Program description | Budget

Program description

The 1999 Congressional Presentation for the State Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau (INL) defines three objectives for narcotics control efforts in Ecuador:

1. Develop institutional capabilities to interdict illegal drugs and controlled chemicals, prosecute traffickers, seize drug assets and reduce money laundering;
2. Improve intelligence collection, processing and dissemination against major trafficking organizations; and
3. Promote public awareness and education on the dangers of drug abuse.¹

All counternarcotics strategies and projects supported by the International Narcotics Control (INC) program are coordinated through bilateral agreements between the United States and Ecuador's National Police, Supreme Court and National Drug Council.²

The FY 1999 Congressional Presentation states that "the U.S. will continue to encourage the Government of Ecuador to place greater emphasis on Narcotics Law Enforcement".³ All INL assistance to Ecuador is directed to the national police, the military and the National Drug Council via the Ecuadorian Prosecutor General's office.

Police Aid

The National Police Project was established to enhance counterdrug law enforcement capability. Its main focus is in the areas of intelligence collection and analysis, and interdiction of drugs and other chemicals. Its strategies include "strengthening airport enforcement with canine units, fixed and mobile roadblocks, aerial reconnaissance and drug eradication missions, support for the anti-narcotics intelligence center, and assistance for financial investigation units of the police and the Superintendency of Banks".⁴

The Counternarcotics Training Center holds courses in basic and advanced training in counternarcotics and "is looking towards becoming a regional training center". An additional facility is currently under construction, the Joint Information Coordination Center (JICC) in Guayaquil, which will be used to manage information on narcotics movements. As direct military cooperation with the center is expected, the Ecuadorian military will be briefed on the JICC in early 1998. A police "controlled chemical unit" is also being trained to target chemical diversions and conduct long-term investigations related to counternarcotics throughout Ecuador.⁵

Military Aid

Since Ecuador's southern border is the site of a continuing conflict with Peru, the military has been preoccupied with protecting that area. As a result, the military has not focused on counternarcotics, and the Ecuadorian National Police (ENP) have been chiefly responsible for drug enforcement activities.

However, a new "Counternarcotics Military Support Project planned for 1999 would complement U.S. Military Group (MILGP) airbridge efforts (e.g. infrastructure support for A-37 aircraft) and assist the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the construction of a jungle road checkpoint and a barracks at Baeza".⁶ INC funds will also support other related military counternarcotics training and operational activities.

In 1997, a former U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat was delivered to the Ecuadorian navy for use in counterdrug control for shoreline and open ocean patrols.⁷

Coast Guard Training and Port Security

In 1997 the American Embassy in Ecuador, in order to reduce the vulnerability of Ecuadorian ports, made arrangements with the Government of Ecuador for a joint U.S. Customs/Coast Guard assessment team to observe and evaluate port operations in Guayaquil and Manta. This U.S. assessment team presented a formal report to key Ecuadorian officials with their findings and recommendations for improvement.

U.S.-sponsored training during 1997 targeted asset seizures, communications, intelligence, chemical diversion and seaport control. This training and orientation was held in Long Beach, California and Miami, Florida "so that participants could observe U.S. enforcement methods in these locations."⁸

Budget

(Thousands of U.S. dollars)

Sources:

¹ United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1998): 33.

² United States, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Washington, March 1998, March 2, 1998 <http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/1997_narc_report/index.html>.

³ Department of State, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation 33.

⁴ Department of State, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation 33-4.

⁵ Department of State, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation 33-4.

⁶ Department of State, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation 34.

⁷ Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 1998.

⁸ Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 1998.

⁹ United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 1998 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1997): 33.

¹⁰ Department of State, Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Congressional Presentation 35.

¹¹ United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1999): 30.

¹² United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 2000): 38