The Republic of Croatia is a transit point through which narcotics are smuggled from production countries to consumer countries. Croatia has a strong legal and institutional framework to control and suppress narcotics related crimes. All available indicators suggested that heroin availability was down on the domestic market, part of a pan-European trend. Nevertheless, heroin smuggling over the “Balkan route” as well as maritime cocaine trafficked through seaports remain formidable challenges. Croatia is primarily a transit country for cannabis, with its negligible production primarily for personal use or domestic sale. The central precepts of Croatia’s drug policy have remained consistent throughout 2010 and 2011 as the country continued to implement its 2006-2012 National Strategy on Combating Narcotic Drugs Abuse and the 2009-2012 Action Plan on Combating Narcotic Drugs Abuse.
Croatia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Croatia is also a party to the UN Convention against Corruption and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols. Extradition between Croatia and the United States is governed by the 1902 Extradition Treaty between the United States and the Kingdom of Serbia, which applies to Croatia as a successor state. Under the latter agreement, Croatia is not obligated to extradite its nationals. Croatia has provided mutual legal assistance in a narcotics investigation based on reciprocity.
Croatian laws are generally sufficient to combat narcotics trafficking and drug use. Per the Act on Combating Drugs Abuse, seized illicit drugs are destroyed in the presence of the Committee for Destruction of Seized Illicit Drugs. Two planned drug destructions occurred in 2010 (May and December) when almost 569 kg of illicit drugs and more than 1 ton of precursors were destroyed. During 2010, mephedrone was added to the list of drugs under legal control as a psychoactive substance inline with EU standards.
The USG is not aware of any allegations of senior government or other government officials participating in narcotics-related corruption activities. Croatia is a party to the UN Convention Against Corruption.
During 2010, 7,550 persons were treated for drug abuse, 6,175 (81.8%) of which were treated for opiate addiction, with 1,375 (18.2%) for an addiction to other psychotropic substances, primarily cannabinoids (11.4%). Cocaine abuse is found among 1.6% of cases, a majority of which (60.4%) are repeat patients. Of this overall group, 82.9% was male; a male to female ratio of almost 5-1. In 2010, therapeutic communities offered treatment to a total of 939 persons, 45.3% received treatment for the first time. In therapeutic communities, opiate addicts made up (93.9%) of those seeking care, with males making up (80.5%). Psychosocial treatment included 2,020 families of drug addicts. There are reportedly no drug treatment waiting lists or any cost for patients, which Croatian doctors cite for low rates of hepatitis and HIV infections.
In 2010, police reported 7,784 criminal offences for narcotic drugs abuse (a 10.2% increase over 2009), accounting for 10.6% of all crime in the Republic of Croatia. 5,423 persons were taken into custody for the above-cited 7,784 offenses. This is an 8% increase over last year when 5,019 were held. In 2010, there were 5,982 drug seizures, a 14% increase over the previous year, reversing three consecutive years of reduced seizures. During 2010, the following narcotics were seized: 98kg-heroin, 15kg-cocaine, 422kg-marijuana, 3.4kg-hashish, 7kg-amphetamine, 2,159-ecstasy tablets, 100-LSD doses and 3,448-methadone tablets. During the first 6 months of 2011, the following seizures occurred: 1.34kg-heroin, 1.263kg-cocaine, 117.75kg-marijuana, 455g- hashish, 1,112-cannabis plants, 16.75 kg-amphetamines, 1655-ecstasy tablets, 104-LSD doses, 2,639-methadone tablets. Drug seizures increased 35% during the first six months in 2011 over the same period in 2010. Operating on Croatian supplied intelligence the Brazilian federal police seized 180kg of cocaine and discovered a hidden laboratory for cocaine production in October 2010. In March 2011, Brazilian federal police seized 121.8 kg of cocaine and arrested 5 suspects based on cooperation with the Croatian authorities. In April 2011, Croatian cooperation with Austrian police resulted in the arrest of several suspects and the seizure of 105kg of cocaine. In May 2011, Croatian authorities cooperated with the Spanish police who seized 368kg of cocaine and arrested several individuals.
Croatia has a well-developed institutional and legal framework to suppress narcotics-related crime and to implement preventive and educational programs. Treatment programs for drug abuse have improved thanks to early detection, rehabilitation and social reintegration of drug addicts as well as robust prosecution for illicit activity. The Croatian police continued to partner with regional neighbors as well as U.S. agencies and the EU. Joint operations between the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Interior Ministry’s Drug Division occur regularly and Croatian authorities are regular attendees at operational meetings and conferences in the region. Croatia is a popular, mostly peaceful, family holiday destination and the country is not known for drug-related tourism; however, raves (fast-paced electronic music and light show mass gatherings typically held in warehouses) can attract some ‘drug-tourists.’
A. Introduction
Cuba is located between some of the largest exporters of illegal drugs in the hemisphere and the U.S. market. Drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) frequently attempt to avoid Government of Cuba and U.S. Government counter drug patrol vessels and aircraft by skirting Cuba’s territorial waters. Bilateral interdiction efforts and GOC intensive police presence on the ground have limited the opportunities in or around Cuba for regional traffickers.
The goals of Cuba’s counternarcotics enforcement effort are to reduce the available supply of narcotics on the island and to prevent traffickers from establishing a foothold. The Cuban Border Guard (TGF) maintains an active presence along Cuba’s coastal perimeter, primarily to deter illegal emigration, but also to conduct maritime counter-drug operations and coastal patrols. Cuba’s domestic drug production remains negligible as a result of active policing, stiff sentencing for drug offenses, very low consumer disposable income and limited opportunities to produce illegal drugs, either synthetic or organic, in quantity. Cuba’s counternarcotics efforts have prevented illegal narcotics trafficking from having a significant impact on the island.
Cuba is party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
In 2011, Cuba continued “Operation Hatchet,” their multi-agency counternarcotics strategy. Led by the Ministry of Interior, “Operation Hatchet” includes the efforts of Cuba’s ministries of Armed Forces, Judicial, Investigations, Public Health, Education and Culture, and the Border Guard. The combination of forces is intended to reduce supply through vigilant coastal observation, detection and interdiction, and reduce demand through education and legislation. The Cuban government’s extensive domestic security apparatus and tough sentencing guidelines have kept Cuba from becoming a major drug consuming country. The Government of Cuba did not publicize new counternarcotics legislation policy initiatives or related budget increases supporting such measures in 2011.
Cuba continues to demonstrate a commitment to fulfilling its responsibilities as a signatory to the 1988 United Nations Convention based on adherence to the Convention’s Articles. Cuba criminalized drug related offenses as outlined in Article Three; including 39 judicial agreements with partner nations regarding judicial proceedings and extradition. Furthermore, in accordance with Article Nine, the Government of Cuba continued to exhibit counternarcotics cooperation with partner nations. The Cuban government reports having 32 counterdrug bilateral agreements and two memoranda of understanding (MOU) for counterdrug cooperation. Cuba regularly participates in international counternarcotics conferences, such as the United Nations’ Heads of National drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA), and submits quarterly statistics on drug interdictions and seizures to the United Nation’s International Narcotics Control Board.
The Cuban government is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the UN Convention against Corruption, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and its Protocol Against Illicit Manufacturing of Trafficking in Firearms and The Barbados Plan of Action of 1996. Cuba is not party to the Caribbean Regional Maritime Agreement which opened for signature in 2003. The 1905 extradition treaty between the United States and Cuba and an extradition agreement from 1926 remain in effect. In 2011, these agreements were not employed to hand over fugitives. Instead, bilateral arrangements were made to have the fugitives detained and deported from Cuba and directly placed in the custody of the receiving nation for further prosecution.
2. Supply Reduction
Major transshipment trends did not change from 2010. During calendar year 2011, the GOC reported a total of 9.01 metric tons of illegal narcotics interdicted (including 8.3 MT in wash-up events), a 360% increase from the previous year’s 2.5 (MT). Government anti-drug forces reported disrupting three smuggling events and captured six traffickers (3 from the Bahamas and 3 from Jamaica). Statistics on arrests or prosecutions were not made available.
There were no significant changes in Cuba’s overall counternarcotics strategy or operations in 2011. Domestic production and consumption of illegal drugs remained very limited, and Cuba concentrated its counternarcotics supply reduction efforts by preventing illegal smuggling through Cuban territorial waters, rapidly collecting reported narcotic wash-ups, and preventing tourists from smuggling smaller amounts of narcotics into the country. The Ministry of Armed Forces and Ministry of Interior’s combination of fixed and mobile radars, coupled with visual and coastal vessel reporting procedures make up an effective network for detecting illegal incursions of territorial air and sea by narcotics traffickers. The Cuban government attempts to interdict vessels or aircraft suspected of narcotics trafficking with Cuban assets. At sea, Cuba has had increasing success. Cuba continues to share go-fast vessel information with neighboring countries, including the United States, and has had increasing success in interdicting go-fast vessels. In 2011, Cuba reported 45 real-time reports of “go-fast” narcotics trafficking events to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). TGF’s email and phone notifications of maritime smuggling to the U.S. have increased in quantity and quality, and have occasionally included photographs of the vessels suspected of narcotrafficking while being pursued.
Overseas arrivals continue to bring in small quantities of illegal drugs mostly for personal use, although the extent of this problem remains unknown. The Ministry of Interior conducts thorough entry searches using x-rays and trained counternarcotics detection canines at major airports. Government officials detained 20 tourists, compared to 123 in 2010, for attempting to smuggle small quantities of narcotics into Cuba.
To combat the limited domestic production of marihuana, Cuba set up “Operation Popular Shield” in 2003 to prevent any domestic development of narcotics consumption or distribution of drugs, remained in effect and netted over 9,830 marijuana plants and 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, compared to 9,000 marijuana plants and 26 kilograms of cocaine in 2010.
3. Drug Abuse Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
The combination of extensive policing, low incomes, low supply, and strict drug laws (involving up to 15-year prison sentences) have resulted in very low illicit drug use in Cuba. There are nationwide campaigns aimed at preventing drug abuse, and the quantity of existing programs for the general population appears adequate given the very low estimated numbers of persons addicted to drugs in Cuba. The National Drug Commission, headed by the Minister of Justice, with representatives from the Attorney General’s office and National Sports Institute, remains responsible for drug abuse prevention, rehabilitation and drug policy issues in Cuba.
According to the Cuban government, the Ministry of Health operates special drug clinics, offering services ranging from emergency care to psychological evaluation and counseling to treat individuals with drug dependencies. There are no programs specializing in drug addiction for women and children. The Government runs three substance abuse clinics that cater to foreigners, and the Catholic Church runs a center to treat addiction in Havana.
The Cuban government occasionally broadcasts anti-drug messages on state run media and operates an anonymous 24-hour helpline. In addition, Cuba reports the dangers of drug abuse are a part of the educational curriculum at all levels of primary and secondary schools.
4. Corruption
Cuba has strong policies in place against illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, and laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. Cuba reports a zero tolerance for narcotics-related corruption by government officials and claims there have been no such corruption occurrences in 2011.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
Cuba and the United States share a mutual interest in reducing drug flows in the vicinity of the island, and in 2011, Cuba maintained a significant level of cooperation with U.S. counternarcotics efforts. Although the United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Cuba, there are respective Interests Sections in Havana and Washington, DC. In Havana, the U.S. Interests Section (USINT) has a USCG Drug Interdiction Specialist (DIS) to manage and coordinate counternarcotics efforts with Cuban law enforcement officials. The United States does not provide any narcotics-related funding or assistance to Cuba.
On a case-by-case basis, the USCG shares tactical information related to narcotics trafficking and responds to Cuban narcotics related information on vessels transiting through Cuban territorial seas suspected of smuggling, or tactical information on drugs interdicted within Cuban territory. Cuba also shares real-time tactical information with the Bahamas, Mexico and Jamaica. Bilateral cooperation in 2011 led to multiple at-sea interdictions.
The Cuban government presented the United States with a draft bilateral accord for counternarcotics cooperation, which is still under review. Structured appropriately, such an accord could advance the counternarcotics efforts undertaken by both countries.
D. Conclusion
Cuba continues to dedicate significant resources to preventing illegal drugs and illegal drug use from spreading on the island, so far successfully. The technical skill of Cuba’s Border Guard, Armed Forces and police give Cuba a marked advantage against DTO’s attempting to gain access to the Caribbean’s largest island. Greater communication and cooperation among the U.S., its international partners and Cuba, particularly in the area of real-time tactical information-sharing and improved tactics, techniques and procedures, would likely lead to increased interdictions and disruptions of illegal trafficking.of illegal trafficking.
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
There is insufficient evidence to say that state-sponsored trafficking by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) has stopped entirely in 2011. North Korean defectors have published an increasing number of reports about the rise of drug use in North Korea. Chinese and South Korean media also reported transactions between DPRK traffickers and large-scale, organized Chinese criminal groups in locations along the DPRK-PRC border such as Dandong (Liaoning Province) and Yanji (Jilin Province ) and as far away as Changchun (Jilin Provincial Capital). Although trafficking of methamphetamine (also known as meth or “ice”) along the DPRK-PRC border and other criminal activity involving the DPRK territory, such as the counterfeiting of cigarettes, continued, the lack of public reports of drug trafficking with an official DPRK connection suggests that high-profile state-sponsored drug trafficking may have ceased or been sharply reduced.
The Chinese provinces bordering North Korea (Liaoning and Jilin) suffer from a serious drug problem. In contrast to the majority of regions in China, the drug of abuse in this region is overwhelmingly crystal methamphetamine. There are regular press reports of Chinese police enforcement targeting drugs entering China from the DPRK (e.g. enhanced drug patrols, periodic apprehensions and drug seizures, etc.) but the media rarely identifies the DPRK as the source.
While drug trafficking appears regular and widespread along the DPRK-PRC border, there is no indication of an official connection or involvement. The DPRK government does appear to coordinate with the PRC government to try to stop the trafficking. However, enforcement in the DPRK appears lax. It is likely that some official corruption in both countries facilitates trafficking, as it does generally around the world, but the drugs seem to be manufactured and trafficked by individual DPRK criminal elements, not state-sponsored. While the reason for the wider availability of meth in the DPRK is unclear, it is likely that the proximity and availability of precursor chemicals from China is a main contributing factor.
Despite efforts by China to more closely control pseudoephedrine and other precursor chemicals that are necessary to produce meth, diversion of these chemicals continues to be problematic. Since a relatively large investment in precursor chemicals is necessary to produce methamphetamine, it is not clear how individual criminals could make that investment and arrange for sufficient meth production in the DPRK to produce the drugs which they traffic. Therefore, DPRK official involvement in drug production and trafficking cannot be ruled out entirely.
From the mid-1990s through 2003, numerous instances of narcotics trafficking involving DPRK persons and important state assets, such as sea-going vessels and military patrol boats, were recorded in Taiwan and Japan. Although there have been more media reports of drug trafficking in 2011 than in recent years, there have been no confirmed reports of large-scale drug trafficking involving the DPRK state or its nationals in 2011. No large-scale DPRK-seizures have been reported since 2004. This will be the ninth consecutive year that there were no known instances of large-scale methamphetamine or heroin trafficking to either Japan or Taiwan with direct DPRK state institution involvement. The absence of any seizures linked directly to DPRK state institutions, especially after a period in which seizures of very large quantities of drugs regularly occurred, suggests that there may be considerably less state-sponsored trafficking.
By contrast, press reports of continuing seizures of methamphetamine trafficked to organized Chinese criminals from DPRK territory, and reports of the use and availability of meth in the DPRK itself (e.g., reports of anti-drug posters in Pyongyang, interviews with travelers to North Korea, DPRK refugees in China, etc.) indicate continuing production of meth inside the DPRK and the sale of meth into China. For these reasons, the Department of State has insufficient information to confirm that the DPRK state is no longer involved in the manufacture and trafficking of illicit drugs. If such activity persists, it is likely on a smaller scale than in the past. The DPRK is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
A. Introduction
The Dominican Republic is an important transit country for illicit drugs from South America which are destined for North America and Europe. The U.S. government estimates that the bulk of the four per-cent of the cocaine through Hispaniola transships through the Dominican Republic. The United States and Dominican Republic analysts assess that maritime routes are now the primary method of smuggling drugs into and out of the country and recent successful maritime interdiction operations are validating this assessment. Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) are using Go-Fast boats and commercial containers to smuggle drugs into and out of the Dominican Republic. Plus, the country is experiencing an increase in narcotics related violence, partially attributable to DTOs’ practice of paying local partners in narcotics rather than in cash.
In order to combat the influence of DTOs, the Dominican Republic continued its cooperation with the U.S. government in efforts to interdict illicit drugs, and extradite criminals charged with narcotics-related crimes. The Dominicans conducted their own public outreach efforts to warn youth about the dangers of narcotics. The United States is actively working with Dominican counterparts to plan and conduct international operations to seize illicit drugs, and conduct investigations to dismantle DTOs; however, corruption continues to interfere with these efforts.
The Dominican Republic is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
The cooperation between the Government of the Dominican Republic and the United States Government to control narcotics trafficking and related transnational crime remains strong. The U.S. government’s primary partners are the National Directorate for the Control of Drugs (DNCD), Dominican National Police (DNP), the National Council on Drugs (CND) and the Office of the Attorney General. The DNCD and DNP enhanced their joint cooperation in 2011 with a focus on money laundering activities, and drug seizures. Dominican law enforcement and military units coordinated effectively, which was a contributing factor to increased drug seizures, but room for improvement remains. The Dominican Specialized Corps for Port Security (CESEP), working in conjunction with representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and private port operators initiated efforts to improve security at several ports. The government of the Dominican Republic’s participation in the Cooperating Nations Information Exchange System (CNIES), and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) enhanced relations with the United States and regional Caribbean partners. Additionally, joint efforts with Haitian National Police continued to combat drug trafficking by increasing law enforcement cooperation and provide training.
The Dominican Republic 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 (UNTOC) and its three protocols, the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. In 1985, the USG and the Dominican Republic signed an agreement on international narcotics control cooperation. The Dominican Republic signed and ratified the Caribbean Regional Maritime Agreement and has a maritime counter-drug agreement with the USG that entered into force in 1995. Additionally, the United States-Dominican Extradition Treaty dates from 1909. In 2005, the Dominican Republic augmented this treaty to include judicial review for more transparency.
The United States continues to receive excellent cooperation from the DNCD’s Fugitive Surveillance/Apprehension Unit and other Dominican authorities. The Dominican Republic is not party to the Organization of American States Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and does not have a bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty with the United States. Requests for judicial cooperation are made through formal and informal channels, including diplomatic notes and formal legal assistance requests between “Central Authorities” related to the multilateral law enforcement cooperation treaties and conventions to which the United States and the Dominican Republic are parties. The Dominican Republic processes U.S. requests for legal and judicial assistance in a timely manner.
2. Supply Reduction
The Dominican Republic’s efforts resulted in an increase in the amount of narcotics seized as compared to 2010. Narcotics are seized throughout the country, but the majority of seizures are made at the country’s six international air and sea ports. Dominican authorities seized approximately 6.7 metric tons of cocaine, 42 kilograms (kg) of heroin, 845 kg of marijuana and 5551 (tablets) of MDMA (Ecstasy). This is in an increase in comparison with 2010 data in which Dominican authorities seized 4.85 metric tons (MT) of cocaine, 30 kg of heroin, 642 kg of marijuana, and 138 (tablets) of MDMA. Marijuana is cultivated in the Dominican Republic for local consumption. Recently police discovered and destroyed a large marijuana plantation; and, marijuana seizures are concentrated in the northwest and southwest provinces that border Haiti.
