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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, MARCH 1996: GUATEMALA
United States Department of State
Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
I. Summary
Guatemala is both a major transshipment center of cocaine en route to
the U.S. and a producer of opium and marijuana. Recent information
indicates that large quantities of chemicals, particularly ephedrine,
are diverted through Guatemala to Mexico and the United States. The
Government of Guatemala (GOG), within the constraints of its limited
resources, has worked with the USG in countering these threats.
Narcotics trafficking is another corrosive element in Guatemala's
nascent democracy, already afflicted by high levels of violence and
corruption. In the GOG, some attention has been diverted from narcotics
to fiscal issues and the peace process to end Guatemala's 35 year civil
war. With USG support, the Department of Anti-Narcotics Operations
(DOAN), a specially trained and equipped unit within the Guatemalan
Treasury Police, continued to carry out investigations, interdiction
operations, and a successful opium poppy and marijuana eradication
campaign. In 1995, about one metric ton of cocaine was seized in
Guatemala. In addition, aerial and ground operations eradicated over 85
hectares of opium poppy, virtually all the known cultivation. Guatemala
is a party to the 1988 UN Convention, but has not yet implemented many
of its provisions.
II. Status of Country
With hundreds of unmonitored airfields, an internal road network and
river system leading to an uncontrolled border with Mexico, and with no
air-search radar capability, Guatemala became the Colombian cartels'
choice for cocaine transshipment in the early 1990s. As Guatemalan/US
air interdiction programs became more effective in capturing and
deterring cocaine smuggling via light aircraft, trafficking
organizations shifted to land and sea smuggling modes, turning Guatemala
into a major staging area for overland and sea-borne shipments.
Guatemalan drug and alcohol education and rehabilitation experts
estimate that at least one out of four adults suffer from some sort of
chemical dependency, principally alcohol abuse. Illicit drug use, while
still small, has increased markedly since 1990 and contributes to the
extremely high level of violence in the country, especially in the
capital city.
Opium gum from poppy fields in northwest Guatemala is smuggled to Mexico
for processing. Cannabis is grown throughout the country, primarily for
domestic consumption. USG-supported DOAN units conduct manual
eradication as well as drug-related investigations.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 1995
Policy Initiatives. There were few narcotics control policy or
legislative initiatives during the last year of President de Leon
Carpio's administration because of election-year political maneuvering.
The Ministry of Government (MOG), preoccupied with a deteriorating
public security environment, did not focus specifically on
narcotrafficking as a major internal problem. No progress was made in
developing a national counternarcotics master plan.
The GOG began to take several important steps to institutionalize its
counternarcotics agencies--primarily the DOAN and the special narcotics
prosecutors. On the law enforcement side, the MOG increased
compensation for all police, including the DOAN, with two levels of risk
bonuses. Although this was a much needed step, the GOG has yet to
specifically recognize the skill and risk of the DOAN's work.
Recognizing the shifting transportation modes used to smuggle cocaine
into and through Guatemala, the GOG supported efforts to restructure the
DOAN and to increase manpower in investigations, road and seaport
inspections, and planning and training. The highly successful (and
self-financed) port security program was expanded to a second port.
With more GOG interest, this private sector program could be expanded to
all ports within a year. The GOG also authorized drug eradication units
to be formed as a separate division of the DOAN.
Accomplishments. Counternarcotics programs are divided among several
ministries and not well coordinated at upper policy levels. The inter-
ministerial coordinating committee established by the 1992 narcotics law
has not functioned. Nonetheless, the GOG has sustained very credible
anti-narcotics enforcement programs, primarily through the DOAN but also
in other areas of the government such as the Attorney General's office.
GOG action on extradition of suspected narcotraffickers has been mixed.
Since 1989, five have been extradited to the United States and two
requests have been formally denied. On a positive note, Guatemala
expelled two Americans in 1995 wanted in the U.S. on narcotics-related
charges.
Law Enforcement Efforts. The DOAN was unable to intercept several known
flights of drug-smuggling aircraft flying to the remote Peten, primarily
because of insufficient radar warning time. Drug control authorities
seized over 500 kilos of cocaine on the ground. Most suspect planes by-
passed Guatemala en route to Mexico. The DOAN's success against major
trafficking organizations have caused their fragmentation, thus
increasing the difficulty of investigations.
As a result of detailed analysis of organizational requirements the MOG
has decided to restructure the DOAN to enhance its overall command and
control, investigative capability, and planning and logistics support.
In addition, manual eradication units are being stream-lined and
dedicated full time to antinarcotics missions. With USG support, the
GOG completed construction of an anti-drug school to provide
counternarcotics courses for the DOAN, other GOG institutions, and law
enforcement officers in the region.
