VZCZCXYZ0135
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHPE #3365/01 2782035
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 052035Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY LIMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7077
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 5151
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7614
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ OCT QUITO 1499
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF STATE AIR WING PATRICK AFB FL
RHEHOND/DIRONDCP WASHDC
RHMFIUU/COGARD INTELCOORDCEN WASHINGTON DC
RULSJGA/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//G-CI/G-M/G-OLE//
RUCOWCA/COMLANTAREA COGARD PORTSMOUTH VA
RUWDQAA/COMPACAREA COGARD ALAMEDA CA
UNCLAS LIMA 003365
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR INL/LP
STATE FOR WHA/PPC
ONDCP FOR LT COL RONALD GARNER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KCRM ASEC PREL PE
SUBJECT: NAS MONTHLY REPORT, SEPTEMBER 2007
REF: A. LIMA 3163
B. LIMA 3229
C. LIMA 3066
---------
SUMMARY
---------
1. (U) The key developments in September 2007:
** IEDs in coca fields kill a coca farmer and seriously
injure a 12-year-old boy.
** During eradication, 21 IEDs were either disarmed or
exploded, injuring four eradicators and two police.
** As of September 30, CORAH has eradicated a total of 6,771
hectares.
** Former cocalero leader Nelson Palomino loses his
leadership position; Chavez supporter supplants him.
** Strict flying procedures mean UH-2 flying hours sufficient
to stay within contractual limit.
** Police pre-Academies educate students to pass police exam
and also foster good community/police relations.
** DIRANDRO has started its first-ever coordinated drug
interdiction operation in the VRAE.
** Peruvian Customs has improved its interdiction skills at
Lima air/seaport; a clear trend toward nationalization.
** New seaport-connectivity program links 13 Peruvian Coast
Guard Ops Centers to monitor suspicious ships/boats/cargo.
** Two-day regional youth leadership meeting in Ayacucho,
ends with anti-drug march with extensive press coverage.
** Community Anti-Drug Coalition initiative expanding from 6
to 12 coalitions.
END SUMMARY
------------------------------------------
BOOBY TRAPS KILL FARMER AND INJURE OTHERS
------------------------------------------
2. (U) On September 27, a coca farmer was killed by one IED
(or booby trap), planted by the cocaleros themselves, while
crossing an illegal coca field in the Polvora District. He
is the first person to die because of one of these explosive
devices. On September 28, a 12-year old boy also activated
an IED, injuring his leg. He is now in stable condition.
3. (U) In an interview with the daily "La Republica", Jorge
Valencia, head of the supply-control office at the anti-drug
agency DEVIDA, reported an alarming increase in the number of
attacks on coca eradication brigades this year. Valencia
said that there were 93 attacks through the end of August,
compared to 47 attacks in all of 2006 and only 23 in 2005.
Valencia said that his office has registered seven direct
attacks on eradicators and 23 acts of harassment involving
firearms. As a result of these attacks, one eradication
worker has been killed and 19 wounded in the first 8 months
of the year. Valencia also reported the deactivation of 54
mines, which were planted to injure or kill members of the
eradication brigades (Ref A).
4. (U) This month, 21 IEDs have either been disarmed or
exploded, injuring a total of four eradicators and two
police. Injuries have not been severe because eradicators
are using appropriate safety gear and equipment, as well as
using additional precautions. These extra safety measures
have meant that eradication is moving at a slower pace.
Materials used to prepare IEDs, including a car battery have
also been found. On September 21, CORAH began using four
mine-detecting devices loaned to them by the police. So far,
they have found two camouflaged IEDs.
---------------------------------------------
ERADICATION CONTINUES IN TOCACHE AND UCAYALI
---------------------------------------------
5. (U) As of September 30, CORAH has eradicated a total of
6,771 hectares and eliminated 32,574 square meters of
seedbeds of illegal coca. Seven holes in the ground, used to
hide explosives, and five cocaine-production laboratories,
destroyed by the police, were also discovered. An additional
4 cocaine-production labs were found and destroyed in the
second front of eradication operations in Ucayali. NAS is
coordinating eradication operations with USAID to support the
Alternative Development Program (ADP) in the Tocache area.
CORAH will begin eradicating in non-complying ADP communities
beginning in October.
6. (U) CORAH is working in Santa Lucia on a television
commercial that will be part of the communications campaign
"Campos que matan" (Fields that Kill). The campaign is being
financed by the U.S. Military Information Support Team (MIST)
at post.