There was one suspected drug flight from South America to the Dominican Republic in 2011, compared to 11 suspected flights in 2010. However, illicit drugs remain available for local consumption and transshipment to the U.S and Europe. Experts assess that DTOs increasingly used maritime routes as the preferred method of smuggling illicit narcotics into the Dominican Republic for transshipment onward to the United States and Europe. Dominican authorities began to focus their interdiction efforts on maritime routes that exploit Dominican territorial waters while maintaining their ability to prevent inland air drops. The DNCD and Dominican military officials cooperated with U.S. agencies, and international partners in planning and conducting operations to interdict “Go-Fast” vessels attempting to deliver illicit narcotics to remote areas of the southern coast, and drugs exiting the Dominican Republic en route to the United States and other international destinations. Tactics employed include more effective use of U.S. donated naval patrol craft, and the use of Dominican Air Force (FAD) helicopters to transport DNCD Tactical Response Unit (URT) to intercept narcotics shipments. One Dominican port, Caucedo, is operating in compliance with the Container Security Initiative (CSI). However, the other 15 Dominican ports, including Rio Haina, which handles 80 percent of container traffic destined for the United States, are not CSI compliant. The DNCD is attempting to place more narcotics detecting dog teams at ports and is seeking to acquire scanners to check containers entering and exiting the country.
3. Drug Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
Local drug use is concentrated in tourist and major metropolitan areas, although drug use and associated violence in the larger provincial towns increased. The National Council on Drugs (CND) continued their effective demand reduction effort by conducting a wide range of sporting, cultural, and educational events and seminars designed to warn Dominican youth of the negative effects of drug use. Additionally, the CND placed numerous billboards and multimedia advertisements throughout the nation warning youth against the use of illicit drugs. The CND and Ministry of Education developed the Strategic National University Plan on the Prevention and Use of Drugs (PLANUD), which the OAS/CICAD noted could be used by other nations as a model program. DNP Community-based policing (CBP) efforts experienced some set-backs due to leadership changes; however, the DNP continues to promote CBP as an effective way to deal with crime in local neighborhoods. Community Policing events were well received and demonstrated a public desire for expansion of this program and prompted the DNP to develop a strategy to expand CBP efforts.
4. Corruption
As a matter of policy, the Dominican Government does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production, processing, or distribution of narcotics, psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances, or condone drug related money laundering activities; however, corruption remains endemic in all levels of Dominican society. Dominican law enforcement, military, and government officials are often accused of a range of corrupt activities including narcotics trafficking, money laundering, extrajudicial killing and other crimes. The Dominicans pursued efforts to reduce corruption in several areas, including continued focus on developing internal affairs units, and changing the venue of judicial proceedings when necessary. The Dominican law enforcement internal affairs units continue their efforts to investigate officers accused of corruption, incompetence and abuse of authority. The DNP Internal Affairs Office’s investigations led to the dismissal of 360 police officers. In 2011, the DNCD removed 84 members for “bad conduct” including criminal activities related to narcotics.
Recognizing that corruption in the Dominican Republic adversely affects programs ranging from promoting economic growth to combating drug and other forms of illicit trafficking, President Leonel Fernandez asked multilateral organizations, the United States, and other donor nations to help address the “perception” of corruption in the Dominican Republic. After organizing a multi-sector dialogue, the Participatory Anticorruption Initiative (IPAC) presented 30 recommendations for the Dominican government’s consideration on November 17, 2010. The Dominican Republic government’s efforts to implement these recommendations have produced modest tangible results.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U. S. Policy Initiatives
The United States supports a wide range of efforts designed to address crime and violence affecting the security of Dominican citizens. In combination with bilateral programs, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), a security partnership between the United States and other Caribbean nations, will increase citizen safety throughout the Caribbean. CBSI policy objectives are to substantially reduce illicit trafficking, advance public safety and citizen security, and promote social justice. The objectives will be met by working to establish corruption- resistant, sustainable Dominican institutions capable of enforcing Dominican law; support international partners; protect human rights; and prevent crime. The United States government implements programs which are designed to enhance existing Dominican law enforcement capabilities by improving technical and professional abilities to conduct investigations, to enable effective prosecution, and to coordinate and participate in counternarcotics efforts with the United States and neighboring countries’ law enforcement agencies. The United States also works with Dominican officials to develop an effective anti-money laundering agency.
The United States government provided equipment and training to increase the capabilities of various Dominican law enforcement entities including support for the DNCD drug detection canine units, and other specialized DNCD investigative and reactive units. The United States also enhanced DNCD’s computer training, database expansion, and systems maintenance support. This improved infrastructure enhanced the DNCD’s ability to detect illicit drugs smuggled through airports and to enhance the Dominican Republic’s anti-money laundering capacity. In 2011, the United States supported training for 1,799 DNCD personnel in 46 training courses.
The U.S. continues to assist the DNP with its transformation into a professional, civilian-oriented organization. In 2011, 1,032 new personnel, received training. The United States also supported several critically needed infrastructure development projects at DNP training facilities. The Dominican government amended the seized asset sharing law by expanding the number of agencies able to benefit from these assets. Assets seized under counter narcotic or money laundering statutes will now be shared by: DNP (10 percent); Attorney General Office (25 percent); DNCD (25 percent); CND (25 percent); and NGOs carrying out drug rehabilitation (15 percent). The Dominican Republic will be in a position to use these revenues to augment support to their law enforcement institutions rather than rely solely on government funding and donor contributions.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) continues to support the Dominican Republic’s efforts to establish a transparent and effective justice sector. USAID promotes justice sector reforms by strengthening Dominican government capacity to manage and prosecute complex money laundering, fraud, public corruption and illicit trafficking cases; establish internal controls to prevent corruption; and promote a new system of institutional ethics. USAID works with the Offices of the Attorney General, Prosecutorial Training School, Judiciary, Public Ministry, Public Defense and Supreme Court of Justice. USAID, in partnership with the Dominican Republic, improves service delivery at the district level by strengthening coordination between prosecutors, judges, public defenders and the DNP in processing cases and resolution of obstacles to effective caseload management. USAID’s partners in the justice sector advanced the implementation of the Institutional Integrity System (SII) to promote transparency and control corruption within the justice sector. The Judiciary, Public Ministry and Public Defense also progressed in the adoption of the USAID-sponsored SII to promote ethical behavior, and strengthen financial management and human resource systems across key justice institutions. USAID will continue to support and remain engaged in the implementation of the IPAC recommendations, which continue to serve as a framework for donor coordination and harmonization efforts with the Dominican Republic in the fight to combat corruption in the country.
D. Conclusion
Combating endemic corruption, restoring public confidence in the law enforcement entities and the judiciary, addressing emerging maritime illicit narcotics smuggling and combating rising levels of narcotics threats fueled violence, remain among the challenges the Dominican Republic faces. Polls continue to show that a significant portion of Dominicans believe that the nation’s overall situation is “bad” and that 67 percent believe corruption is worse now than in earlier years. Polls also reveal that 75.6 percent of the people believe that the judicial system has the highest level of corruption. The Dominican government must improve its efforts to build a coherent, multifaceted counter-narcotics program that can interdict narcotics that enter the country and increase cooperation between the DNP, DNCD and military units. Cooperation with neighboring countries, notably the United States and Colombia, has dramatically reduced the number of illicit drug flights from South America.
A. Introduction
The Dutch Caribbean consists of Aruba, Curaçao, Dutch St. Maarten , and the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba (known as the BES islands). Since October 2010, Curaçao and Dutch St. Maarten have acquired the same semi-autonomous status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands that Aruba has had since 1986. The BES islands have become part of the Netherlands, similar to the Dutch municipalities, and now constitute the Caribbean part of the Netherlands. The Netherlands Antilles no longer exists as a political entity.
Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire, located off the coast of Venezuela, continue to serve as northbound transshipment points for cocaine and heroin coming from Colombia and Venezuela and primarily destined for the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. Dutch St. Maarten, on the other hand, which is located in the Eastern Caribbean, is a transshipment hub for cocaine and heroin destined for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Typically, drugs are transported by "go-fast" boats, although the use of fishing boats, freighters, and cruise ships is also common.
The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) has air and surface resources available to conduct counter narcotics operations and is considered by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be an important partner in the Caribbean Region in the fight against narcotics trafficking.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
Aruba, Curaçao, and Dutch St. Maarten have a high degree of autonomy over their internal affairs, with the right to exercise independent decision making in a number of counternarcotics areas. The Kingdom of the Netherlands is responsible for the defense and foreign affairs of all the constituent countries, including the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, and assists the Governments of Aruba, Curaçao, Dutch St. Maarten, and the BES islands in their efforts to combat narcotics trafficking.
The Dutch Caribbean did not adopt any new laws or initiate any new counternarcotics programs in 2011. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has notified the United Nations as well as the United States that the modification of the structure of the Kingdom on October 10, 2010 (when the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist) would not affect the validity of international agreements ratified by the Kingdom before that date and as described below.
The Netherlands extended the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances ("Vienna Convention") to the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in March 1999, with the limitation that its obligations under certain provisions would only be applicable in so far as they were in accordance with former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba criminal legislation and policy on criminal matters. The obligations of the Netherlands as a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, applied to the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba upon accession. The Netherlands extended the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols to Aruba in 2007 and extended the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances to the former Netherlands Antilles in 1999.
The Netherlands’ 1981 Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the United States applied to the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, although the new United States-Netherlands Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement does not. Both Aruba and the former Netherlands Antilles have routinely honored requests made under the MLAT and cooperate extensively with the United States on law enforcement matters at less formal levels. The 2004 United States-Netherlands Extradition Agreement and its Annex does apply to the Dutch Caribbean; and both the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba have been extremely cooperative in extraditing drug traffickers to the United States. In addition, the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba adopted the Agreement Regarding Mutual Cooperation in the Tracing, Freezing, Seizure and Forfeiture of the Proceeds and Instrumentalities of Crime and the Sharing of Forfeited Assets, which was signed by the Government of the Netherlands in 1994.
Aruba
The DEA’s Curaçao Country Office considers the Korps Politie Aruba (KPA) to be one of the most effective regional partners in the fight against narcotics trafficking. The KPA is a highly professional and motivated police agency that conducted several successful drug trafficking investigations in 2011 targeting trafficking organizations that were receiving multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from supply sources located on the north coast of Colombia.
Curaçao
The Special Police Task Force, “Recherche Samenwerkingsteam (RST),” a temporary Dutch government-supported task force, is headquartered in Curaçao and maintains its largest presence there. In 2011, RST units conducted several successful operations to thwart organized crime groups.
Because of Curaçao’s new semi-autonomous status, the RST is trying to take a less prominent role in law enforcement thus allowing the Korps Politie Curacao (KPC) to become the lead agency for drug trafficking investigations. The KPC’s Bureau of Narcotics (BNO) most high profile investigation was operation “Bermuda” that targeted trafficking at the Curaçao Hato Airport and resulted in several drug seizures and arrests. In 2011, the KPC was the primary law enforcement agency in Curaçao to handle treaty requests from the United States. Despite its successes, however, police sources have also reported a lack of leadership within the KPC, which has been without a permanent police chief since Curaçao became a semi-autonomous country in 2010. This has led to lower morale among KPC personnel.
The Dutch Military Police or “Koninklijke Marechausse (KMAR)” - the intelligence arm of the DCCG - also maintains a large presence in Curaçao. In recent years, the DEA and KMAR have detected an increase in illicit drug flights utilizing Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao as stopover points. In an effort to combat these flights, DEA and KMAR jointly sponsored training at the DEA El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) for airport officials in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.
Dutch St. Maarten
Law Enforcement agencies in Dutch St. Maarten are overwhelmed by the crime situation on the island, and they lack both training and personnel to properly investigate serious crimes. The RST has stepped in to fill this void, expanding its traditional role of performing only international investigations to include investigating homicides and other violent crimes.
Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba
The National Office for the Caribbean in the Netherlands assumes the responsibilities of law enforcement, security, and other administrative functions on behalf of the Government of the Netherlands for Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba islands.
2. Supply Reduction
Approximately 4,890 kg of cocaine were seized in the entire Dutch Caribbean in 2011.
3. Demand Reduction
The Department of State, in coordination with the DEA Country Office in Curaçao, continues to manage demand reduction programs with the International School of Curaçao, the Girl Scouts of Curaçao, and the Curaçao Baseball City Foundation.
4. Corruption
No part of the Dutch Caribbean encourages or facilitates illicit drug production or is involved in laundering the proceeds of the sale of illicit drugs. Certain improvements are needed, however, to address a lack of public integrity standards in many governmental agencies. For example, the local police departments on all the islands could improve screening of law enforcement applicants and enforce background checks of law enforcement officials who hold sensitive positions.
The Government of Curaçao, specifically, is struggling with public allegations of corruption, which provoked an investigation by a special Dutch investigator who produced the “Rosenmoller Report.” The Dutch Government asked Curaçao to follow up on this Dutch-initiated investigation, citing possible wrongdoing by various Curaçao cabinet members. The Curaçao Government, however, refused to investigate and was of the opinion that the report contained unfounded accusations. It is still unknown how these corruption allegations will be resolved.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
The objectives of U.S. policy in the Dutch Caribbean are to reduce illicit trafficking, advance public safety and security, and promote social justice. In particular, U.S. officials working with their island counterparts strive to take actions which allow DEA domestic offices to advance their investigations.
The Dutch St. Maarten Prosecutor’s Office has been slow to respond to Mutual Law Enforcement Treaty Requests from the United States regarding ongoing drug investigations. Organized criminal groups are aware of this weakness and utilize Dutch St. Maarten as a safe haven for drug trafficking.
Aruban authorities were very cooperative in 2011 with the execution of treaty requests submitted by the United States requesting assistance in narcotics investigations.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands demonstrated its commitment to counternarcotics efforts by continuing to support a U.S. Forward Operating Location (FOL) at the Curaçao Hato International Airport. U.S. military aircraft conduct counternarcotics detection and monitoring flights over both the source and transit zones. The agreement also includes a smaller FOL at the Reina Beatrix International Airport in Aruba.
In addition, the Dutch Navy regularly operates in the region for security purposes, and, at times, supports counternarcotics efforts of the Joint Inter Agency Task Force (JIATF) South including the embarkation of USCG Law Enforcement Detachments on their warships.
D. Conclusion
The United States encourages the Dutch Caribbean and the Kingdom of the Netherlands to continue their efforts to support the region through proactive counternarcotics activities and improved law enforcement intelligence sharing. The use of technical investigative equipment to confront major drug traffickers has proven to be successful. The United States also encourages Dutch Navy participation in offshore patrolling of the region, as it provides an important contribution to interdiction efforts and combined operations with U.S. counternarcotics agencies.
A. Introduction
The Eastern Caribbean (EC), encompassing the seven independent countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is situated directly in the corridor for illicit narcotics transshipment primarily from Venezuela to North America, Europe, and domestic Caribbean markets. A 2011 UN report found violent crime, much of which is linked to the drug trade, reaching epidemic proportions in the region. Marijuana is a staple crop in the region and cultivated primarily for local use.
Police in the region do not have the equipment or training they need to be effective. Outmoded criminal codes hinder a strong response to organized crime groups. The Regional Security System (RSS), a treaty-based international body to which all seven nations belong, has begun a regional polygraph vetting program, but corruption remains a stubborn problem in some countries, undermining trust within and between EC law enforcement organizations. Collectively, the EC nations communicate and coordinate poorly in attacking transnational crime. The EC islands and the RSS participate in the U.S. led Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). CBSI-funded law enforcement training began in the first half of 2011. CBSI funded equipment deliveries will begin in the first half of 2012. All EC countries are signatories to the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
B. Country Sections: Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
Antigua and Barbuda
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has three drug enforcement agencies, the Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (RABPF), the Coast Guard, and the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP). ONDCP works with the police and the Coast Guard to interdict drugs and share information regionally. The Royal Government of Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force also has a mandate to interdict drug smuggling. The Ministry of Health has specific record keeping requirements on the importation of pseudoephredrine and ephedrine chemicals. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has civil forfeiture legislation, but has yet to put it to practice.
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol (the 1961 UN Convention), and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances (the 1971 UN Convention) and the 1988 UN Convention (collectively, the three UN Drug Conventions). It is a party to the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption the Inter-American Convention on Extradition the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters the Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials (Inter-American Firearms Convention), the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols and the UN Convention against Corruption. Lastly, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda has a comprehensive maritime counterdrug bilateral agreement, an extradition treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in force with the U.S.
Government officials estimate both cocaine shipments and marijuana cultivation increased in 2011 compared to previous calendar year. In 2011, law enforcement officials eradicated two acres of cultivated marijuana in multiple locations, a similar result compared to 2010. In 2011, the following drug totals were reported as seized: 177 kilograms (kg) of cocaine, 99 kg of marijuana, and 6,860 cannabis plants. Government of Antigua and Barbuda authorities filed charges in 140 drug related cases, 33 of which went to trial. The government prosecuted no major drug traffickers during 2011.
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda continues to struggle with a lack of maritime patrol platforms. Irregular joint police-coast guard patrols remain unable to deter traffickers. The counternarcotics effectiveness continues to be hindered by a legal system that does not reflect the needs of modern law enforcement. Law enforcement lacks the capacity and the resources to undertake systematic counternarcotics operations.
Antigua and Barbuda has a Drug Abuse and Resistance Education (DARE) program in schools. The Cross Roads Centre, a drug and alcohol addiction treatment center provides free treatment. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda estimates 70% of locally grown marijuana is consumed domestically.
Barbados
The Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) has a drug squad that is guided by the Barbados National Anti-Drug Plan. The National Plan outlines the policies, goals, strategies and legislation to combat narcotics trafficking. The government says it is considering updating the plan in 2012. The drug squad focuses on major traffickers and is the focal point for international cooperation. It works closely with the Regional Security Systems (RSS) Air Wing, the RBPF Marine Unit, and the Barbados Coast Guard.
Barbados has a coastal radar system (Inter Coastal Surveillance Systems Radar) that has yet to achieve 360-degree coverage of the island. RSS aircraft, the RBPF Marine Unit patrol vessel, and the Barbados Coast Guard patrol vessels are the main enforcement assets used by law enforcement to monitor seaborne illegal narcotics movements.
The government introduced no new legislation or additional funding to assist drug enforcement during 2011. Legislation requires record keeping on precursor chemicals and the importation of pseudoephredrine, ephedrine and pharmaceutical products containing those two chemicals. Sustained high unemployment has brought new players into drug trafficking, according to police officials.
Barbados is a party to the three UN Drug Conventions. Barbados has signed, but not yet ratified, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols, and the UN Convention against Corruption. Although Barbados has not signed the Inter-American Convention on Extradition or the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, its Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act allows it to provide mutual legal assistance to countries with which it has a bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty, Commonwealth countries, and state-parties to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Barbados is a party to the Inter-American Firearms Convention. Lastly, Barbados has a comprehensive maritime counterdrug bilateral agreement (excluding ship rider provision), an extradition treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in force with the U.S.
Law enforcement officials report an increasing number of drug couriers arriving via air, notably on flights from Jamaica, smuggling drugs in their stomachs. On a single flight in August, ten passengers were found to have swallowed drugs. In 2011, cannabis was the only drug found under cultivation. Police seized 16,121 plants, mostly during eradication. They do not measure acreage. As in 2010, police encountered no drug laboratories. From January 1 until October 13, total drug seizures in Barbados were: 5 metric tons (MT) of cannabis; 64 kg of cocaine and one ecstasy tablet, seized from an incoming air passenger. Eighty nine percent of total cannabis seizures and ten percent of total cocaine seizures were made at sea. In 2011, 186 persons were arrested and prosecuted for drug related offenses. Statistics on convictions were not available as of November. Five major drug traffickers were prosecuted during 2011.