The Public Ministry strengthened the office of the special prosecutor
for narcotics, adding several assistant prosecutors and investigators.
An antinarcotics hotline was established for people to report suspected
drug activity. The DOAN routinely attacks drug trafficking
transportation networks, coordinating closely with US law enforcement
agencies and with regional partners in Central America. The DOAN has
also successfully conducted its own investigations and arrests, without
USG support or intelligence.
Corruption. Corruption is a major problem in Guatemalan society. There
have been strong efforts by both the USG and the GOG to ensure that
counternarcotics programs not be corrupted. We have no proof that any
senior officials of the current administration engage in, encourage, or
facilitate the production or distribution of illicit narcotics or drug
money laundering. Corruption in the courts is a major problem that the
judicial branch is beginning to tackle with the support of various USG-
backed initiatives. The Supreme Court has yet to establish specialty
narcotics courts to help control corruption as outlined by Guatemala's
1992 narcotics law.
Agreements and Treaties. Guatemala is party to the 1961 UN Single
Convention and its 1972 protocol, the 1971 UN Convention on psychotropic
substances, and the 1988 UN Convention. While law enforcement efforts
by the GOG have been fully consistent with the goals and objectives of
the 1988 UN Convention, many aspects of it have not been codified into
law, including controls on extradition, money laundering, and chemicals.
This lack of legislation hampers law enforcement efforts. The GOG
signed comprehensive bilateral drug control agreements with the U.S. in
1995; however, the de Leon administration did not move forward on needed
implementation legislation. There is an extradition treaty between the
U.S. and Guatemala, but the extradition relationship is not particularly
productive.
Cultivation and Production. Typical opium poppy fields measure less
than one-fifth of a hectare and are located among legitimate crops in
steep mountain ravines at elevations of up to 10,000 feet. Poppies are
grown from May to February, allowing a diligent farmer to have three
harvests per year. The GOG has mounted manual eradication operations
and permitted USG-supported aerial eradications that have virtually
eliminated crop levels to negligible amounts, despite the continuing
insurgency and problems in communication and logistics. Traffickers
convert raw opium gum to morphine base in Guatemala before shipment to
Mexico, where it is refined into heroin.
Drug Flow/Transit. Aerial interdiction successes in part caused
narcotraffickers to shift emphasis to maritime and vehicular smuggling
methods through Guatemala, and to develop less risky methods and routes;
however, in late 1995 there was an apparent return to air smuggling,
especially into Peten, a relatively unpatrolled region.
Domestic Programs. Several small, private demand reduction
organizations work in Guatemala, coordinated by the National Council
Against Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, CONAPAD, which reports to the
office of the vice-president. CONAPAD has extremely limited financial
resources for drug awareness programs and has begun to seek private
sector support. The GOG is against legalization of drugs, and continues
to provide some support for drug education programs.
IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs
Policy Initiatives. Using intelligence gleaned from both aerial
reconnaissance and informants, DOAN units eradicated an estimated 28
hectares of opium poppy in 1995. In addition to destroying fields which
are inaccessible to aircraft, the DOAN provides a law enforcement
presence in the growing areas and arrests growers whenever possible.
With the opium poppy crop now under control, an integrated program of
aerial and ground eradication should prevent Guatemala from returning to
the ranks of major opium production. Guatemala should accelerate needed
justice sector reforms, especially when dealing with narcotics cases.
Bilateral Cooperation. Working within its limited resources, the GOG
collaborated well with USG law enforcement agencies on intelligence
collection, criminal investigation, interdiction operations, and
eradication of illicit cultivation. Because 1995 was an election year,
additional reforms and legislative efforts did not advance
significantly.
The Road Ahead. The out-going government has left the new
administration an environment of public concern about violence and
criminality as well as many long-term narcotics-related issues. Major
cocaine transshipment is expected to continue for the foreseeable
future. With USG assistance, the GOG will continue to develop more
effective investigative and law enforcement units to control
transshipment. Change in the judicial system will come more slowly.
Precursor chemical diversion will continue to be a significant problem,
one the next Guatemalan Congress is expected to address with effective
legislation. In addition, specific legislation is needed to control
money laundering.
Opium poppy and marijuana cultivation will be controlled through
periodic aerial and manual eradication supported by an intensive public
information campaign. The GOG will increase public education and demand
reduction efforts, focusing on school children. Cocaine abuse will
continue to grow as traffickers pay for local support with cocaine that
must be sold on the local market. Domestic cocaine trafficking and use
will exacerbate domestic violence and strain even more the already shaky
civilian police force.
[Editor's Note: EXCEL file; see Charts and Graphs Directory]
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