--------------------------------------------- ------
COCA-GROWERS' GROUP OUSTS PALOMINO FROM LEADERSHIP
--------------------------------------------- ------
7. (SBU) The National Confederation of Coca Growers of Peru
(CONPACCP) held its sixth annual "National Congress"
September 10-15 in the northern coastal city of Trujillo.
Peru's largest coca-growers' organization elected new
leadership September 14. Former leader Nelson Palomino,
whose recent moderation was seen as bought by the GOP, lost
his seat to individuals associated with the Peruvian
Nationalist Party (PNP) and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
In contrast to previous sessions which saw attendance by
rank and file growers in the thousands, this year's meeting
consisted of elected regional leaders only. Total attendance
was approximately 120. The cocalero group also announced a
nationwide strike for September 24 that fizzled due to a lack
of popular support (Ref B).
--------------------------------------------- ------------
HELICOPTER FLYING HOURS WILL NOT EXCEED CONTRACTUAL LIMIT
--------------------------------------------- ------------
8. (U) NAS Aviation continues to monitor helicopter flying
hours to ensure that the total yearly of 7200 hours provided
in the maintenance contract (with DynCorp) is not reached
before October 31 when the contract ends. Whenever possible,
fixed-wing aircraft (INL, PNP, or rented) are being used for
reconnaissance and administrative flights in lieu of
helicopters. As reported in earlier NAS Monthly Reports,
these measures are due in part to the increase in flying time
required to move CORAH and the PNP security support to the
conflict-prone Yanajanca area south of Santa Lucia. The
UH-2s also flew more hours because the PNP MI-17s were often
not available in June and July. NAS should be able to fly
nearly 100 percent of the allocated 7200 flight hours.
---------------------------------------
FAP C-26 RETURNS TO PERU FROM OKLAHOMA
---------------------------------------
9. (U) On September 28, the FAP C-26 that was being
structurally modified for the new digital camera by the
contractor ARINC in Oklahoma returned to Lima. ARINC will
complete the installation of the camera in late October in
Lima. The second FAP C-26 is scheduled for modification in
Oklahoma later this year. This will provide two C-26s that
are capable of using either the FLIR or the digital camera
for detailed images and photos of the CN operations areas, in
addition to its transport role.
--------------------------------------------- ------------
Police Presence--and Better Futures--East of the Andes
--------------------------------------------- ------------
10. (U) The 3 NAS-sponsored Police pre-Academies, with a
total of 764 students enrolled this year, are starting to
provide a better-prepared pool of candidates for the 3
NAS/PNP Academies east of the Andes. In 2007, half of the
Mazamari pre-Academy students passed the PNP entrance exams;
next year we are aiming for 70 percent. The main goals for
all the Police Academies are to increase the number of
well-trained CN police east of the Andes and to increase the
overall government presence. The pre-Academy program is also
improving community-police relations, despite some bumps in
the road. In a study of the impact of the pre-Academies and
Police Academies in Mazamari, a NAS evaluation team found the
locally recruited students are contributing not only to
security in previously lawless zones, but are also a source
of pride to their extended family circles and communities.
Those students who are not able to enter a Police Academy
will have a stronger educational base that will allow them to
pursue technical--and more economically viable--careers (Ref
C).
--------------------------------------------- -
DIRANDRO IMPROVES ITS PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
--------------------------------------------- -
11. (U) The NAS Police Program has been assisting DIRANDRO in
the development of a new organizational design and structure
that would greatly expand its presence east of the Andes.
The new design will seek to improve the planning, management,
and control of NAS-supported police counternarcotics
personnel and resources. When fully implemented it should
also provide DIRANDRO with a better organized and
standardized command and unit structure that will allow it to
plan and implement operations with other PNP units, the Armed
Forces, and other government entities.
--------------------------------------------- ---------
FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND POLICE OPERATION STARTS IN THE VRAE
--------------------------------------------- ---------
12. (U) On September 8, DIRANDRO initiated its first
coordinated drug interdiction operation in the VRAE. This
operation is a first because it involves the coordinated use
of PNP land, river, air, intelligence, and psychological
warfare teams. DIRANDRO personnel from the police bases in
Ayacucho, Mazamari, and Palmapampa are participating in the
operation. Police have established road interdiction
checkpoints (including canines that can detect drugs,
precursor chemicals, and money) and police riverine patrols
of nearby waterways. Intelligence teams are providing signal
and human intelligence. The target areas are being selected
by DIRANDRO with key information provided by the NAS-funded
ARGIS system (a geographic information system that tracks the
price of coca leaf, precursor chemicals, and
laboratory/supply seizures east of the Andes). The ARGIS
system also allows DIRANDRO to analyze the impact of their
efforts.