Barbados has the Drug Abuse and Resistance program in schools. There are other drug demand reduction programs sponsored by the National Council on Substance Abuse and the National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency. Police contacts assess these entities need to revise their strategy, pointing to continued high levels of cannabis consumption among the populations and increased youth drug. There are four drug rehabilitation clinics in Barbados, one of which is specifically for youth.
Dominica
The Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (CDPF) has a drug squad which is mandated to lead on drug enforcement. Drug squad operations focus on major traffickers. The Dominican Coast Guard has drug interdiction authority, and a vessel acquired in 2009 permits routine patrols. Dominica is particularly concerned with cannabis cultivation in the mountainous zones which are often impenetrable except by foot patrols. The Financial Intelligence Unit is operational and is assisting in identifying Proceeds of Crime Act violations in drug trafficking cases.
The FIU referred the first major money laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act case to the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2010.Although the investigation is ongoing, charges have been filed against several individuals and a trial is expected in 2012. Legislation requires record-keeping and reporting on precursor chemicals and the importation of pseudoephredrine, ephedrine and pharmaceutical products containing those two chemicals.
Dominica is a party to the three UN Drug Conventions and the UN Convention against Corruption. Its bilateral maritime agreement with the United States does not include over-flight provisions. It is a party to the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters., the Inter-American Firearms Convention, and the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism. Lastly, Dominica has a limited maritime counterdrug bilateral agreement, an extradition treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in force with the U.S.
Dominica estimates 210 acres of cannabis is cultivated annually, primarily for local consumption. During the year, Dominican police eradicated 15 separate cultivations over 13 acres and 120,574 cannabis plants. Dominica officials made 496 drug seizures which included 1.7 MT of cannabis, and 62 kg of cocaine. They encountered no drug laboratories. During 2011 Dominica reported 327 drug related arrests, 347 prosecutions—including nine major drug traffickers, and 187 convictions.
Dominica has a Drug Prevention Unit engaging youth and officials say it is moderately effective. Dominica does not have a drug rehabilitation clinic. Dominica reported 90 percent of the drugs transiting the country go to Guadeloupe, Antigua, and St. Martin. Dominica officials estimate 10% of the cocaine and 25% of the cannabis transiting the country are consumed locally.
Grenada
Grenada’s strategic location in the drug transit corridor makes it a prime refueling stop for traffickers, who exploit the remote cays and uninhabited islands. Grenada has a multi-dimensional plan to target major traffickers through enhanced regional and international cooperation. A special drug squad targets major traffickers, along with joint initiatives with the Financial Intelligence Unit.
Grenada uses border-control data, searches, profiling at ports of entry, and regional and international assistance in identifying traffickers. Legislation requires record-keeping and reporting on precursor chemicals, and also on the importation of pseudoephredrine, ephedrine and pharmaceutical products containing those two chemicals.
Grenada is a party to the three UN Drug Conventions As well as the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, the Inter-American Firearms Convention, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols, and the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism. Lastly, Grenada has a comprehensive maritime counterdrug bilateral agreement, an extradition treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in force with the United States.
Farmers grow cannabis on small plots in mountainous areas, accessible only on foot. In 2011, Grenada seized 3,390 cannabis plants in 25 eradication exercises. Grenadian officials seized 175 kg of cannabis, 1,478 cannabis cigarettes, 12 kg of cocaine, and 513 crack balls. They encountered no drug laboratories. Grenadian officials arrested 350 persons for drug related offenses. Officials did not provide information on prosecutions and convictions this year. Cocaine seizures are lower than previous years. Drug squad operational effectiveness is hampered by the lack of marine support, vehicles, and equipment support, especially computers.
Substance abuse treatment is provided at Mt. Gay Mental Hospital. Cannabis is the most prevalent drug used in Grenada. A small percentage of drug abusers use crack cocaine. The National Council on Drug Control conducts school and media demand reduction programs.
St. Kitts and Nevis
A dedicated drug unit operates on St. Kitts and a smaller unit operates on Nevis. All programs are coordinated in St. Kitts. According to their officials, the drug unit manpower and budget are inadequate. The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis Defense Force also work with the drug unit. Currently, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has only a limited ability to patrol its maritime borders.
There were no significant changes in the structure, responsibilities, budget, or manpower from 2010. Legislation requires record keeping and reporting on the use of precursor chemicals, as well as importation of pseudoephredrine, ephedrine and pharmaceutical products containing those two chemicals.
The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has proposed new legislation to provide law enforcement with wire intercept authority. This proposed legislation was under consideration in Parliament as of November.
St. Kitts and Nevis is a party to the three UN Drug Conventions as well as the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, the Inter-American Firearms Convention, and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols. Lastly, St. Kitts and Nevis has a comprehensive maritime counterdrug bilateral agreement, an extradition treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in force with the United States.
Government officials say global economic problems have caused decreased drug imports and increased local cannabis production, leading them to predict a rise in exports. Cannabis is cultivated predominantly in the mountainous regions. A lesser but significant amount is also grown in areas previously used for sugar production. Government officials have no estimate for cannabis acreage under cultivation. In 2011, officials eradicated 37 acres and destroyed 105,730 plants.
Seizures in St. Kitts and Nevis for 2011 were: 5 kg of cocaine, 443 kg of cannabis and, 525 grams of crack cocaine. There were 178 drug related arrests, over 100 prosecutions, and 97 convictions. A number of cases are still before the court. The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis prosecuted no major traffickers during 2011, however law enforcement officials report two major traffickers were murdered and one died of natural causes. They encountered no drug laboratories.
The DARE program is dormant, despite the availability of trained officers. The National Drug Council conducts a similar program, Operation Future. Government officials estimate 90% of domestic drug abusers use cannabis while 10% use cocaine. St. Kitts and Nevis does not have any rehabilitation clinics. Citizens in need are sent to St. Lucia.
St. Lucia
Organized crime linked drug violence continues to plague St Lucia. The Royal St. Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) announced a reorganization to improve its intelligence capabilities. USG law enforcement agencies have expressed serious concerns over RSLPF personnel changes associated with the reorganization, which have disrupted and, in certain instances, undermined drug enforcement. U.S. agencies are closely scrutinizing the full effect of these changes. The RSLPF also wants to augment the drug squad and reprioritize its focus. Other than the personnel changes and reorganization of the police department, there were no significant changes in structure, centralization responsibilities, or budget from the previous year’s reporting. In collaboration with the Financial Investigations Authority, St. Lucian authorities report it is in the process of preparing for trial with its first financial investigations case against a major cocaine and cannabis dealer in 2011.
Government officials did not report whether there is any legislation in place that imposes record keeping and reporting on the use of precursor chemicals, and importation of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and pharmaceutical products containing those two chemicals. Parliament passed an amendment to the Money Laundering Act that makes it mandatory for financial institutions to report to the FIA deposits of ECD 25,000 (US$ 9,259) and to the Proceeds of Crime Act that allows for civil forfeiture.
St. Lucia is a party to the three UN Drugs Conventions as well as the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, the Inter-American Firearms Convention, the Inter-American Convention on Extradition, and the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism. It has signed but not yet ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Lastly, St. Lucia has a comprehensive maritime counterdrug bilateral agreement, an extradition treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in force with the United States.
St. Lucian officials reported they had eradicated 23 of an estimated 25 acres of marijuana, destroying approximately 400,000 grown plants. St. Lucia reported total seizures in 2011 that included 438 kg of cannabis, 199 kg of cocaine, with three seizures made at sea. St. Lucia reported that more than 80 percent of all arrests made on the island were drug related; to date 228 persons have been arrested for drug offenses out of which 62 percent have been prosecuted with 65 percent convicted. A prominent businessman and suspected trafficker and money launderer and his wife were arrested for possession and intent to distribute narcotics.
St. Lucian police fatally shot twelve people in 2011. Opposition contacts and civil society leaders allege some of these killings may be extrajudicial executions of known criminals. At year's end, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) reported the cases were in various stages of internal review and investigation.
St. Lucia has several government sponsored demand reduction programs. However, police officials believe these programs are too small in scale and lack coordination to be effective. St. Lucia has one official drug rehabilitation clinic, Turning Point.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is drafting a National Drug Plan with assistance from the Organization of American States. The government has set up a new Forensic Drug Laboratory in Kingstown. The Financial Intelligence Unit works closely with the narcotics unit in the police department. Recently, the police established a Rapid Response Unit (RRU) to target drug and firearms offenses.
A narcotics unit targets major traffickers. Significant developments during 2011 included the arrest of a trafficker with four kg of cocaine and money laundering charges against a previously identified target. The narcotics unit, the RRU and Coast Guard jointly perform maritime interdiction operations with new domain awareness gained from the use of two radar sites installed in 2010. The radar system has improved operational effectiveness, according to government officials.
No new drug enforcement-related legislation passed or was pending in 2011. No laws require specific record keeping on the importation of pseudoephredrine, ephedrine and pharmaceutical products containing those two chemicals.
The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a party to the three UN Drug Conventions. On October 29, 2010, it became a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols. It is a party to the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, and has signed but not ratified the Inter-American Firearms Convention, the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism, and the Inter-American Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. Lastly, the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has a limited maritime counterdrug bilateral agreement, an extradition treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in force with the U.S.
The archipelagic nation continues to be the source for the majority of cannabis in the region. According to officials, marijuana producers have recently started labeling their product for export. Police have also observed a trend of younger nationals entering the trade.
Regional trade has also increased with Trinidad and Tobago sending drugs and guns in exchange for cannabis. Officials describe a “marked increase” in remittance flows. According to local officials, St. Vincent has over 300 acres under marijuana cultivation. During 2011, government officials encountered no drug laboratories, yet eradicated 70 acres of marijuana, destroyed 1,696,021 plants and seized 10.2 MT of cannabis, 39 kg of cocaine and 180 cocaine rocks.
During 2011, Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines authorities reported 522 drug related prosecutions, 322 convictions, and 432 persons arrested for drug offenses. Police officials say they need more vehicles, equipment, training and logistical support for their operations to be effective. Narcotics play a major role in the economy, causing a dependence on cannabis in large population segments. The government officials have stated they cannot combat the long terms effects of the drug trade solely through enforcement.
DARE programs are employed in schools, but does not have rehabilitation clinics. Officials estimate 30% of domestic drug abusers use cannabis while 2% use cocaine.
Regional Security System (RSS)
Established by a 1996 treaty between the above islands, the RSS seeks to promote co-operation among the member states in the interdiction of illegal narcotic drugs, in national emergencies, immigration control, fisheries protection, customs and excise control, maritime policing duties, combating threats to national security, and other vital issues that require a combined effort.
A key component of the RSS is the Air Wing. The USG continued to provide operational support for flight hours and upgrades and maintenance on key equipment during 2011, including a one-time appropriation of $8.25 million to rehabilitate the airframes and upgrade the sensors on the two C-26 aircraft. The RSS also coordinates training for member nation personnel. During 2011, the RSS began a polygraph vetting and drug testing program for national law enforcement members to address pervasive integrity issues throughout the region.
Corruption
As a matter of policy, the governments of the Eastern Caribbean do not 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. No senior government officials in the Eastern Caribbean were prosecuted in 2011 for engaging in or facilitating the illicit production or distribution of controlled drugs or laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. News media, however, routinely report on instances of corruption reaching high levels of government that are not investigated or go unpunished. USG analysts believe drug trafficking organizations continue to elude law enforcement agencies through bribery, influence or coercion.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
The objectives of U.S. policy in the Eastern Caribbean as outlined in the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) are to reduce illicit trafficking, advance citizen security, and promote social justice. CBSI supports these objectives by strengthening the capacity of regional defense, law enforcement, and justice sector institutions to detect, interdict, and prosecute organized crime in the region. CBSI addresses rising crime through demand reduction and crime prevention programs while developing national and regional capacities to provide greater socio-economic alternatives for vulnerable populations. CBSI supports information sharing networks, joint interagency operations and regional training initiatives to promote interoperability and build regional capacity. Since 2010, the USG has appropriated more than $11 million under CBSI to support law enforcement in the region, the majority of which is targeted toward counternarcotics. Initial deliveries of equipment and training will begin in the final quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012.
D. Conclusion
The U.S. encourages the seven nations of the Eastern Caribbean to participate proactively in CBSI and to fulfill their monetary commitments to sustain the RSS. The U.S. encourages the region’s governments to make full use of the RSS vetting program to ensure the integrity of personnel in sensitive positions and promote confidence in information sharing. The U.S. encourages the seven nations to pass legislation in their parliaments to implement modernized criminal codes that makes use of regional best practices in fighting transnational organized crime. The U.S. draws special attention to the need to implement civil forfeiture provisions to turn the proceeds of crime into a weapon against traffickers. The U.S. is also encouraged by the commitment of the Government of Barbados in securing resources to complete the integrated coastal radar system and invest in both maritime and air assets to achieve a new level of domain awareness that will benefit the entire region.
A. Introduction
Situated between two of the world’s largest illicit drug producing countries, Ecuador is a major transit country for illegal narcotics. Cocaine and heroin from Colombia and Peru are trafficked through sparsely populated, porous land borders and via maritime routes to Ecuador where weak internal controls allow for international distribution via air and sea routes to the United States and Europe. Ecuador is also a major transit country for chemical precursors to process illegal narcotics. Ecuador is vulnerable to organized crime due to weak public institutions, porous borders, and corruption. The Ecuadorian National Police (ENP), military forces, and the judiciary do not have sufficient resources to confront the transnational criminal challenges they face. The increasing problems of domestic drug consumption and the associated rise in crime is a growing concern. Ecuador is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
The Government of Ecuador continues to focus on the narcotics trafficking threat. The country is increasingly aware of the negative effects of transnational criminal organizations and concerned about the increase in crime throughout Ecuador. The government benefits from U.S.-funded counternarcotics assistance to support police operations, military operations on Ecuador’s northern border, construct and maintain police and military facilities, and provide logistical assistance, equipment and training for counternarcotics police and military. Unfortunately, the failure of the government of Ecuador to sign an amendment to the bilateral Letter of Agreement for FY 2010 Department of State International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) funding resulted in a significant loss of U.S. counternarcotics resources. Ecuador is attempting to increase police capacity and professionalization. The government plans to hire an additional 12,000 police officers and the force grew from 38,000 to more than 40,000 over the last year. Additionally, they raised the monthly salary for enlisted policemen significantly and made a concerted effort to ensure that all police officers have hand guns and protective vests.
Legislatively in 2011, the government of Ecuador introduced draft laws reorganizing the police forces and changing its penal code. One article in the draft penal law will decriminalize the possession of some amounts of illegal narcotics for personal use. The draft laws have been submitted to the National Assembly and it is anticipated that some form of both laws will pass in 2012. In May 2011, a 10-question national referendum passed which amended the 2008 constitution. One of the referendum questions established a Transitional Judicial Council consisting of three members (one from the Executive, Legislative and the Transparency Council). The Council has an 18-month mandate to restructure the judicial branch and has the authority to evaluate and terminate judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys. The Council plans to terminate 2000 judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who failed the newly established performance and psychological exams.
Concurrently, the Ministry of Justice continued its justice sector reform efforts to strengthen prosecutorial capacity through U.S.-sponsored training to over 3600 prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, and other judicial operators in support of the transition from an inquisitorial to an adversarial legal system. Training focused on basic trial skills and advanced courses in complex and transnational crimes, such as human trafficking, money laundering and narcotics trafficking.
The United States and Ecuador are parties to an extradition treaty which entered into force in 1873 and a supplement to that treaty which entered into force in 1941. However, Ecuador’s constitution prohibits the extradition of Ecuadorian citizens and the United States and Ecuador do not have a significant extradition relationship.
Ecuador is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the 1971 UN Convention of Psychotropic Substances, the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1992 Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, the UN Convention Against Corruption, and the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling. The Government of Ecuador has signed bilateral counternarcotics agreements with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the European Union, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and the United States, the Summit of the Americas anti-money laundering initiative, and the OAS/CICAD document on Anti-Drug Hemispheric Strategy. Ecuador and the United States have agreements on measures to prevent the diversion of chemical substances; on the sharing of information for currency transactions over $10,000, smuggling and trafficking, and a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement. The Ecuadorian and U.S. Coast Guard also exercise Maritime Operational Procedures that facilitate the boarding of Ecuadorian flag vessels in international waters.
2. Supply Reduction
Ecuador remains a major transit country for cocaine shipments by air, land and sea. According to U.S. estimates, 120 MT of cocaine transit Ecuador annually. Mexican, Colombian, Russian, and Chinese transnational criminal organizations are present and actively working in Ecuador. These organizations, including Los Zetas, the Sinaloa, Gulf cartels, and the FARC, aggressively and successfully move narcotics through Ecuador. Cocaine and heroin from Colombia, as well as cocaine from Peru and Bolivia, transit Ecuador for international distribution in shipments ranging from a few hundred grams to multi-ton loads. Shipment methods for illicit drugs and other contraband continued to diversify, including use of small fishing boats, self-propelled semi-submersibles, high-speed go-fast boats, and containerized cargo.
Counternarcotics efforts in 2011 were primarily focused on land-based cocaine interdictions and identifying and destroying five processing laboratories. Official police statistics indicate an increase in cocaine seizures in 2011 compared with 2010, but an overall decrease since the closure of the Manta Forward Operating Location (FOL) in 2009. Cocaine seizures in 2011 totaled 21.1 metric tons (MT) compared to 14.8 MT in 2010. Cocaine production along the borders of Colombia and Peru is common and appears to be on the rise, with Ecuadorian officials seizing more processing laboratories in 2011 than in 2010. Heroin seizures in 2011 were 152 kilograms compared with 266 kilograms in 2010. Ecuador also seized 4.5 MT of marijuana in 2011.
Due to a lack of central government presence and a deteriorating security environment where the Ecuadorian National Police cannot effectively operate, the Ecuadorian military is the only stable security presence in many northern border areas. In addition to providing logistical and operational support for police along the northern border, the Ecuadorian military conducted 25 operations at the brigade level, and 133 operations at the battalion level. They seized 18 buildings related to illicit narcotics, detained 21 individuals and seized and destroyed 40,000 coca plants.
Other successful Ecuadorian counternarcotics operations included a U.S.- supported Ecuadorian police operation which seized a total of 6.52 metric tons of cocaine over a six month period in late 2010 and early 2011. The operation was part of a longer-term money laundering investigation into the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel. This operation directly led to the arrest of top Sinaloa Cartel lieutenant Victor Felix in Mexico and nine additional Sinaloa Cartel cell members in Ecuador.
Maritime seizures continue to suffer following the 2009 closure of the Manta FOL. The Ecuadorian Navy lacks resources and continues to be ineffective at interdiction efforts with no maritime seizures in 2011. Maritime cooperation between Ecuador and the United States declined in 2011; due to logistical and planning issues within both governments, they were unable to carry out any joint counternarcotics exercises.
The use of cargo and shipping containers to smuggle drugs out of Ecuador (primarily to Europe) continues to increase. Drug traffickers conceal drugs in a variety of licit cargo, including fruit, wood, and other common exports. Additionally, traffickers continued to ship white gas and other precursor chemicals in large quantities from Ecuador to Colombia and Peru for cocaine processing.
Generally, Ecuador continues to be free of illicit drug crops. A 2011 United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report on coca cultivation in Ecuador found no significant coca crop cultivation in Ecuador’s northern border region. Elsewhere, when small-scale poppy or coca cultivation was detected, Ecuadorian police or military immediately eradicated the fields. In 2011, the government eradicated 50,950 coca plants; 22,149 opium poppy plants; and 553 cannabis plants.
