembled CORAH workers, DIRANDRO security
police and DIRAVPOL aviation team enthusiastically received
messages of congratulations on reaching the goal early. The
8248.43 hectares of coca eradicated represents approximately
412 million plants.

4. As of November 20, the total number of hectares
eradicated reached 8248.43. As the team recently
encountered young plants in the coca fields that were
replanted since the last eradication in late 2004, the
eradication has picked up, from an early daily average of
about 25 hectares in the area of old coca to nearly 40
hectares a day, with a one day high of 55.6 hectares. We
estimate a total of 8800 -----hectares of coca will have
been eradicated by December 15 when eradication stops. It
is hoped that nearly 9000 hectares will be reached by the
end of the campaign year with the addition of the results of
a small campaign in the north near Campanilla in San Martin
that is slated to start in early Decemberthe end of November
and will continue through the holiday period. The next
large-scale campaign is planned to start in San Martin
January 6, 2006.

5. Comment: Statistics show that people living in the coca
growing areas are among the poorest in Peru. Those
cultivating the coca are often not the owners and are
exploited by those higher up on the narcotrafficking chain.
DEVIDA's eradication plan for next year begins with areas of
replanting insuch as Polvera-Pisana. A key part of our
effort to dissuade peasants - and the owners of the land -
from replanting not to replant coca will involve returning
to recently eradicated areas, perhaps coming back within as
few as 6 months, to re-eradicate with the possibility of
Alternative Development in areas that are on agriculturally
viable land. The security situation (reftel) will be a
significant factor in these efforts.
STRUBLE

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