---------------------------------------------
PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF VRAE POLICE OPERATION
---------------------------------------------
13. (U) From September 8-14, DIRANDRO reports that the
following has been accomplished:
A. 16 cocaine-production laboratories destroyed.
B. 70.2 kg of cocaine base seized.
C. 3,690 kg of precursor chemicals destroyed.
D. 1,984 kg of precursor chemicals seized (including 45
mules and a horse that were being used to transport the
chemicals).
E. 76,000 kg of macerated coca leaf destroyed.
F. 13 arrested on a variety of drug-related offenses.
G. 4 firearms seized.
--------------------------------------------- --------
CUSTOMS' INTERDICTION OPERATIONS CONTINUE TO IMPROVE
--------------------------------------------- --------
14. (SBU) At the Jorge Chavez International Airport (JCIA),
254 kg of cocaine were seized during September in air cargo,
passenger luggage, and internal carriers (mules). This
amounts to 3,509 kg seized and 545 arrests so far this year.
In the first 45 days of operation of the x-ray body scanner
(August 10 to September 30), 709 people were scanned for a
total of 64 positive internal carriers (9 percent). After
one year of NAS and USCBP advisory support, Peruvian Customs
(SUNAT) is managing the interdiction operations at JCIA on
its own, demonstrating a clear trend toward nationalization.
In another example of program nationalization, SUNAT runs the
Peruvian Post Office (SERPOST) program with only minor NAS
support. Last month, there were 129 kg of cocaine HCL seized
in 35 items.
15. (SBU) On September 20, SUNAT received confirmation from
Dutch authorities that an alert issued by the NAS-sponsored
Manifest Review Unit (MRU) on three suspicious shipping
containers proved positive for 1.5 metric tons of cocaine
HCl. This alert was investigated, developed, and issued
strictly by SUNAT authorities based on MRU information. The
Dutch inspection had already missed the drugs and the
containers were being released when the Peruvian alert
stopped them.
--------------------------------------------- -----------
NEW DATABASE SYSTEM LINKS ALL PERUVIAN PORT AUTHORITIES
--------------------------------------------- -----------
16. (SBU) In another joint program, NAS,DEA, and
TAT-JIATF-South are supporting the implementation of "SIMON,"
a port-connectivity program linking 13 Peruvian Coast Guard
(DiCapi) operations centers, which cover the coastline of
Peru and major river ports. SIMON consists of a database
linked via the Internet that will allow an information
exchange to monitor suspicious ships/boats/cargo. The system
will significantly improve the interdiction capability and
situational awareness of DiCapi. The SIMON database will
share information with the existing MRU, SUNAT, and PNP
databases and intelligence research systems.
17. (SBU) NAS supported the Air Carrier Initiative Program
that aims to train Immigration and SUNAT officials working at
the airports in Cuzco, Chiclayo, and Iquitos to identify
false documents (visas, passports, etc.) and imposters.
These three airports will be receiving international
passenger and cargo flights within the next two years, making
it critical for airport authorities to receive this training
to prevent the circumvention of counter drug efforts at JCIA.
---------------------------------------------
TWO-DAY YOUTH LEADERSHIP MEETING IN AYACUCHO
---------------------------------------------
18. (U) The NAS media project joined with CEDRO, a drug
demand reduction NGO, and the Ministry of Interior to
organize a two-day regional youth leadership meeting in
Ayacucho, a major drug production and transit zone, under the
banner "Yes to Development, No to Drugs". Youth leaders
learned about the impact of drug trafficking on Peruvian
society, the economy and culture, promoting a culture of
lawfulness in their communities and how to use the public
media. The meeting concluded with a youth march through the
city streets. Local press coverage was extensive and
favorable. Students from the NAS-supported police and
pre-police academies participated as did the son of prominent
national cocalero leader Nelson Palomino. NAS plans to
continue to support a youth leaders program in 2008.
--------------------------------------------- --------
COMMUNITY ANTI-DRUG COALITIONS INCREASE FROM 6 TO 12
--------------------------------------------- --------
19. (U) NAS awarded 9 cooperative agreements to NGOs to
develop a total of 12 community anti-drug coalitions (CAC).
Six NGOs are continuing to strengthen and expand the CACs
they started in FY 2005. Three of those six will also start
a new CAC, while 3 new NGOs will start new CACs in the Lima
metropolitan area. We have developed a new and improved
Logic Model and Plan of Action for the CACs to more
effectively manage and measure results. NAS is also looking
to other NGOs to investigate, record, and standardize the
strategies needed to reduce the risk factors and strengthen
the protective factors related to drug abuse. This
standardization effort has never been done before in Peru.
MCKINLEY