3. Drug Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
Ecuador has an increasing problem with domestic drug abuse. According to UNODC data, the average age of first-time drug users in Ecuador dropped from 14.5 in 1998 to 13.7 in 2010. Local data regarding trends in drug abuse is limited. All drug offenders are entitled to drug treatment under Ecuadorian law, but the country does not have a plan to implement this law and lacks adequate resources and facilities to treat addicts. There are 25 out-patient drug treatment facilities and only one public in-patient drug treatment facility in Ecuador. One-hundred seventy private facilities provide treatment alternatives, but at $500-$2000 per month, are often cost prohibitive for addicts. Meanwhile, in 2011, Ecuador made plans to launch a pilot drug court program that hopes to reduce congestion in the court by removing minor drug offenses from the court backlog while providing tightly supervised treatment and monitoring to prevent recidivism.
Coordination of abuse-prevention programs is the responsibility of the Consejo Nacional de Control de Sustancias Estupefacientes y Psicotropicas (CONSEP), which leads a multi-agency national prevention campaign in schools. The campaign consists of nationwide workshops focused on the school-aged population and community outreach. CONSEP and the Direccion Nacional Antinarcoticos (DNA) also supported anti-drug concerts for youth and a media campaign.
The UNODC conducts a demand reduction and drug prevention program in Ecuador with some U.S. funding.
4. Corruption
As a matter of policy, the Government of Ecuador does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. The 1990 drug law (Law 108) provides for prosecution of any government official who deliberately impedes prosecution of anyone charged under that law. There were no successfully-prosecuted cases of government officials, police, or military involved in narcotics trafficking-related corruption in 2011. Some aspects of official corruption are criminalized, but there is no comprehensive anti-corruption law. Several government entities are charged with receiving and investigating corruption complaints, but resource constraints and political pressure generally thwart prosecutions. A 2010 USAID-sponsored study indicated 73% of the population perceived public sector corruption to be “somewhat widespread” and 21% of the respondents reported paying a bribe in the last 12 months. In response to public perceptions of the police, the government of Ecuador announced an anti-corruption initiative that will include polygraph examinations for the entire force, permission for commanders to permanently dismiss officers for corruption, and a revival of the internal affairs bureau.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
The United States supports Ecuador’s efforts to strengthen institutional capacity. U.S. counternarcotics assistance improves the professional capabilities, equipment, and integrity of Ecuador’s police, military, and judicial agencies, enabling them to more effectively combat criminal organizations involved in narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
Along Ecuador’s northern border region endemic poverty, isolation, and proximity to FARC-controlled Colombian territory combine to make the region unstable. Recognizing this, the U.S. continues to support programs that improve good governance and create opportunities for licit activities in areas along the northern border. In 2011, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) support financed 42 infrastructure projects that benefited some 34,500 people; helped generate jobs and increased the average incomes of nearly 6,200 families by strengthening value chains in cacao, coffee, and other products; and strengthened 21 local governments in the northern border. The United States also supports Ecuadorian police and military presence in the northern border region and police presence in other strategically important locations throughout the country. In 2011, Ecuador opened a $2 million U.S.-funded police facility which will increase the police presence along the southern border, an area with significant criminal activity.
The DNA remains the primary recipient of U.S. counternarcotics assistance, which includes the provision of vehicles, equipment, and training, as well as the construction of installations at ports and border areas. The DNA includes special nationwide units, such as the Mobile Anti-Narcotics Teams, a drug detection canine program, and a money laundering unit. In 2011, the U.S. continued to provide support to the military to facilitate their mobility and communications for narcotics interdiction activities along the northern border.
Ecuador is an active participant in the U.S. Coast Guard-sponsored Multilateral Counterdrug Summit, which also includes Panama, Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Mexico. The goal of these summits is to identify and implement cooperative measures to combat maritime drug trafficking. Also in 2011, the U.S Coast Guard conducted one mobile training team and two resident courses in law enforcement, search and rescue, port security and professional development.
Meanwhile, the United States supports prevention programs in coordination with the Ministry of Education, CONSEP, and other governmental entities that address drug abuse awareness.
D. Conclusion
The United States supports Ecuador’s efforts and encourages Ecuador to continue to place a high priority on the interdiction of illicit drugs, chemical precursors, eradication of coca and poppy cultivation, and destruction of cocaine-production labs. As traffickers continue to take advantage of Ecuador’s vast maritime area, increased port security and maritime patrols are necessary. The Correa administration has recognized the need to increase interdiction efforts on the rivers and waterways throughout the country and has tasked the Ecuadorian Special Forces (GIR) to augment the Navy’s interdiction efforts. Additionally, the government reported the Navy will receive an increase to their operating budget in order to better confront maritime-based illicit trafficking. In support of this, the U.S. will work with the Ecuadorian Coast Guard, Navy, and Customs officials to increase their interdiction capacity at sea and port facilities. Strengthened coordination between military and police forces would facilitate the government’s ability to gather evidence and prosecute cases related to these activities. Additionally, we encourage the Ecuador to give high priority to the prosecution of money laundering and official corruption cases, and to increase its focus on justice sector reform and strengthening the rule of law.
The Arab Republic of Egypt is not a major producer, supplier, or consumer of narcotics. Egypt is, however, one of the world’s largest importers of the two most important precursor chemicals for methamphetamine, but which have an entirely licit use in Egypt. Cannabis is grown year round in northern and southern Sinai and in Upper Egypt, while opium poppy is grown in southern Sinai from November through March. Egypt is a transit point for illicit shipments of narcotics from Africa to Europe due to Egypt’s mostly uninhabited borders with Libya and Sudan. The high level of trade shipping through the Suez Canal Zone also makes Egypt prone to the transshipment of Afghan heroin and narcotics from other countries.
Egypt is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Egypt is also a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and to the UN Convention against Corruption.
The Anti-Narcotics General Administration (ANGA) oversees most of the counternarcotics operations in Egypt, and cooperates fully with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office in Cairo to identify, detect disrupt and dismantle national as well as international drug trafficking organizations operating in Egypt. ANGA investigates and targets significant drug traffickers, intercepts narcotics shipments via land and sea, and detects and eradicates illegal marijuana and opium crops. Large-scale seizures and arrests related to cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine are rare, but there are very large scale seizures of hashish, marijuana and psychotropic pills.
ANGA’s operating equipment, including vehicles and safety equipment, is updated periodically and on a systematic basis. ANGA’s communication system for operating in remote areas of the Egyptian deserts and border areas is capable and functional. ANGA routinely enhances and maintains its communication systems. Cooperation between Egyptian Special Forces, Frontier Guards, and ANGA remains good, even in post Mubarak Egypt. As a result, the three agencies have collaborated on some very successful seizures during the past year.
ANGA’s drug seizures for 2011 remain reasonably consistent compared to years past with some minor differences. The following are drug seizure statistics for ANGA from January – October 2011: cannabis - 52,468 kg; cannabis fields destroyed – 65 feddan (ca. 67 acres); psychotropic pills – 45,315,162; psychotropic (C3) – 2,574; hashish – 16,098 kg; heroin – 41.36 kg; opium – 9.45 kg; cocaine – 1.50 kg.
As a matter of government policy, the GOE does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal transactions. The GOE has strict laws and harsh penalties for government officials convicted of involvement in narcotics trafficking or related activities. No widespread corruption exists within ANGA because all service members selected are among the highest qualified. However, individuals will be arrested if corruption is detected and ANGA officers are involved.
Government and private sector demand reduction efforts exist, but are hampered by financial constraints and logistical challenges. As of 2011, the National Council for Combating and Treating Addiction (NCCTA), created in 1986, continues to be the GOE’s focal point for domestic demand reduction programs. While the Council enjoys high-level, Ministerial, leadership, its actual capabilities and influence within Egypt are minimal. The Council primarily funds training for drug addiction workers and drug awareness prevention campaigns, but is not actively involved in rehabilitation programs. In 2003 ANGA became more involved in demand reduction by establishing a unit that works cooperatively and directly with the NCCTA. The Ministry of Health (MOH) has an annual budget of 150 million Egyptian pounds for the treatment of all mental health diseases, including addiction related conditions, and MOH state hospitals provide free treatment for drug addicts.
Imports of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, precursor chemicals for methamphetamine during 2011 placed Egypt among the world’s largest importers of these chemicals. Egypt is a regional producer of cold and flu medicine for Northern Africa. GOE authorities assert that in the past two years there have been no seizures of these chemicals as a result of any suspected drug trafficking or violation of local laws preventing their diversion and misuse. Furthermore, the GOE states there are no reports indicating a large scale diversion of these chemicals to markets abroad. However, existing control regimes place great weight on the documentation accompanying chemical imports. If the paperwork is in order the chemicals are almost always cleared for import. The GOE provides no follow-up to detect possible diversion or misuse of the manufactured medicines in Egypt or elsewhere.
A. Introduction
Although levels of narcotic flows are difficult to assess, El Salvador is a transit country for illegal drugs headed to the United States from production countries in South America. The United States estimates that approximately 95 percent of the cocaine leaving South America for the United States moves through the Mexico and Central America corridor. Of this, an increasing amount – nearly 80 percent – stops first in a Central American country before onward shipment to Mexico. El Salvador was named a major transit country for the first time in the President’s September 2011 report to congress on Major Illicit Drug Producing and Drug Transit Countries.
Traffickers in El Salvador used go-fast boats and commercial vessels to smuggle illegal drugs along the coastline. Land transit primarily occurred along the Pan-American Highway, with drugs hidden in the luggage of bus passengers or in containers on commercial tractor-trailers. The Cooperative Security Location at El Salvador’s international airport in Comalapa was essential to regional detection and interception efforts along both routes. Transnational street gangs were involved in street-level drug sales but not major trafficking as part of the logistics supply chain for Mexican, Colombian, and other drug trafficking organizations.
The Anti-Narcotics Division (DAN) of the National Civilian Police (PNC) remained the primary law enforcement agency responsible for combating illegal drug activity. The vetted special antinarcotics group (GEAN) within the DAN handled the most complicated and time-consuming investigations. The DAN was hampered by a lack of equipment, a shortage of officers, and recurring funding gaps.
The Government of El Salvador reported the trafficking of precursor chemicals used to manufacture synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine. In 2011, the DAN seized 157 metric tons (MT) of methamphetamine precursor chemicals and .17 kilograms (kg) of methamphetamines. Local growers cultivated small quantities of marijuana for domestic consumption. El Salvador is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
In 2010, the Government of El Salvador passed an amendment to the Salvadoran constitution that enabled legislation related to wiretapping and electronic intercepts.
The United States collaborated with the Government of El Salvador to establish a National Electronic Monitoring Center. Once the center is functioning in 2012, it will provide a steady stream of evidence suitable for use in court regarding illegal drug operations and organized criminal gang activity, as well as improve interagency cooperation within the government. By the end of 2011, the PNC entered more than 300,000 names into the Advanced Fingerprint Information System (AFIS) and planned to create a national database to include the majority of Salvadoran citizens. The United States continued to support El Salvador’s anti-gang efforts through specialized law enforcement training; prevention efforts, such as the Gang Resistance Education Program (GREAT) implemented with PNC officers; and the Transnational Anti-Gang unit, a vetted unit within the PNC. In 2011, 15 PNC officers were trained and certified as trainers for the GREAT program; 1,300 youth completed the course.
El Salvador is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the Central American Convention for the Prevention of Money Laundering Related to Drug-Trafficking and Similar Crimes, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols, and the UN Convention against Corruption. El Salvador is a party to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the Inter-American Convention on Extradition, and the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. The 1911 extradition treaty between the United States and El Salvador is limited in scope, and the constitutional prohibition on life imprisonment is an obstacle to negotiating a new bilateral extradition treaty. Narcotics offenses are extraditable crimes by virtue of El Salvador’s ratification of the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Only one person, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in El Salvador, was extradited to the United States under this treaty, in early 2010, despite many requests. There were no extraditions in 2011. El Salvador signed an agreement of cooperation with the United States in 2000, permitting access to and use of facilities at the international airport of El Salvador (Comalapa) for aerial counternarcotics activities. The agreement was renewed in 2009 for an additional five years and will expire in 2015.
2. Supply Reduction
In 2011, the PNC seized 1,079 kg of marijuana, 649 kg of cocaine, 2.5 kg of heroin, 1.7 kg of crack cocaine, 67 vehicles and 71 weapons. Seizure data reflected comparable levels to 2010. The DAN arrested 2,052 persons on drug-related charges and 20 persons for money laundering. On December 14 the Salvadoran Navy, working with the DEA and TAT offices in El Salvador, intercepted a go-fast boat in the Gulf of Fonseca. The boat was transporting 500 kg of cocaine at 98% purity. This is the largest drug seizure in El Salvador in 2011.
Traffickers used go-fast boats and commercial vessels to transit illegal narcotics to the country. Some land transit occurred via vehicles going through the country on the Pan-American Highway, including buses and tractor-trailers. Traffickers also utilized the major commercial airport, Comalapa, to move narcotics and large amounts of cash. In 2011, the PNC Anti Narcotics Unit Office seized over $1,800,000 at the airport and land borders.
3. Drug Abuse Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
Drug use among Salvadorans was a growing concern, particularly among youth, although reliable statistics for illegal consumption were not kept by the government. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that 0.4 percent of the population aged 15-64 abused cocaine. Few government programs existed for the rehabilitation of drug addiction.
The Ministry of Education provided lifestyle and drug prevention courses in public schools and sponsored after-school activities in 2011. The Ministries of Governance and Transportation supported units that advocate drug-free lifestyles, and the PNC operated a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program, but it was unclear if these programs reduced drug demand.
After an initial launch in 2010, the PNC continued the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program in targeted schools. The program is expected to be replicated throughout the country in 2012. The Public Security Council sponsored a substance abuse prevention program aimed at El Salvador’s gang population. The United States supported FUNDASALVA, a Salvadoran non-governmental organization that provided prevention, substance abuse awareness, counseling, and rehabilitation services. Local faith-based demand reduction programs offered counseling programs administered by recovering addicts.
4. Corruption
The Government of El Salvador did not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotics, psychotropic drugs, or other controlled substances, nor did it launder proceeds from illegal drug transactions. No senior Salvadoran government official was known to engage in, encourage, or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of drugs, nor the laundering of proceeds from illicit drug transactions. El Salvador took steps to address alleged corruption cases announced in 2009. In 2011, the former leader of the DAN was cleared of allegations of corruption following a two-year investigation. Salvadoran law penalizes abuse of an official position in relation to the commission of a drug offense, including accepting or receiving money or other benefits in exchange for an act of commission or omission relating to official duties.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
The United States and El Salvador partnered to confront organized criminal and narcotics trafficking organizations and advance programs that strengthen institutional capabilities to investigate, sanction, and prevent corruption. The government continued to provide prompt responses to U.S. requests regarding maritime drug interdiction cases.
U.S. assistance focused on enhancing the operational capacity of Salvadoran law enforcement agencies to interdict narcotics shipments and combat money laundering and public corruption. Assistance also promoted transparency, efficiency, and institutional respect for human and civil rights within law enforcement and the criminal justice system. The U.S. government supported Salvadoran efforts to combat transnational gangs, particularly the 18th Street and Mara Salvatrucha gangs.
In 2011, the United States provided specialized vehicles, cargo inspection equipment, bullet-resistant vests, radios, computers and other basic law enforcement equipment to the GEAN and other DAN constituent units. The United States funded tactical training in such areas as vehicle stops, roadway interdiction, and emergency responder first aid. The International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) provided management and specialized training for criminal justice sector personnel in the region. ILEA trained 226 PNC officers and law enforcement officials in 2011. The U.S. government provided training in maritime law enforcement, small boat engineering and maintenance, and leadership and management.
A U.S. anti-gang advisor coordinated anti-gang policy and project initiatives for El Salvador, and the region. Assistance included specialized training for 218 regional officers in intelligence-led policing, homicide reduction, and basic and advanced community policing. In addition, the U.S. provided in-service training for 1,519 Salvadoran police officers. Gang involvement in the drug trade appeared to remain confined to local distribution, rather than the large-scale trafficking typically associated with Mexican and Colombian cartels. In 2011, the United States collaborated with the DAN to develop two mobile inspection teams capable of deployment to highway choke points adjacent to El Salvador’s land borders with Guatemala and Honduras, and worked with the specialized container cargo inspection unit at the port of Acajutla. Among other support, the units received basic equipment and specialized training on conducting vehicle stops and roadway interdiction.
D. Conclusion
El Salvador cooperated on combating narcotics trafficking and gang activity and addressing citizen security. However, El Salvador faces rising security and rule of law challenges. Small successes can only be sustained through leadership by the Government of El Salvador, including investments in crime prevention programs, security, and the rule of law. El Salvador demonstrated its will to address security as a constraint to its economic growth. In the Joint Country Action Plan of the Partnership for Growth, El Salvador and the United States agreed to address crime and insecurity. However, further steps, such as providing additional manpower, resources, and equipment to the PNC, ensuring adequate pay to combat corruption, reforming corrections management, and holding security and justice sector actors accountable for their actions, will improve Salvadoran citizen safety. El Salvador can increase its efforts to combat drug trafficking, especially land transit of narcotics and cash via the Pan American highway. As remittances are an important part of the Salvadoran economy, the United States encourages El Salvador to carefully monitor the activity to ensure that money laundering is not taking place.
Estonia’s domestic anti-narcotics legal framework is in full compliance with UN drug conventions and European Union narcotics regulations. The Estonian Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substance and Precursor Act has been in force since 1997. Except for a higher HIV-infection rate among intravenous drug users (IDUs) in Estonia, the drug situation in Estonia is similar to that in other European countries. Estonia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the UN Convention against Corruption and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
A new extradition treaty between the United States and Estonia entered into force on April 7, 2009, replacing the 1924 agreement. The new agreement is in compliance with agreements previously signed between the EU and the United States, as well as with a 2002 decision of the EU Council concerning arrest warrants and transfer procedures. The United States and Estonia are parties to a mutual legal assistance agreement which entered into force on October 20, 2000. Both governments have also ratified and exchanged instruments regarding a Protocol to the MLAT. These instruments form the basis for a modern law enforcement regime and implement obligations under the U.S.-EU extradition and mutual legal assistance agreements.
The Government of Estonia (GOE) does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, nor does it encourage or facilitate the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. Combating the trade, production and domestic consumption of narcotics continued to be high priorities for all Estonian Law enforcement agencies and for key government ministries in 2010-11. The GOE has excellent cooperation on counter narcotics efforts with all neighboring countries. The Estonian Tax and Customs Board (ETCB) and the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board maintain good international cooperation through liaison officers with Finnish, Swedish, German, and UK customs and police authorities and with DEA. In March after a high-level meeting the chiefs of Estonian and Finnish police, border guard and customs renewed the cooperation agreement focusing on cross-border organized crime, drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
Approximately 80 police officers from the Estonian Police and Boarder Guard Board (EPBGB) specialize solely in narcotic-related crime. Relations between Estonian police, tax and customs authorities and the regional DEA office in Copenhagen have been outstanding and productive. In Estonia the DEA has been able to work jointly with Estonian authorities on cases of mutual interest and share criminal intelligence. Cooperation with DEA continued to be smooth and mutually beneficial in 2011.
Fifteen Estonian traffickers were arrested around the world in the first ten months of 2011, down from 29 in 2010. The Estonian police successfully investigated and charged several persons suspected of recruiting drug smugglers and credit these efforts with the decrease of arrests of Estonian drug traffickers abroad. Further, according to the police, their continuous law enforcement efforts have resulted in the number of seizures of narcotic substances decreasing.
Approximately 420 ETCB officers perform narcotics control on a daily basis. About 50 officers work in mobile units and 30 officers from the Investigation Department are specialized in narcotics-related crimes. On the European Union’s easternmost border customs control is performed 24/7. All customs border points are equipped with X-ray machines and equipment to disassemble vehicles. Both border points and mobile units are equipped with rapid drug test kits, endoscopes, fuel pumps and densimeters to discover secreted drug caches. All customs investigation and information officers have received special training in narcotics control. The ETCB also has 17 drug sniffing dogs working on the EU external border, in Tallinn airport, and in Tallinn harbor trained to detect cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, cannabis, marihuana, hashish, ecstasy, phentanyl and other dangerous drugs. The ETCB also utilizes automated license plate surveillance systems to gather additional information at border crossings.
Staff of NGOs providing services to IDUs report that most kinds of common narcotics can also be found in Estonia. However, opiates, synthetic drugs, and heroin are the most popular illegal substances used domestically. According to GOE and NGO estimates, there are about 14,000 IDUs in Estonia.
Estonia continues to implement its 2004-2012 National Strategy on the Prevention of Drug Dependency. There are more than 60 governmental, non-governmental and private entities working with IDUs to provide services to decrease demand and reduce harm from drug abuse. In Estonia, there are ten drug rehabilitation centers: two for adolescents, two for adults, six therapeutic communities for adults and one daycare center for double diagnosis patients. Six organizations in eight cities provide out-patient counseling services that include psychotherapy, psychological, social and peer-counseling services. Methadone substitution treatment is provided by six clinics at nine different sites. One program specializes in providing integrated methadone substitution and Anti-AIDS Retroviral treatment for HIV - infected IDUs. In total, nine organizations operate at 36 syringe exchange sites including outreach teams and mobile units. According to the National Institute for Health Development, the estimated coverage on syringe exchange is 52 per cent of targeted IDUs as the exchange points have about 7400 regular clients. There are no precursor chemical control issues in Estonia.
Ethiopia does not play a major role in the production, trafficking, or consumption of illicit narcotics or precursor chemicals associated with the drug trade. The country is, however, strategically located along major narcotics transit routes connecting Middle Eastern, Asian, and West African markets. The amount of drugs transiting Ethiopia continues to increase. Ethiopia's numerous airline connections also contribute to the increase in drugs transiting through the country. Ethiopia has witnessed an increase in illegal narcotics seizures (primarily heroin, cocaine, and cannabis) in recent years. Officials have also noted increased illegal drug consumption in Ethiopia, as well as drug exports originating from within the country. If domestic narcotics production, trafficking, and consumption continue to increase, Ethiopia risks becoming a larger player in the regional and intercontinental narcotics scene.
Cannabis is produced in rural areas throughout Ethiopia. An increasing amount of cannabis production is for export, primarily to neighboring countries, but with rising amounts trafficked abroad. Traffickers use the Ethiopian postal system and international courier services to move these drugs. Khat, a chewable leaf with a mild narcotic effect, is legal in Ethiopia and is the country's fourth-largest export, up from seventh-largest export only a few years ago. Khat is an illegal drug in the United States. Small, localized quantities of poppy are grown in the southwest of Ethiopia (around Tepi) for local consumption of poppy seeds. Upon discovery of illicit narcotic crop cultivation, police typically eradicate the fields and provide several days of training for the farmer. On the second instance, the farmer is arrested.
West African traffickers use Ethiopia as a transit point on a limited, but increasing basis. Apprehended traffickers have cited convenient flight routes and short layovers as their reasons for flying through Addis Ababa. Bole International Airport's Interdiction Unit continues to improve its ability to identify male Nigerian and Tanzanian drug mules who typically smuggle drugs through ingestion. Ethiopian authorities routinely pass information on suspected transiting drug traffickers to Nigerian authorities. At present, the Interdiction Unit is mostly dependent on tips from other countries to identify drug mules and has limited capabilities to identify suspects themselves.
Although it is not yet a major exporter of cannabis, Ethiopian cannabis exports continue to rise. Most seizures made by the Federal Police involved cannabis destined for the United Kingdom. Many of these seizures involved cannabis hidden inside typical souvenir items.
Drug abuse in Ethiopia is also increasing. Legal khat distribution networks simply add illegal marijuana and other narcotics available in Ethiopia to their shipments. Cannabis consumption is spreading outside the traditional Rastafarian demographic toward the general population. Hard drug use in Ethiopia remains limited, but DCD continues to see increases in heroin abuse.
Ethiopia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Ethiopia is also a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the UN Convention against Corruption. The Ethiopian Federal Police maintains a dedicated police investigation unit for human trafficking and organized crime. The unit, established in 2009, also covers drug trafficking. Penalties for narcotics offenses are severe: five years in prison and a 100,000 Ethiopian birr (approximately $5,800) fines for convicted illegal drug users and dealers. The Ethiopian Federal High Court has established a separate drug court; an action the Federal Police's DCD applauds and calls a strong mechanism to deter repeat traffickers.
The Ethiopian Federal Police trains postal service employees and courier services in drug detection and makes weekly visits to post offices and courier services to monitor their performance.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is collaborating with the Ethiopian Government on the implementation of a multi-sector National Drug Control Master Plan for Ethiopia (2009-2013), as well as support for drug and HIV prevention and control. A major component of this joint plan is to curb drug trafficking activities at Bole International Airport and to build the investigative capacity of Ethiopian drug law enforcement.
The Federal Police DCD's ranks number fifty-five individuals targeted on drug enforcement. Approximately half of these personnel work at Bole Airport's interdiction team, which also includes one aging and increasingly ineffective drug-sniffing German Shepherd dog. The unit also continues to suffer a high turnover of senior officers. The DCD hopes for assistance in procuring and training additional sniffer dogs, as well as securing new vehicles. Lack of dedicated vehicular transport has forced officers to take intercity busses out into the countryside on recent raids, limiting their mobility and effectiveness. The DCD stated the intention of increasing public awareness of the drug problems in Ethiopia by partnering with anti-drug clubs in high schools had to be abandoned for lack of funds. The Government of Ethiopia does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, nor does it encourage or facilitate the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.
The Ethiopian law enforcement community remains aware of its budding drug problem and maintains a desire to curb the narcotics threat at an early stage. UNODC is collaborating with Ethiopia to create and implement a National Drug Control Master Plan. However, Ethiopia's counternarcotics capacity and resources remain limited.
French Guyana and the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, the French side of Saint Martin, and St. Barthelemy are all overseas departments of France and therefore subject to French law. The French Judiciary Police, Gendarmerie, and Customs Service play a major role in narcotics law enforcement in France's overseas departments. They are also subject to all international and bilateral conventions signed by France, including the 1988 UN Drug Convention, and participate in regional cooperation programs initiated and sponsored by the European Union.
The governments of these territories are able to request additional resources from the French government in their fight against illegal drug smuggling. Officials in the area are drawn from and trained by the French Civil Service. There have been no accusations of corruption within the French government or of high ranking senior officials in regards to the French Caribbean within the past year.
In 2011, the French Inter-ministerial Drug Control Training Center (CIFAD) in Fort-de-France, Martinique offered training in French, Spanish, and English to law enforcement officials in the Caribbean and Central and South America, covering subjects such as money laundering, precursor chemicals, mutual legal assistance, international legal cooperation, coast guard training, customs valuation, and drug control in airports. CIFAD coordinated its training activities with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Organization of American States (OAS), and individual donor nations. U.S. Customs officials periodically provided training at the CIFAD. With funding from OAS, French Customs held training seminars aimed at Customs and Coast Guard Officers from those member states. The French Navy also hosted “Operation Carib Royale,” an ongoing French and Eastern Caribbean counternarcotics operation, which Joint Interagency Task Force – South (JIATF-S) supports with available air and maritime assets.
There does not appear to be a large amount of drug production in the French Caribbean, rather these French holdings are recognized mainly as transshipment points by air and sea vessels transporting drugs from elsewhere in South and Central America to Europe and, to a lesser extent, the United States. The geography of the Caribbean Sea and the proximity of French Caribbean departments to other nations with relatively lax law enforcement and endemic corruption all act to facilitate the trafficking of illicit substances through the area. Specifically, Martinique and Guadeloupe are both known to be transshipment points for drugs moving through the region, primarily internationally produced cocaine, cannabis, and Ecstasy. Official statistics for 2011 were not available at the time this report was published. On June 26, however, the French Central Office for Combating Drug Trafficking, in conjunction with the French Navy and the Caribbean Central Office for Combating Illegal Drug Trafficking, seized 870 kilograms of cocaine from a sailboat flying the French flag, 170 nautical miles northeast of Martinique. The drugs originated in Venezuela where they were transported by a fishing boat, transferred to the sailboat in the Caribbean, and then expected to pass to another fishing boat before landing in southern Europe. Ten people, originating from France, Spain, Portugal, and Corsica, were arrested in connection with the trafficking. The seizure was part of a several month-long investigation into a criminal network trafficking drugs throughout Europe. On November 21 French officials seized 272 kilograms of cocaine in Guadeloupe, in conjunction with another seizure of 231 kilograms of cocaine in a suburb outside of Paris. This double seizure was connected to the same French criminal network carrying on trafficking activities in both areas. This seizure was unprecedented in that it was the first confirmed case of seized cocaine destined for France, rather than a more general transit activity.
In 2011, U.S. law enforcement agents traveled to the region pursuant to Mutual Legal Assistance Requests in connection with boat seizures by French authorities. U.S. law enforcement officials were allowed to interview witnesses (including the defendants) and to obtain samples of the seized cocaine for use in U.S. prosecutions. In both cases, the French seizures appear to have resulted from intelligence provided by U.S. law enforcement sources. Since 2001, the French Navy has operated continuously in the region and seized over 15 metric tons of drugs in the Caribbean. Often, these naval assets take part in JIATF-S operations in cooperation with the United States and are normally based in Fort de France, Martinique.
Although some cannabis is grown locally in these French territories, this production appears to be mainly for individual consumption and does not have a significant impact on the availability of drugs in the area. The region is an active participant in all French policies and programs regarding the treatment of drug addiction and lessening of domestic demand.
The United States encourages continued French support to these Caribbean departments on all counternarcotics fronts, including multilateral efforts such as the Dublin Group, a regional and global forum that consults on drug issues in more than 40 capitals; the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, a group that reviews peers, consults and co-ordinates information on money laundering; the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) - the drug-fighting body of the Organization of American States - and the UNODC.
A. Introduction
Georgia produces no narcotic drugs apart from small-scale production of ATS. However, because of its location bridging Asia and Europe, Georgia is a transit corridor for drugs of abuse produced elsewhere. One major drug route runs from Afghanistan and Iran through Azerbaijan and on to Western Europe and Russia. TIR long-haul trucks sometimes carry narcotics on this route. These trucks are supposed to be inspected for contraband at their place of origination, and then sealed for their trip onward. However, many observers believe that they represent a major corridor for drug smuggling. The separatist territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia remain beyond the control of Georgian law enforcement, and there is speculation that drugs flow through these areas. This information cannot be verified as there is little or no exchange of information on drug trafficking between the Russian occupying forces or the de facto authorities of these territories and the Government of Georgia.
Georgia has a domestic drug problem. A newly emerged home-made stimulant nicknamed “Krokodil” – desomorphine originally viewed as a potential alternative to morphine – is gaining popularity. Among other drugs, heroin, Subutex, methadone and marijuana are available on the domestic market. Domestic production and use of methamphetamines, pseudo-ephedrine derived drugs and abuse of other pharmaceutical drugs, especially in urban areas, is also on the rise.
The Georgian Government has allocated increased funds for treatment centers for psychiatric patients and drug users, both in the capital and regional centers. In 2011, Georgia’s Ministry of Justice pushed forward implementation of an Anti-Narcotics Action Plan. A working group has been created from coordinating agencies to draft the plan. Reforms undertaken at the Special Operations Department, the main law enforcement agency combating illegal drugs, resulted in a significant improvement in drug-related crime suppression. The government continues random drug testing programs for high level government officials and made the testing available to the private sector as well.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
Georgia’s Anti-Narcotics National Strategy, established by the Parliament in 2007, only outlined main priorities, one of which was the establishment of an Anti-Narcotics Action Plan. In 2011, the Government finally commenced work by creating an interagency task force to draft this plan. There is still lack of systemic drug preventive measures, even though treatment and social rehabilitation programs have become more active. Psycho-social rehabilitation programs are planned for all prisons throughout the country. The State university and public schools are developing course materials which discuss the harmful impact of drug use and associated criminal liability. Public information about dangerous drugs remains inadequate, and statistics about drug use are limited and unreliable. The Government of Georgia intends to integrate the database of drug users under one agency to improve drug statistics. Current national legislation does not conform to the 1988 UN Drug Convention’s requirements.
The emphasis on Georgia’s borders is on trade facilitation, and less on control and inspection. As a result, drug seizures at the border vary significantly from year to year and do not give a reliable indication of the amount of contraband transiting the country. Border officials are also hampered in their duties by personal liability for their enforcement actions.
Georgia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Georgia is also a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling and to the UN Convention against Corruption. In addition, the Government of Georgia has signed counternarcotics agreements with the Black Sea basin countries, the GUAM organization (Georgia-Ukraine-Azerbaijan-Moldova), Iran, and Austria.
2. Supply Reduction
In 2011, the most visible drug-related case was a Subutex seizure close to Tbilisi. Police seized 534 pills containing 4272mg of buprenorphine, produced throughout Europe for the treatment of opiate addiction. These drugs were smuggled in a long-haul TIR truck and were seized at the Georgia-Turkey border. The street price for a pill is high; Subutex is abused for its opiate content.
The breakdown of criminal cases and drug seizures according to Ministry of Internal Affairs statistics are:
|
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
(Jan-Sep) |
|
|
Total Drug-related cases |
8,699 |
6,336 |
5465 |
1843 |
|
Felonies |
2,103 |
2,477 |
2316 |
887 |
|
Contraband |
102 |
100 |
116 |
43 |
|
Dealing |
79 |
131 |
167 |
53 |
|
Cultivation |
70 |
113 |
121 |
29 |
|
Heroin seizure |
8.332 kg |
2 .358 Kg |
1 .272 Kg |
352 g |
|
Marijuana seizure |
3.867kg |
46.5 g |
7 .531 kg |
5 kg |
|
Opium seizure |
47.5 g |
37.2492 g |
8,36 g |
87.6 g |
|
Cocaine seizure |
0.02 g |
0.78 g |
0.099 g |
0 |
|
Subutex seizure |
72 g |
40.5 g |
13.12 g |
13.27 g |
|
Methadone seizure |
179 g |
73.8 g |
13.66 g |
3.6 g |
|
Poppy seeds |
1 kg 529 g |
|||
|
Morphine |
2.4 g |
The Special Operations Department (SOD) counternarcotics unit remains the main agency combating drug-related crimes. The Ministry of Internal Affairs equipped the anti-drug unit with surveillance equipment though they still lack appropriate drug detection and testing equipment.
“Classic” drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack and barbiturates are in limited demand in Georgia due to their high price and effective interdiction by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Consequently, most of these drugs are rarely found on the black market.
Physicians and analysts have expressed concern about the increase in use of home-made synthetic drugs such as “Jeff” and “Vint” – street names in Georgia for injected, artificial stimulant drugs. Desomorphine is also popular as “China White” or “Krokodil.” Numerous analysts point to the increase in abuse of home-made synthetic drugs as an indicator of the Government’s success in controlling traditional illegal drugs. The Government has not yet developed a comprehensive mechanism for combating home-made stimulants other than trying to limit the issuance of certain medications only to those with a doctor’s prescription.
3. Drug Abuse Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
Domestic drug abuse remains a problem for Georgia. The total number of multiple drug users ranges from 40,000 to 80,000, according to local researchers. Over the past year, methamphetamines and desomorphine have been replacing opiates, as the prices of heroin and Subutex increased significantly. A large number of the drug using population has reportedly moved to home-made synthetic drugs. These drugs are extremely dangerous, and after only six months, drug users will face a severe degradation in their health.
The Georgia Research Institute on Drug Addiction and Drug Treatment estimates the intravenous drug abuser (IDU) population in Georgia is approximately 40,000 out of a total population of 4.5 million. Researchers estimate that about three percent of the population may be using drugs at any given point in time, yielding a total of approximately 138,000. Local drug treatment experts cite figures of upwards of 200,000 drug abusers, including one-time experimenters. According to the database administered by the National Forensic Bureau, the number of all types of registered drug users is 140,000. Intravenous drug usage is very low both among the youth and female populations.
In 2011 the Georgian Government increased funding for drug treatment and prevention. Newly added methadone treatment centers and increased funding for infrastructure improvements resulted in a decreased number of patients on waiting lists. Substitution therapy programs have been successfully implemented in three prisons and will be institutionalized to cover prisons across the country. The HIV Global Fund fully covers treatment of HIV/TB infected patients. In 2011, regional psycho-social rehabilitation centers will be open, fully funded by the State budget. There is nevertheless a continuing lack of trained human resources in this field, and there is a lack of institutions to provide proper relevant training.
4. Corruption
The Georgian Government has made significant steps in the elimination of corruption in law enforcement agencies since the 2003 Rose Revolution and it remains committed to this effort. The Georgian government continues to implement civil service, tax and law enforcement reforms aimed at deterring corruption and prosecuting it when detected. Despite these efforts, however, allegations of some high-level corruption still surface and a small number of civil servants are prosecuted each year on corruption charges. There have been no serious allegations against the new counter narcotics unit in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The government of Georgia does not, as a matter of policy, encourage or facilitate trafficking in narcotics nor do any of its senior civil servants.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy
The U.S. Government continues providing direct counternarcotics assistance on demand reduction and treatment, and enhancing law enforcement’s capacity to detect and interdict illegal narcotics. The United States supported the establishment of a criminal database for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and an improved communications network for the police, renovation of methadone treatment centers and a canine program. The United States is also providing additional training for counter narcotics units, including case management, improved port security/drug interdiction, drug-trafficking financial investigations, and train-the-trainer sessions for basic narcotics officer courses.
Additionally, the United States continues to work on better prosecution of narcotics crimes, money laundering, assisting to develop trial skills in an adversarial system, provision of training and equipment for Georgia’s forensics laboratories, assisting the laboratories in establishing administrative policies and procedures to achieve international accreditation of its results, building new facilities for law enforcement units and providing training at the police academy, and providing training in fighting human trafficking, all of which will strengthen institutions crucial to the battle against drugs.
Training and equipment assistance programs for Border Police and Customs officers continued in 2011 and focused on the identification and detention of violators and criminals at the border. The U.S. Coast Guard provides training to Georgian officials in maritime law enforcement. With the basic police force increasingly being tasked with border security responsibilities, the United States has also been ensuring that police receive appropriate training and equipment to manage the ports of entry.
D. Conclusion
Improved coordination among the agencies and bodies involved in drug-related issues has improved Georgia’s ability to combat drug-related crime. The establishment of an interagency task force model in order to develop and implement an integrated action plan is a logical and important first step. The U.S. government is encouraging inter-agency cooperation. The U.S. Government will continue to support Georgia’s efforts with equipment and advice.
A. Introduction
Germany is a consumer and transit country for narcotics. The German government actively combats drug-related crimes and places particular emphasis on prevention programs and assistance to victims of drug abuse. Germany continues to implement its 2003 Action Plan on Drugs and Addiction. Cannabis remains the most commonly-consumed illicit drug in Germany. Organized crime continues to engage in narcotics trafficking. Germany is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
Germany is not a significant drug cultivation or production country. The Federal Criminal Police (BKA) statistics reported seizure of 16 small-scale synthetic drug labs in Germany in 2010. Germany is not a significant producer of hashish or marijuana. In 2010, German police reported the discovery and seizure of 46 outdoor marijuana “plantations,” a 31% decrease compared to 2009. In addition, German police seized 348 indoor plantations – a 2% increase compared to 2009. Germany is a major manufacturer of legal pharmaceuticals, making it a potential source of precursor chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics, although Germany strictly controls precursor chemicals.
Germany’s central location in Europe and its well-developed infrastructure make it a major transit hub for commerce. Traffickers smuggle cocaine from South America (in particular by air via Brazil and Argentina) to Germany for German domestic use, as well as through Germany to other European countries such as Spain and the UK. The origin of larger seizures of heroin in Germany in most cases could not be traced back further than the Netherlands. Overland smuggling occurs through Belgium, Austria, Poland, or the Balkans. Cannabis is trafficked to Germany mainly from the Netherlands, but also from Morocco via Spain and Portugal as well as through Belgium, France, and Austria. Smaller amounts of marijuana are smuggled with high frequency from Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic to Germany. Amphetamines are trafficked mainly from the Netherlands and in lesser quantities from Belgium, Austria, and the Czech Republic.
Per the Federal Health Ministry, around 600,000 individuals in Germany consume cannabis and around 200,000 individuals consume other illegal drugs, such as heroin and amphetamines, through injection. The number of drug-related deaths in Germany continued to decrease in 2010. A total of 1,237 people died as a result of consuming illegal drugs in 2010, down from 1,331 in 2009. The most frequent cause of death was from an overdose of heroin, sometimes in connection with other drug abuse. 18,621 hard drug users were newly recorded in 2010, a 2.7% increase compared to 2009. First-time use of heroin (-10.9%), cocaine (-10.6%) and ecstasy (-38%) decreased in 2010, while the first-time use of crack cocaine (+71.8%) and amphetamines (+12.8%) increased. The first-time use of crystal methamphetamines increased by 76.4%.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
Germany continues to implement its "Action Plan on Drugs and Addiction" adopted by the Federal Cabinet in 2003. The action plan establishes a comprehensive, multi-year strategy to combat narcotics. The key pillars are: (1) prevention, (2) therapy and counseling, (3) survival aid as an immediate remedy for drug-addicts, and (4) interdiction and supply reduction. The German government is currently coordinating a new drug strategy that will be brought forward for adoption in early 2012. The National Interagency Drug and Addiction Council, composed of Federal and State government officials and civil society organizations, advises the government on combating drugs and addiction. The government continued efforts to reduce demand, focusing on young people and cannabis consumption and offering a variety of treatment prevention programs. Germany is involved in bilateral cooperative arrangements and European and international counter-narcotics fora. Germany also implements the EU Drugs Strategy 2005-2012 and its Action Plans.
A 1978 extradition treaty and 1986 supplemental extradition treaty are in force between the U.S. and Germany. A bilateral Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters (MLAT) entered into force on October 18, 2009. Germany has ratified a bilateral protocol with the United States that implements the 2003 U.S.-EU Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements. The mutual legal assistance protocol with Germany entered into force, along with the MLAT, on October 18, 2009. The extradition protocol entered into force on February 1, 2010. There is a Customs Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement (CMAA) between the U.S. and Germany. In addition, Germany is party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and has signed but has not yet ratified the UN Corruption Convention.
2. Supply Reduction
Counternarcotics law enforcement remains a high priority for the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) and the Federal Office of Customs Investigation (ZKA). German federal and state law enforcement agencies scored numerous successes in seizing illicit narcotics and arresting suspected drug dealers. Notably, on March 10, 2011, a German-Lebanese criminal group was sentenced for laundering money from narcotics sales throughout Europe by bulk cash smuggling to Lebanon. Assets amounting to $11.8 million were forfeited. In 2010, the latest year for which statistics are available, Germany seized 474 kilograms of heroin in 5,645 different cases – 9% fewer seizures and 38% less heroin compared to 2009. In 2010, German law enforcement agencies seized 3,031 kilograms of cocaine, a 78% increase over the previous year. In addition to cocaine hydrochloride, a total of 3.2 kilograms of crack cocaine was seized in Germany during 2010, a 30 percent decrease from the previous year. Ecstasy seizures were lower this past year, with 230,367 tablets seized in 2010, a decrease of 56% in volume and 31% in cases. In 2010, there were 24,710 reported marijuana seizures, resulting in the seizure of 4,875 kilograms, an increase of 2% in the number of seizures but a 13% larger amount of drugs seized than the previous year. There were 7,427 cases involving the seizure of 2,144 kilograms of hashish, a 20% reduction of cases and a 3% reduction in the number of kilograms seized from 2009. Overall in 2010, 30 tons of the drug khat were seized, compared to 24 tons in 2009. In 2010, the majority of narcotics traffickers apprehended continued to be German nationals, followed by Turkish nationals, with organized criminal groups (mostly Turkish and German groups) continuing to expand their involvement in narcotics trafficking.
Seizures of illicit drugs moving by sea comprise a small proportion of overall narcotic drug seizures. However, the German ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven are strategically located for the development of smuggling routes between South American source countries and the Baltic Sea region, as maritime traffic routes converge at these major transshipment ports.
3. Demand Reduction
The Federal Ministry of Health continues to be the lead agency in developing, coordinating, and implementing Germany’s drug policies and programs. The National Drug Commissioner at the Federal Ministry of Health coordinates Germany’s national drug policy. Policies stress prevention through education. The Ministry and federal states fund numerous research and prevention programs. Addiction therapy programs focus on drug-free treatment, psychological counseling, and substitution therapy.
The Federal Ministry of Health also supports the German Center for Addiction Issues (GCAI), which provides a platform for associations and charities active in helping addicts and their families throughout Germany. With few exceptions, all bodies in Germany involved in out-patient counseling and treatment, inpatient provision, and self-help are represented in the GCAI. Since the mid-1980s, Germany considers substitution therapy an important pillar in the treatment of opiate abuse. Approximately 77,400 patients undergo substitution therapy in Germany, the most widely used medication being methadone, with an increased use of buprenorphine and levomethadone in recent years. In 2009 Germany passed a law allowing diamorphine-based substitution treatment under strict legal conditions.
4. Corruption
As a matter of government policy, Germany does not 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. The U.S. is not aware of any cases of corruption by senior officials.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
German law enforcement agencies work effectively with their U.S. counterparts on narcotics-related cases. Close cooperation to curb drug trafficking continues among DEA, FBI, DHS/ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), DHS/CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and their German counterparts, including the BKA, the State Offices for Criminal Investigation (LKAs), and the Federal Office of Customs Investigation (ZKA). German agencies cooperate closely with their U.S. counterparts in joint investigations to stop chemical precursor diversion for illegal purposes. A DEA Diversion Investigator is assigned to the BKA headquarters in Wiesbaden. The DEA Frankfurt Country Office facilitates information exchanges and operational support between German and U.S. law enforcement agencies. DHS/CBP in cooperation with German authorities operates two Container Security Initiative (CSI) locations at the ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven where CBP Officers work with German authorities to identify maritime cargo containers destined for shipment to the U.S. that may pose a threat to national security. The program’s targeting abilities can also identify and track containers used in transnational shipping of high risk cargo in support of global maritime security.
D. Conclusion
The U.S. anticipates that Germany will continue to cooperate closely on counter-narcotics, including at the law enforcement level. This comprises law enforcement information exchange as well as the pursuit of narcotics traffickers and international organized criminal entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of narcotics.
A. Introduction
Ghana continues to be a transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly cocaine from South America, as well as heroin from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Europe is the major destination, but drugs also flow to South Africa and to North America. Accra’s Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is a focus for traffickers. Ports at Tema and Takoradi are also used, and border posts at Aflao (Togo) and Elubo and Sampa (Cote d’Ivoire) have seen significant drug trafficking activity. Gangs trafficking South American cocaine have increased their foothold in Ghana, establishing distribution networks run by Nigerian and Ghanaian criminals. Ghana’s interest in attracting investment provides good cover for foreign drug barons to enter the country under the guise of legitimate business. However, South American traffickers limit their personal involvement in Ghana by relying on local partners, thus insulating themselves from possible arrest by local authorities.
Trafficking has fueled increasing domestic drug consumption of methamphetamine. Government regulation and oversight of precursor chemicals are inadequate.
President John Atta Mills remains committed to combating narco-trafficking in Ghana, most recently speaking against the illicit drug trade before the 66th session of the U.N. General Assembly in September 2011. He has promised to re-examine two high-profile narcotics cases from the previous administration and has continued to provide material support to law enforcement.
Corruption, a lack of resources, and porous borders seriously impede interdiction efforts. While law enforcement authorities continue to arrest low-level narcotics traffickers, Ghana has had relatively less success pursuing the so-called drug barons. Narcotics-related cases and others involving serious crimes can sometimes take years to prosecute, due to lack of expertise for prosecutors and judges, overbooked attorneys and the failure of witnesses to appear in court. Interagency coordination among law enforcement agencies remains a challenge. Ghana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
The government took several significant steps in 2010 to increase its capacity to fight narco-trafficking and to uphold the rule of law in Ghana by creating: 1) the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to investigate organized crime, narco-trafficking, and other serious crimes, and 2) the Financial Intelligence Center (FIC) to analyze and report on suspicious financial transactions. The Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) also worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to establish a Special Investigative Unit (SIU), the first of its kind in Africa. The SIU has already achieved some tangible successes. In 2011, Parliament passed anti-money laundering regulations. Parliament is considering a Freedom of Information Act that will facilitate greater transparency in government. The government is also developing a ten-year anti-corruption action plan and an interagency national integrated program to fight transnational organized crime.
Ghana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the UN Convention against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. U.S.-Ghana extradition relations are governed by the 1931 U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty. In 2003, Ghana signed a bilateral Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement with the United States. Ghana is not yet a party to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.
2. Supply Reduction
Cocaine and heroin are the main drugs that transit Ghana. Cocaine is sourced mainly from South America and is destined for Europe, while Afghan heroin comes mainly by way of Southwest Asia on its way to Europe and North America. Cannabis is shipped primarily to Europe. Shipping and production of methamphetamine is in its nascent stages. Law enforcement officials report that traffickers are increasingly exploiting Ghana’s relatively unguarded and porous maritime border, offloading large shipments at sea onto small fishing vessels, which carry the drugs to shore undetected. Some narcotics enter Ghana from other locations in West Africa. Narcotics are often repackaged in Ghana for transshipment, hidden in shipping containers or secreted in air cargo. Large shipments are often broken up into smaller amounts to be hidden on individuals traveling by passenger aircraft through Kotoka International Airport. The most common individual concealment methods involve false bottom suitcases or body cavity concealment.
Through June 2011, NACOB seized approximately 20 kilograms of cocaine, over four kilograms of heroin, and 86.5 kilograms of cannabis. NACOB arrested 28 individuals and convicted 15 in that time period. Notable cases in 2011 include the following:
• On July 14, the DEA and NACOB jointly dismantled a heroin trafficking ring in the U.S. and Ghana, arresting eight individuals, including the ringleader. The five individuals arrested in Ghana are to be extradited to the U.S. for prosecution.
• As a follow-up to those investigations, eight government officials from the security services were arrested in August, charged with assisting drug traffickers to transport drugs through Kotoka International Airport.
• Also in July, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) separately arrested three individuals assisting narco-traffickers at the airport. The case caused a controversy when a magistrate judge granted the individuals bail, leading to a confrontation outside the courthouse, and BNI re-arresting the accused.
As of late October 2011, the approximate street prices of one kilogram of drugs were as follows: cocaine - $38,000; heroin - $21,000, methamphetamine - $13,500; and cannabis - $32. A local abuse method for cannabis involves mixing the drug with liquor/spirits. Various pubs sell this cannabis cocktail upon special request from knowledgeable customers.
3. Drug Abuse Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
Illicit drug use is growing in Ghana. Cannabis is the most abused illicit drug, but the use of hard drugs is on the rise. According to NACOB, there has been an increase in reported cocaine and heroin usage as evidenced by increased requests for treatment in 2011 compared to 2010. Up to June 2011, there were 887 illicit drug users being treated at four psychiatric hospitals, with 7 percent being treated for cocaine abuse, and 4 percent for heroin abuse, the remainder for marijuana, and some few for synthetic drugs.
NACOB has a small office that handles drug abuse awareness and demand reduction programs. It works with local chief executives to educate them on the ill effects of drugs and to encourage them to educate their employees. Officials have appeared on radio and TV stations for sensitization programs, and sponsored essay and quiz competitions to promote drug awareness. In addition, NACOB’s Counseling Unit works with different psychiatric hospitals around the country, providing drug education programs and counseling sessions, as well as monitoring drug use and treatment.
4. Corruption
Corruption continues to be an issue in Ghana and is widely perceived to be endemic in the police force, as well as other government institutions. An investigative journalist released an undercover video showing numerous agency officials taking bribes at Tema harbor in February. To date, no arrests or prosecutions of those individuals are known to have occurred. Ghana does not have laws that specifically target narcotics-related public sector corruption. NACOB and BNI arrested members of their own ranks who were allegedly assisting narco-traffickers at the airport. The courts convicted a former police officer in March for selling narcotics he seized from a suspect. As a matter of government policy, Ghana does not encourage or facilitate illegal activity associated with drug trafficking. There is no evidence linking senior government officials to such activity.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
USG and Ghanaian law enforcement continue to enjoy excellent cooperation on counternarcotics. A USG-provided full body scanner has detected and deterred drug swallowers at Kotoka International Airport, and a second scanner is currently being installed. AFRICOM is building a ship maintenance and docking facility to assist with maritime drug interdiction, and is also building the Navy a maritime territorial waters monitoring center. Embassy Accra formed an interagency group to examine maritime security issues, including narcotics landings along the Ghanaian coast and port interdiction. NACOB and the Ministry of Justice are currently cooperating with DEA to extradite five narcotics traffickers to the U.S. for prosecution. Theses traffickers were arrested in a joint operation between DEA and Ghanaian law enforcement agencies in July.
The USG continues to provide technical assistance on narcotics issues to Ghana within its ministries and offices. A U.S. Treasury advisor is embedded at Ghana’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC). A U.S. Department of Justice intermittent legal advisor is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Justice, EOCO, and NACOB to handle narcotics prosecutions and complex transnational organized crime. DEA continues to provide technical assistance and equipment to NACOB, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) provides support to the Ghana Police Service.
The U.S. Department of State’s Office of Counter Narcotics and Terrorism program (CNT) continues to fund United States Coast Guard training missions focusing on maritime security for the Ghanaian Navy. The training topics range from Maritime Law Enforcement to Outboard Motor Maintenance. For 2012, a training event is scheduled to train Ghanaian Navy members in the operation and maneuvering of small boats, which will aid in the maritime service’s capability to prevent drug trafficking.
D. Conclusion
Ghana remains committed to combating narcotics trafficking and maintaining excellent cooperation with international partners, including the U.S., on counter narcotics. Corruption and related scandals were in Ghanaian headlines, and the government took a strong anti-corruption stand, arresting several suspects in their law enforcement agencies. However, Ghana’s law enforcement and judicial institutions continue to face a number of challenges that hinder the country’s ability to make greater strides against narco-trafficking. Ghana should endeavor to continue providing needed technical, human, and financial resources to law enforcement and judicial institutions, and take further steps to combat corruption, and improve interagency coordination among law enforcement agencies.
A. Introduction
Guatemala’s location between the Andean drug producing countries and the U.S. market made it an ideal transshipment point easily accessible to drug-trafficking organizations (DTO). The United States estimates that approximately 95 percent of the cocaine leaving South America for the United States moves through the Mexico and Central America corridor. Of this, an increasing amount – nearly 80 percent – stops first in a Central American country before onward shipment to Mexico. As a result of the country’s weak public institutions, pervasive corruption, and vast under-governed area along its borders, the United States estimates that approximately 15 percent of the primary flow of cocaine entering the United States transited Guatemala. In addition to marijuana for domestic consumption, Guatemala produced opium poppy for export.
The United States and Guatemala partnered to strengthen Guatemalan institutions and develop technical capacity, but the security situation continued to deteriorate. Mexican DTOs, including the Sinaloa cartel and Los Zetas drug organization, continued to conduct operations in the country. Guatemala was beset with transnational crime, including trafficking in persons and arms, and an upsurge in powerful gangs who engaged in armed robbery, murder-for-hire, and extortion activities.
Guatemala’s tax collection rates, among the lowest in the hemisphere, limited the government’s ability to dedicate the necessary resources to confront citizen security challenges. Drug seizures and eradication of opium poppy increased in 2011. Impunity rates persisted at 96.5 percent for murder, with similarly high numbers for other crimes, including organized crime. While the number of homicides declined from 2010 levels, Guatemala’s per capita murder rate roughly doubled over the last ten years. Guatemala is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
Law enforcement and criminal justice institutions remained hampered by an environment of pervasive corruption. The frequent replacement of top officials inhibited the development of coherent and consistent strategic approaches towards improving rule of law. Government officials were also challenged by intimidation, constrained budgets, and limited training. Taxes comprise 10.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product, leaving state institutions chronically underfunded. Despite calls from international and civil society leaders to increase effective tax rates and collection, as well as transparency in government spending, the Guatemalan Congress did not approve a fiscal reform measure in 2011, in part due to opposition from the private sector. These factors fostered an environment that not only facilitated the operation of organized crime in Guatemala but also encouraged further encroachment upon national territory and consolidation of control over trafficking networks by Mexican drug cartels.
Guatemala established the Police Reform Commission in 2010, led by noted human rights advocate Helen Mack. In 2011, the Commission encountered difficulties in implementing reforms, in part due to a lack of coordination between the Ministry of Government (MOG), the police, and the Commission. To facilitate transition into the next administration led by President Otto Perez Molina, the Commission presented a Continuity Plan that included police reform recommendations and estimated budget requirements for the Commission. The United States provided the Commission with technical assistance, equipment, and law enforcement advisors.
The government utilized judicially-authorized wiretaps to obtain evidence in several high-profile cases, and augmented the wiretap unit’s personnel and operating capacity. In 2011, such Guatemalan narcotics traffickers as Waldemar Lorenzana-Lima, Byron Linares-Cordon, and Juan Ortiz-Lopez were captured by authorities.
The United States assisted Guatemala in developing implementing regulations for a seized asset law passed in 2010 and helped create a secretariat to oversee seized assets. The United States also deployed a regional expert who provided training to prosecutors and judges working on asset forfeiture.
The special anti-gang unit expanded to cover western Guatemala, the border region with Mexico, and the eastern part of the country, including the borders with El Salvador and Honduras. This expansion provided greater geographic law enforcement resulting in a doubling of the number of gang member arrests from 130 in 2010 to 399 in 2011.
Guatemala is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention and 1972 Protocol; the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances; the 1988 UN Drug Convention; the Central American Commission for the Eradication of Production, Traffic, Consumption and Illicit Use of Psychotropic Drugs and Substances; and the Central American Treaty on Joint Legal Assistance for Penal Issues. It is also a party to the UN Convention against Corruption, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols, the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, and the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. A maritime counternarcotics agreement with the United States is fully implemented. Guatemala ratified the Inter-American Mutual Legal Assistance Convention, and is a party to the OAS Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (an entity of the OAS). A 1903 extradition treaty between Guatemala and the United States is in effect which allows for the extradition of Guatemalan nationals. Guatemala adopted a supplemental extradition treaty adding narcotics offenses to the list of extraditable offenses in 1940. As a result of laws passed in 2008, all U.S. requests for extradition in drug cases are expected to be consolidated and expedited in specialized courts located in Guatemala City. In 2011, the Guatemalan Navy for the first time participated in the Multilateral Maritime Counterdrug Summit.
2. Supply Reduction
Guatemala’s geographic location, large, sparsely-patrolled border with Mexico, and limited maritime law enforcement presence made Guatemala an ideal venue for the transit of drugs across its territory and through its coastal waters. The United States maintained an aviation support program to assist Guatemala in deterring illicit flights from the Andean production zone and expanding capacity to control territory.
The United States provided training and assistance to specialized military and police units to strengthen their interdiction capabilities, including for activities intended to enhance security along the Mexico-Guatemala border. The United States also provided training to Guatemalan law enforcement entities to improve investigative skills at Guatemala City’s international airport and main seaports, leading to increased seizures of money and arrests of drug couriers.
According to the government, Guatemala seized 3.96 metric tons (MT) of cocaine, compared to 1.4 MT in 2010. Guatemala seized 95.36 kilograms (kg) of pseudoephedrine and 550,310 pseudoephedrine tablets, compared to 1.5 million pseudoephedrine tablets in 2010. The government also seized 23.39 MT of methamphetamine, methamphetamine precursors and by-products and nearly $4 million in narcotics-related currency.
Guatemala continued to be a minor – but rising – producer and exporter of opium poppy. Low-quality marijuana is grown for the domestic market. According to Government of Guatemala, 1,490 hectares of opium poppy were eradicated as of September 2011, a 60% increase over 2010 levels.
The United States believes poppy cultivation continued to increase in 2011, especially in the area of San Marcos near Guatemala’s border with Mexico. Guatemala may be a net poppy cultivator of over 1,000 hectares.
Guatemala dismantled four clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in 2011. The continued presence of Mexican DTOs in Guatemala and their capacity to produce and export opium derivatives and synthetic drugs to Mexico and the United States remained a concern throughout the year.
Guatemala adopted strict controls on precursor chemicals in 2003, augmented them in 2009 to include pseudoephedrine, and developed new regulations to control additional precursor chemicals in 2010. Stricter regulations contributed to an increase in seized precursor chemicals, especially at the ports. According to the government, there are more than 7,900 barrels of precursor chemicals prepared for destruction, but the government lacks proper storage facilities and infrastructure for destruction. The United States, Guatemala, and the private sector collaborated on plans to safely destroy the precursors.
3. Drug Abuse Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
Guatemala lacked current information and data to accurately assess the breadth of illicit drug abuse in Guatemala. A 2005 household survey estimated a life-time prevalence of illicit drug use at 3.16 percent. According to a school survey conducted in 2003, this contrasts with a 40 percent increase in cocaine use; 55 percent increase in marijuana use; 230 percent increase in use of stimulants; and 380 percent increase in use of tranquilizers. Data suggest increased drug use in transshipment countries – such as Guatemala – in part due to drug availability and payment by traffickers for transportation services with illicit drugs rather than cash. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that 0.2 percent of the population aged 15-64 abused cocaine.
In 2011, the Commission against Addictions and Drug Trafficking (SECCATID) remained underfunded. However, by working with NGOs and other Guatemalan institutions, it implemented a number of prevention projects and a small outpatient treatment program. SECCATID worked with the United States and the Ministry of Education to implement a creative pilot program named Mis Primeros Pasos. This pre-school based prevention program incorporated a series of activities to build social and emotional competence. SECCATID supported a year-long youth-at-risk prevention program entitled Youth in Action for a Safe Life, funded through U.S. assistance. SECCATID also supported the implementation of U.S. Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), Gang Resistance Education and Training program (GREAT), and Police Athletic League (PAL) programs in high-crime areas of Guatemala.
4. Corruption
The GOG did not, as a matter of policy, encourage or facilitate illicit production and distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. Guatemala supported the UN-led International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to investigate organized criminal groups with links to public institutions and to strengthen the Guatemalan justice system.
Nonetheless, corruption remained pervasive in public institutions and society as a whole. In 2011, the government formally charged Salvador Gandara, former Minister of Government and the mayor of Villa Nueva, with corruption and money laundering. On November 15, 2011, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom signed the final extradition order to extradite former President Alfonso Portillo on money laundering charges. This is the first time in Guatemala’s history that a former president faced extradition.
The United States focused anti-corruption assistance on developing vetted and specialized units to counter the threat of corruption. While the vetting process is not a cure-all, experience shows that working with and training vetted officers builds public and internal confidence in the police. The United States and Guatemala took steps to combat corruption in the MOG and MP, including providing an ethics seminar with wide participation from Guatemalan authorities. Additionally, the United States provided technical assistance to Guatemalan institutions charged with developing and implementing ethics codes and managing internal affairs units.
C. National Policy, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
The United States and Guatemala cooperated on citizen safety, counternarcotics, law enforcement, and rule of law programs focused on building Guatemalan leadership and institutions to provide a stable and secure citizen safety environment. Individual programs focused on training, equipping and developing partner capacity to detect and interdict drug trafficking; investigating and building criminal cases to prosecute towards successful resolution of cases; and improving police capacity for modern law enforcement techniques.
U.S. assistance supported Civilian National Police (PNC) efforts to become a professionalized force that is an integral pillar of the criminal justice system. Assistance supported the PNC’s investigative, analytical, preventive, and patrolling capacity through the Police Reform Commission, the Model Precincts Program, and the Center for Collection, Analysis and Dissemination of Criminal Information (CRADIC), the PNC’s Total Information Management System, the PNC Academy, the prison system, and the Inspector General/Office of Professional Responsibility (Internal Affairs) Unit. The United States also supported the vetting process of PNC special units, a Special Methods Unit (UME), the Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU), the Airport Task Force, the Financial Investigative Unit (FIU), and a confidential tip hotline.
The United States provided support to an inter-agency anti-gang unit that brought together the PNC, MP, and analysts from CRADIC to investigate and dismantle local gang organizations. Sustained aviation support for joint Air Force-PNC activities enhanced the Guatemalan government’s ability to interdict drugs, advance eradication, transport law enforcement agents and detainees/evidence to and from remote areas of Guatemala, and respond to natural disasters.
Through U.S. support for rule of law activities, Guatemala increased its capacity to prosecute narcotics traffickers, organized crime leaders, money launderers and anti-corruption law violators. Efforts included provision of financial and technical support to three special prosecutorial units for criminal cases and a special task force for investigation and preparation of high-impact narcotics cases. A lack of resources, including well-trained staff and funds for equipment and maintenance, prevented the units from reaching their full potential. The seized assets law, if fully implemented, should be an effective tool to deprive drug traffickers of illicit proceeds and provide needed resources to the law enforcement and justice sector.
D. Conclusion
The United States enjoyed productive relations with Guatemala and worked to improve the government’s technical and organizational capacity in the security and justice sectors. Improved citizen security and the success of Guatemalan efforts – in partnership with the United States and the international donor community – depend on the political will and leadership of the Government of Guatemala and its ability to provide the resources necessary to replicate and sustain investments.
Despite the availability of enhanced tools, such as aviation capacity, interdiction results remained low in comparison to the flow of narcotics through the country. Changes in key government personnel continued to be a problem; lack of continuity complicates efforts to develop long-term strategies and fully implement programs. While the total number of police officers increased by 50 percent between 2008 and 2010, the MOG’s budget increased only 28 percent in 2009 and stayed at that level in 2010. In 2011, budget transfers by the MOG – which took funds away from the police and gave them to other public institutions – limited the operational capacity of existing units and raised doubts about the prospects of replicating impactful projects such as the Model Precinct Program, on a national scale. Corruption and intimidation of law enforcement and justice sector officials continue to reduce overall efficacy of security and justice sector activities.
By fully implementing the organized crime law and establishing and training operational units to use key investigative tools such as controlled deliveries and undercover operations, Guatemala will be more capable to combat the infusion of narcotics-related crimes in the country. The government is encouraged to strengthen implementation of the seized assets law, pass a law against crimes related to corruption, and make reforms to the injunction law to deprive criminals of their gains and channel resources to counternarcotics efforts. Guatemala’s efforts to fight corruption will be more effective by fully implementing PNC reforms, including provision of sufficient salaries to law enforcement and creating career paths, as well as reorganizing the office of the Inspector General and the Office of Professional Responsibility. Continued police reform, with appropriate budgetary support, is necessary for sustained progress in Guatemala.
A. Introduction
Despite some genuine efforts by the GoG to combat the narcotics trade, the issue remains a secondary priority. It remains to be seen if newly elected President Alpha Conde will take efficacious action in combating the narcotics trade during his term of office. So far, Conde has focused more on other priorities. During the past two decades, Guinea has experienced a series of dramatic events that have tended to produce two distinctly separate and diametrically opposed approaches towards narcotics issues- either the Government of Guinea (GoG) focused attention on narcotics with unprecedented and (ostensibly) earnest interest, or the GoG relegated the issue to insignificance. The direction taken by the GoG at any given point in time was generally dependent on the prevailing political climate and the agenda of the president holding power. In some cases, the intent of the government’s focus on the narcotics issue seemed to be manipulative- i.e.; to convince foreign observers that more effective action was being taken than was actually the case. In other instances, the GoG demonstrated the best of intentions to attempt to address narcotics issues, but enforcement of drug laws was left to the country’s under-resourced and inadequately trained police and military, which did their best to carry out their responsibilities, but were ultimately ineffective. Guinea is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
The period since the recent election of President Alpha Conde (November 2010) has witnessed little improvement of Guinea’s troubled counternarcotics programs, as a long list of other problems (i.e.; inflation, unemployment, civil works projects, communication improvements, etc.) have trumped the narcotics issue in priority. Since his investiture, Conde has revamped a pre-existing agency now referred to as the Office of the Secretariat-General to Fight Against Drug-Trafficking and Organized Crime and Repression of Financial and Economic Crime, which was originally created by former military ruler Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. That office falls directly under President Conde’s control in the chain of command. There is little tangible evidence of any recent progress made by that office to combat narcotics issues, other than the occasional seizure of marijuana. In addition, there is a lack of clarity over questions of jurisdiction, as multiple agencies (such as Customs) are also involved in drug enforcement activities.
2. Supply Reduction
Guinea has increasingly become a major transshipment point for tons of cocaine from South America. The cocaine is being smuggled into Guinea via sea and air by Colombian DTOs. Cocaine transiting Guinea is usually destined for European markets. Onward shipment to Europe occurs via overland routes, private aircraft, commercial air couriers, vessels and container cargo. There are credible allegations that Guinean military officials are facilitating drug trafficking through Guinea. Local authorities indicated that in 2008 they seized 573 kg of cannabis and 422 kg of cocaine; and in 2009, 244 kg of cannabis and 25 kg of cocaine were seized.
In 2009, the GoG under the leadership of then-military ruler Captain Moussa Dadis Camara announced that its counter-narcotics unit had discovered drug labs in and around the capital city of Conakry. However, investigation of one of those labs at Gbessia airport by U.S. Embassy personnel led to significant doubts about the authenticity of the GoG’s claims. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was set to dispatch two agents from its Paris office to investigate the GoG’s claims in late September 2009; however, before the inquiry could begin, the infamous September 28 massacre at Conakry’s football stadium took place, which virtually erased any and all international support for the Dadis regime. Consequently, due to the loss of international confidence in the Dadis regime and the unstable security situation that followed the stadium massacre, the DEA postponed its trip. DEA has only recently begun to reengage in Guinea, making one trip in June 2011.
3. Drug Abuse Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
Illicit drug use in Guinea is difficult to quantify; not only is local law enforcement and prosecution lax, but the absence of any rehabilitation clinics or other treatment options means no empirical data is available. General observation suggests proliferation of illicit drug usage throughout the country. Marijuana is widely consumed, cocaine and heroin consumed to a much lesser degree.
4. Corruption
Official corruption is endemic and generally accepted as a fact of life in West Africa. The highly evident corruption in past regimes in Guinea likely played a role in the country’s emergence as a transit center for narcotics. It is uncertain whether the newly elected President Alpha Conde and the current GoG will take serious action to attack the corruption that impedes progress in counternarcotics efforts.
Guinea is party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, but not to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and has signed, but not yet ratified the UN Convention against Corruption. As a matter of policy the government of Guinea does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotics or launder proceeds from illegal drug transactions. There is no evidence that any senior civilian government officials engage in, encourage, or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of drugs.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
The Guinean National Gendarmerie has enthusiastically participated in and benefitted from “use of force training” offered by the U.S. and EU. The gendarmerie has implemented new policies and practices in accord with that training with a high degree of success. The Guinean military has also shown that it can deploy to the streets of Conakry during civil unrest without usurping police authority, limiting itself to a supporting role similar to a U.S. National Guard unit. Effective leadership, clearly defined parameters, and the opportunities to employ its newly acquired “use of force” principles have contributed to success in application clearly exceeding expectations.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that the Guinean police and armed forces still have a long way to go. They both will require more use of force training and intense training and organizational reform to achieve improvements on fighting corruption. Clearly, success in fighting corruption will have direct bearing on the GoG’s effort to combat narcotics trafficking.
D. Conclusion
Guinea’s recent unprecedented democratic presidential elections have paved the way for the current period of relative stability. Aggressive substantial reformation and training of the Guinean National Police over the medium term could eventually provide the foundation for the implementation of a solid counter-narcotics strategy. Guinean police forces have demonstrated enthusiasm to receive any and all types of training. This enthusiasm for progressive training and modernization are a clear indicator that future law enforcement training programs provided by international organizations/agencies will be well-received and will ultimately be greatly beneficial to Guinean law enforcement and to the success of counternarcotics efforts. Existing training opportunities such as at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) training sessions are coveted opportunities, and the expansion of these opportunities will further aid in the professional development of future leaders in the Guinean law enforcement hierarchy. The successes of American and European police officers providing a very modest amount of on-site training in Guinea was followed by virtually textbook execution of training principles during recent election-related violence and political protests. Guineans have also responded well to “Train-the-Trainer” programs. With successes such as these, there is cause for optimism.
In discussing Guinea’s future, however, one cannot discount the recent past of civil unrest, military dictatorship and rampant corruption- and one can only hope that there will not be a return to the discouraging state of affairs that preceded the recent democratic elections.
Currently, Guinea’s newly established democracy is still in its nascent, fledgling stages- the government still has to hold legislative elections in order to form a fully-functional government congruent with the principles of representative democracy. Political tensions between rival tribal ethnic groups hangs heavy in the air. Guineans are also becoming increasingly frustrated with inflation and the rise in the cost of living. All of these problems tend to deflect attention from counternarcotics efforts and long-term reform efforts of the police and the military.
Yet, Guinea has repeatedly shown an unflappable ability to move forward. While one should be cautious about facile optimism, recent events and the current relative stability in Guinea suggests that with future training opportunities and continued support from the international community, Guinea could eventually move forward to successfully address narcotics issues. However, if the military is indeed facilitating narcotics trafficking, that issue would have to be taken on and dealt with before real progress could be realized.
A. Introduction
Guinea-Bissau, a tiny impoverished country in West Africa, is a major transit hub for narcotics trafficking from South America to Europe. The country provides an opportune environment for traffickers because of its lack of law enforcement capabilities, its demonstrated susceptibility to corruption, its porous borders, its location in relation to Europe, South America and neighboring West African transit points, and its linguistic connections to Brazil, Portugal and Cape Verde. The un-policed islands off the coast of Bissau are hubs for major drug trafficking from Latin America. Corruption, specifically the complicity of government officials at all levels in this criminal activity, inhibits both a complete assessment and resolution of the problem. Guinea-Bissau has degenerated into a narco-state despite the international community’s efforts to avoid such a troubling development.
Guinea-Bissau has a population of 1.82 million persons. The country is one of the poorest in the world, placing 176 out of 187 countries on the United Nation’s 2011 Human Development Index. Security forces lack the most basic resources, and civil servants are often not paid for months at a time. Until September 2010, the country possessed no adequate criminal detention facilities. Guinea-Bissau’s history since independence from Portugal in 1974 has been characterized by political instability, civil war, and continuous unrest. The U.S. Embassy in Bissau suspended operations in June 1998 due to civil unrest. Relations and cooperation between Guinea-Bissau and the United States are conducted from the U.S. Embassy in Dakar Senegal.
President Malam Bacai Sanha was elected in July 2009 following the assassination of President Joao Bernardo Vieira by the military. International observers declared the 2009 elections to be free and fair. On April 1, 2010 ex-Navy Chief of Staff Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto and soldiers loyal to Deputy Defense Chief of Staff Antonio Indjai detained Defense Chief of Staff Jose Zamora Induta and Prime Minister Carlos Gomes. Gomes was released several days later, but Induta remained in military detention without being formally charged until his release on December 23. Na Tchuto was listed as a drug kingpin in April 2010 by the U.S. Department of Treasury due to his significant involvement in international narcotics trafficking. In June 2010, Indjai was appointed to the position of Defense Chief of Staff. In October 2010, Na Tchuto was re-appointed as Chief of Staff of the Bissau-Guinean Navy. Guinea-Bissau is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Developments
The Government of Guinea-Bissau (GOGB) is in the process of reforming the country’s security services. UNODC and the UN Integrated Peace-Building Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) both play a large part in Security Sector Reform (SSR) efforts and have worked to coordinate the international community’s assistance programs. The governments of Brazil and Portugal provide military and police training. The Government of Angola also provides military and police training through a bilateral agreement. It is thought that future Angolan assistance will be increasingly directed towards the police and SSR and less towards the military.
In 2011, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) funded two positions dedicated to Guinea-Bissau: a Regional Law Enforcement Advisor and a Justice Sector Advisor. The Regional Law Enforcement Advisor is based in Benin. The Advisor developed a long-term law enforcement training strategy and coordinated USG assistance to GOGB law enforcement agencies. In FY 2011, the Law Enforcement Advisor had several successes in the ‘training received’ category, including training in Senegal hosted by Senegalese law enforcement. This low cost effort proved to be highly successful in developing relations between GOGB law enforcement authorities, American law enforcement officials, and Senegalese law enforcement officials.
The Justice Sector Advisor position has carried out a similar function. The Justice Sector Advisor initially assessed the needs of the country’s law enforcement and judicial sectors and used that assessment to begin developing a training strategy. The Justice Sector Advisor has worked with other donor governments and international organizations to coordinate assistance in an effort to eliminate wasteful duplication of effort. In November 2011, INL and UNIOGBIS collaborated on Guinea-Bissau’s first “National Forum on Criminal Justice.” The Forum issued a report in which it recommended a substantial restructuring of the GOGB criminal justice system and changes to the criminal code. There is a growing awareness among donors and GOGB officials that some of the judicial and law enforcement training being offered under a 2006 national security strategy is above the level that the largely uneducated and illiterate police force can absorb. The Justice Sector Advisor has taken the lead in ensuring the training offered by the USG is at an appropriate level, and is well-positioned to monitor how USG funds are spent and whether they could be better used in other areas. Cooperation with other governments and organizations is at a high level.
A cabinet re-shuffle in late 2011 included the appointment of a new Justice Minister, Adelino Mano Queta, and a new Attorney General, Edmundo Mendes. A new Chief of the Judicial Police, João Biague, was appointed after his predecessor resigned, citing death threats and systematic barriers to effective law enforcement in Guinea-Bissau. A new Commissioner for the Public Order Police (the national police), Antero Correia, was also appointed.
2. Supply Reduction
Inadequate civilian control of the Bissau-Guinean military remains a problem and has hampered efforts to seize drug shipments and investigate drug trafficking. Law enforcement and judicial officers are not able to investigate allegations of military involvement in drug trafficking. The lack of effective civilian control over the military and the lack of law enforcement and judicial resources make it difficult to predict or estimate the quantity of drugs which pass through Guinea-Bissau en route to Europe or to effectively gauge the quantity of drugs consumed locally. The borders are porous and poorly controlled. The Port of Bissau has no meaningful security and containers routinely leave the country without inspection.
In February 2011, the Judicial Police destroyed the following drugs seized over the past three years in front of observers from the diplomatic community: canabis (798 kg), crack cocaine (71 kg (76 packages and 6 small bags)), and powder cocaine (16.714 kg (766 capsules)).
3. Drug Abuse Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
UNODC reports drug abuse is a growing problem in Guinea-Bissau. The government’s response has been inadequate, and hampered by a lack of resources and overall capacity. For example, there has not been a systematic study of the problem to determine its scope – all assessments are based on anecdotal evidence. There are no government-funded treatment centers in Guinea-Bissau. The few operational centers are privately funded.
4. Corruption
Corruption is endemic at all levels of government. Members of the customs service take money to allow passengers and articles to pass through the airport and other border posts without inspection. Police routinely accept bribes during traffic stops. Government salaries are inadequate, and many officials live beyond what they could afford on their salaries. Due to government budget shortfalls, officials sometimes go without their pay for months. The low salaries of police officers, prosecutors, and judges ensure corruption.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
The U.S. Embassy in Bissau suspended operations in June 1998. The U.S. Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau and one U.S. officer assigned to the Embassy in Dakar monitors events there. The U.S. Embassy liaison office opened in Bissau in 2008 and is staffed by three Local Employed Staff. Representatives from Diplomatic Security, INL, DEA, AFRICOM and the FBI made frequent visits to Bissau in 2011 to provide technical assistance and to conduct needs assessments. Guinea-Bissau is a USAID non-presence country. A Memorandum of Agreement between the United States and Guinea-Bissau allows the U.S. to assign a Justice Sector Advisor to Guinea-Bissau on a full-time basis. The Advisor arrived in February 2011, and has been working to develop and implement a strategic plan for USG training and assistance to the Bissau-Guinean judicial system.
D. Conclusion
Due to lack of law enforcement capacity, susceptibility to corruption, porous borders, and opportune location, Guinea-Bissau remains a significant hub of narcotics trafficking and has developed into a narco-state. While many officials within the Bissau-Guinean government recognize the extent of the drug problem and express a willingness to address it, a crippling lack of resources and capacity to address the problem remain a hindrance to real progress in combating drug trafficking.
The USG will continue to work closely with the government of Guinea-Bissau to improve the capacity of its narcotics law enforcement officers to investigate and prosecute narcotics crimes. In recognition of the importance of strengthening broader institutional capacity, the USG will continue to support judicial reform efforts, and will seek to strengthen the legislative and oversight capacity of the National Assembly. Furthermore, given the broad role that socio-economic factors play in narcotics trafficking, the USG will seek to promote economic development and political stability.
A. Introduction
Guyana continues to be a transit country for cocaine destined for the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and West Africa. Cocaine originating in Colombia is smuggled to Venezuela and onward to Guyana by sea (fishing vessels, bulk cargo vessels and tug vessels) or air. Because of Guyana’s porous borders, smuggling is also conducted by land from Brazil and Suriname into Guyana. Once cocaine arrives in Guyana, it is often concealed in legitimate commodities and smuggled via commercial maritime vessels, air shipments, human couriers, or the postal services.
Guyana has seen its political and judicial infrastructure impacted by narco-influence, while its economy has become increasingly affected by narco-dollars. Drug trafficking organizations based in Guyana are beginning to use neighboring Suriname as a major distribution hub. The cocaine is smuggled into Guyana and then transported to Suriname for safekeeping and distribution. In these instances, Suriname is used as a stash location and distribution country for drugs entering Guyana. In other cases, drugs depart directly from Guyana.
Both locally grown and imported marijuana (usually from Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Venezuela) is mostly used for domestic consumption and is the most commonly abused drug in Guyana, followed closely by cocaine. Marijuana is sold and consumed openly in Guyana despite frequent arrests for possession. Ecstasy/MDMA is becoming more prominent, although availability and use is still low. Drug abuse treatment in Guyana is hindered by insufficient government funding and a lack of public awareness.
Guyana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
1. Institutional Development
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act (AMLCFTA), the Interception of Communications Bill, and the Criminal Procedure Bill were designed to enhance both the investigative capability of law enforcement authorities and prosecutors’ ability to obtain convictions in drug related cases. In 2011, however, there have been no convictions under these laws, and there is an apparent lack of political will to investigate and prosecute drug trafficking organizations.
Guyana has a drug enforcement presence at its international airport, at post offices, and to a lesser extent at the port of Georgetown. Three major agencies involved in anti-drug efforts are the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), and the Guyana Defense Force (GDF). Of those three, CANU has the most drug enforcement experience.
Guyana is a party to the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters; the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol; the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances; and the 1988 UN Drug Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Guyana is also a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols.
The 1931 Extradition Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom is also applicable to the United States and Guyana. This is a treaty that permits extradition only for offenses listed. Recent rulings in extradition hearings have severely challenged this treaty. For example, in 2008, a Guyanese court first made provisional arrests of fugitives very difficult and a second court held that the treaty was invalid because it lacked a re-extradition clause. The latter issue has been addressed by a recently enacted amendment to the Guyanese Fugitive Offenders Act. The United States has not sought any extraditions since its enactment.
In 2008, Guyana acceded to, and has filed information requests under the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, to which the United States, also a party to the Convention, has responded positively. Guyana has bilateral agreements to cooperate on drug trafficking issues with its neighbors and with the United Kingdom. Guyana is also a member of the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (OAS/CICAD). In April, the United States and Guyana signed a Letter of Agreement to cooperate in the implementation of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).
The government of Guyana signed a maritime counter-drug bilateral agreement with the USG in 2001, but has yet to take the necessary domestic action to bring the agreement into effect.
2. Supply Reduction
In general, the Guyana Defense Force (GDF), with approximately 2,500 members, supports law enforcement agencies and their operations with boats, aircraft, and personnel but has a limited capacity and lacks law enforcement authority. The Guyana Coast Guard (GCG), a GDF component and key partner in maritime interdiction, has approximately 250 members, and its primary missions are to patrol the territorial waters of Guyana and conduct humanitarian search and rescue.
Approximately 352 kg of cocaine and 393 kg of marijuana were seized in 2011. As a result of these seizures, Guyanese authorities have cases pending prosecution against 16 mid-level and senior drug traffickers. Also during 2011, Guyanese authorities seized 2,500 marijuana plants, which led to the arrest of three individuals whose cases are also pending prosecution. Cocaine seizures totaled 105 kg in 2010.
3. Drug Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
Guyana’s ability to handle drug abuse is impeded by its modest financial resources available to support rehabilitation programs. Guyana has only two residential facilities that treat substance abuse: the Salvation Army and the Phoenix Recovery Center. Both are partially funded by the government, but they have budgetary constraints and often rely on donations from addicts’ families to stay open. Since 2007, the Ministry of Health has provided outpatient talk-therapy treatment and has run several modest demand reduction programs in schools, prisons, and through the media. Awareness efforts are inconsistent and lack material results due to budgetary shortfalls. There is little by way of non-governmental organization (NGO) support in demand reduction.
4. Corruption
As a matter of policy, the Government of Guyana does not 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. News media, however, report on allegations of corruption; some reports have implicated police personally in stealing drugs from seizures, while others point to high government officials who are not investigated and thus go unpunished.
Guyana is a party to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, but has yet to fully implement its provisions, such as seizure of property obtained through corruption. Guyana is also a party to the UN Convention against Corruption.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
Although Guyana’s 2005-2009 National Drug Strategy Master Plan expired in 2009, the Ministry of Home Affairs in August announced that it would still continue to pursue a number of the goals under the expired plan, including enhancing forensic laboratory capabilities, and expanding drug treatment and rehabilitation programs.
CBSI is now an umbrella program under which U.S. policy in Guyana focuses on building capacity in security and law enforcement institutions, and encouraging positive livelihoods for at-risk youth and other populations. The USG has facilitated subject matter expert exchanges and trainings for the GDF, CANU, GPF, and has also engaged the Department of Public Prosecution and financial institutions to enhance the capacity of the court system to manage narcotics and money laundering cases.
The U.S. Coast Guard conducted 1 Mobile Training Team (MTT) and 1 resident course in small boat operations, professional development and port security.
While the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Office collaborates with Guyana on counternarcotics-related activities, the Embassy continues to support the establishment of a DEA office in Georgetown.
D. Conclusion
The Government of Guyana has shown strong interest in furthering collaboration under CBSI, and the United States encourages the Government of Guyana to deepen these mutual efforts. U.S. agencies look forward to tangible progress on extraditions, security sector and judicial capacity enhancement, the engagement of at-risk communities, and enforcement of laws against money laundering and financial crimes.
A. Introduction
Haiti remains a transit point for cocaine originating in South America for transshipment to the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Narcotics arrive via both sea and air and depart in the same manner. Drugs are also transported over the land border to the Dominican Republic. Marijuana transshipments originating in Jamaica bound for The Bahamas and the United States are also a concern. However, Haiti is not a significant producer of illicit drugs for export, though cultivation of marijuana for local consumption does occur on a modest scale. As the poorest country in the hemisphere, Haiti’s largely subsistence-level standard of living is not fertile ground for widespread domestic drug consumption.
Haiti faces challenges in combating the drug trafficking threat. Security and judicial institutions, including the national police force, are still in the early stages of professional development. Like many governmental functions in the country, they suffer from lack of transparency, resources and insufficient attention from the political levels of the Haitian government. This year was particularly unsettled on the political front as there were delays in both the first and second round of presidential voting, with the election cycle finally coming to an end on April 4. The Parliament then rejected President Martelly’s first two Prime Minister candidates, with the third ultimately securing approval on October 5. These delays resulted in virtual policy paralysis in most Haitian governmental ministries, including the Ministry of Justice.
Haiti is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, And Trends
1. Institutional Development
The Haitian Government is committed to combating drug trafficking. “La Commission Nationale de Lutte Contre la Drogue” (CONALD), under the Minister of Interior, has policy and legislation to support the Government of Haiti’s commitment to combat drug trafficking, narco-terrorism, and money laundering in Haiti.
The increased capacity of the Haitian National Police (HNP) to carry out its mission as the sole domestic security force in the country is evident in its growth in raw staffing numbers. The HNP has co-drafted a five-year development plan, with the assistance of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). The key goals include expanding the HNP force to 15,000 officers by 2016 and adding mid- and advanced- level training opportunities.
The HNP is making steady progress and graduated its twenty-second class of police cadets in May 2011, bringing the total official strength to 10,814. HNP officers are still overwhelmingly concentrated in the capital of Port-au-Prince, with only 2,175 officers assigned to the nine outlying provinces. The problem of under-staffing the provinces is particularly acute in the two southern departments of Sud and Sud-Est, which are the principal entry points for drug transshipments. Logistics and material deficiencies across the country, combined with the degradation of key infrastructure, exacerbate the effects of these staffing shortages.
The HNP’s dedicated counternarcotics unit, la Brigade de Lutte contre le Trafic de Stupéfiants (BLTS), received an additional 93 officers from the 2011 police cadet class, bringing its total strength to 136. BLTS is limited in operational reach because its sole operating base is in Port-au-Prince. BLTS works in concert with a financial crimes unit, the Bureau des Affaires Financieres et Economiques (BAFE), with a staff of 18. BAFE is instrumental in the seizure of drug trafficking resources that the Government of Haiti (GOH) can then convert into counterdrug assets.
The Haitian Coast Guard (HCG), a subdivision of the HNP, has a total strength of 148 with operating bases in Cap Haitien in the north and in the vicinity of Port-au-Prince. Haitian Coast Guard vessels currently do not have the range and endurance to cover more than a fraction of Haiti’s coastline. Patrols are concentrated in coastal areas within the Gulf of Gonave. With no permanent base of operations in the southern claw, the HCG does not regularly patrol the 200 miles of coast from Jeremie to the Haiti-Dominican border. Canada is constructing an additional base on the southern coast at Les Cayes to help address this issue.
The Haitian Coast Guard’s lack of functional support systems and clearly defined mission authorities hampers its operational capacity. The Haitian Coast Guard has historically concentrated on search and rescue/repatriation missions and has not had an appreciable counternarcotics focus.
Haiti is a party to the 1961 Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the Inter-American Convention against Trafficking in Illegal Arms, and the UN Convention against Corruption. Haiti remains the only member of the Organization of American States (OAS) not a party to the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. On April 19, 2011, Haiti ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols. A U.S.-Haiti bilateral letter of agreement signed in October 1997 concerning Cooperation to Suppress Illicit Maritime Drug Traffic allows U.S. law enforcement agencies to enter Haitian territorial waters and airspace to investigate suspicious activity or when in pursuit of suspect vessels or aircraft, to board and search suspect vessels, and to carry members of the Haitian Coast Guard as ship riders. A Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty exists between Haiti and the United States, and the Haitian government has cooperated on many cases within the limits of Haitian law. The bilateral extradition treaty entered into force in 1905 and, although the Haitian Constitution prohibits extradition of Haitian nationals, the GOH has willingly surrendered Haitian nationals under indictment in the United States to U.S. law enforcement agencies.
2. Supply Reduction
HNP enforcement actions in 2011 were not of a sufficient scale to have a meaningful impact. Official counts cite only six suspected drug air drops in the country over the past year. No records are kept of suspected incoming sea shipments. This gap, resulting from insufficient capacity, compounds the lack of scrutiny of ship traffic into ports on the southern coast, especially in the vicinity of Jacmel. The total number of reported arrests associated with narcotics activity in Haiti in 2011 was 29; an equal number of suspects were indicted in the Haitian judicial system.
Seizures were insubstantial. GOH authorities reported 33.7 kilograms of cocaine and 958.5 pounds of marijuana were intercepted in 2011. However, joint HNP and DEA action in July did destroy approximately 11,000 mature marijuana plants in the Artibonite department in central Haiti. Cash seized as part of these cases totaled $6,750 USD; HNP officers also seized four firearms during drug operations.
Haitian authorities deported one suspect under indictment in the United States during 2011.
3. Drug Abuse Awareness, Demand Reduction, and Treatment
There are no Haitian Government-sponsored drug abuse awareness or treatment programs, nor are we aware of non-government organizations (NGOs) providing such services. The extreme poverty of the population leaves little discretionary income, and the daily preoccupation with finding adequate food, water, and shelter for survival thus far has kept drug abuse from becoming widespread.
4. Corruption
As a matter of policy, the GOH does not 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. No senior-level Haitian Government officials are known to be engaged in illegal activity associated with drug trafficking.
The expressed commitment of senior officials to combat drug trafficking, however, has not yet generated meaningful action on Haiti’s part to deal with endemic corruption. U.S. government officials and contractors continue to receive unsubstantiated reports of HNP officers providing security at clandestine landing strips for traffickers. The HNP arrested one of its own officers for corruption in July. Another officer was arrested earlier in the year for involvement with a Port-au-Prince marijuana ring. In other instances, HNP officers simply ignore reports of corruption, resulting in an environment that hampers counternarcotics efforts.
The HNP Inspector General, like the rest of the force, does not possess sufficient resources, especially when charged with conducting internal affairs activities for a force of over 10,000 officers. The Inspector General (IG) resigned in September 2011 once it became apparent that he was investigating human rights abuses committed by members of the HNP. There were reports that his resignation was politically driven. A temporary IG has been named.
The Haitian constitution grants blanket immunity from prosecution to members of Parliament. This immunity is a point of concern for law enforcement officials because of an inability to properly investigate allegations that some members of Parliament may be involved in illicit activities linked to their official duties.
C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
The Government of Haiti and the HNP espouse combating drug trafficking as a primary concern. The effective tripling of the BLTS’ numerical strength demonstrates political will to address this issue. However, operational outcomes have not kept pace with rhetoric, despite positive relationships with U.S. government partners in the Narcotics Affairs Section, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Military Liaison Office of the Embassy. This indicates an area that requires further strengthening and the Narcotics Affairs Section in the Embassy has a dedicated counternarcotics advisor on staff to assist the HNP in that effort.
Building the overall operational capacity and professionalism of the HNP is indispensable to successful counternarcotics activity in Haiti. The U.S. government supports each police cadet class with food, training supplies, uniforms, and equipment. Additional activities in support of HNP capacity building include efforts to ensure a full recruiting pipeline via a Narcotics Affairs Section-supported public relations campaign and the provision of professional advisors to the HNP. In addition, INL partners with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) via a Memorandum of Understanding to deploy rotating six-member teams of NYPD officers to Haiti to serve as technical advisors to the HNP, including on counternarcotics. NYPD funds the deployed officers’ salaries with INL furnishing per diem, housing, and other in-country support.
The Embassy’ Narcotics Affairs Section manages the Haiti Stabilization Initiative (HSI), a program launched in 2007 aimed to empower community residents and improve the local security situation. In 2011, activities were focused in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Martissant where HSI funds refurbished two police stations, and plans are underway to refurbish an additional two stations in 2012. Activities in Martissant were in addition to HSI efforts already completed in the high-crime district of Cite Soleil. In addition to construction activities, the U.S. provided non-lethal protective equipment, communications gear, and training and mentoring in community-oriented policing for existing police officers and those to be assigned to the impact area. HSI activities target areas known for the presence of criminal gangs reportedly engaged in kidnapping and drug trafficking.
During 2011, INL and DEA funded enforcement operations with the HNP. DEA coordinated a series of operations in Haiti, including the seizure of a drug trafficker property near Thiote, in the Sud-Est province, in August with an estimated value of USD 2.2 million. DEA and INL also supported six additional months of supplementary investigative and operational instruction at the HNP Academy for 100 new BLTS officers.
U.S. support for BLTS is multifaceted. In December 2011, INL completed renovations on a new operating base for the unit at a seized drug property in the Tabarre area of Port-au-Prince. Other sites in Carrefour Dufort, Malpasse, and Port de Paix are under study for construction and rehabilitation to enable BLTS to permanently deploy to areas outside the capital. INL has funded the purchase of16 new BLTS vehicles, including six SUVs for canine unit use.
The six handlers and six dogs that comprise the BLTS canine unit represent a tripling of the canine unit’s strength. INL funded the purchase of the dogs and training for both the dogs and the handlers in both Colombia and the Dominican Republic. . The canine teams are active at ports of entry in Port-au-Prince, including the airport, the waterfront, and the Malpasse border crossing.
Department of Defense Foreign Military Funding (FMF) is being used for an equipment and training package to support the operation of five new vessels purchased for the Haitian Coast Guard by the Government of Canada. The project also will outfit the Canadian-built Coast Guard base in Les Cayes to provide a badly-needed operating base for the Haitian Coast Guard on the south coast. INL provides ongoing support to provision the small Coast Guard unit located on the North Coast at Cap Haitien, and also funds fuel to run equipment and generators at the central Coast Guard base at Killick. In FY 2011, the U.S. Coast Guard provided engineering and small boat handling training to the Haitian Coast Guard.
D. Conclusion
The new Martelly administration has demonstrated a willingness to work with the U.S. government on improving structural weaknesses in the HNP that impact its effectiveness on the counternarcotics front. The presence of new leadership at the BLTS is also a positive step, as U.S. officials have pressed the HNP to be more proactive and independent regarding drug enforcement. Another positive development is the presidential appointment and parliamentary approval of a new Supreme Court President -- a step that could energize Haiti’s chronically stressed judicial sector and result in a greater number of convictions of those accused of trafficking and other narcotic related crimes. Other institutional challenges will require considerable time, effort, and resources to resolve.
