Cablegate: Cocaleros Use Congress to Push Pro-Coca/Anti-U.S.

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SNAR PE
SUBJECT: COCALEROS USE CONGRESS TO PUSH PRO-COCA/ANTI-U.S.
MESSAGE

REF: A. LIMA 3677
B. 05LIMA 4441
C. 03LIMA 983

Sensitive But Unclassified, Please Handle Accordingly.

1. (SBU) Summary: Pro-cocalero congressional representatives
ranted about the benefits of coca and the costs of U.S.
imperialism disguised as counternarcotics policy at a recent
"Coca and Biodiversity" conference held in a Congressional
annex. Cocalero leader Nelson Palomino also participated.
The well-attended event highlighted that cocaleros now have a
foothold in Congress, and are using coca as a banner for a
larger anti-system, anti-U.S. message. End Summary.

2. (U) On September 16 Poloff attended a "Coca and
Biodiversity" conference (9/16), at the Congressional annex
building in downtown Lima. Huanuco Congresswoman Yaneth
Cajahuanca of the Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP) organized
the event, which was co-sponsored by a natural medicine and
nutrition organization and the Kuska Peru political group led
by cocalero leader Nelson Palomino. Approximately 150 people
of diverse age and gender filled the auditorium. A handful
of people were chewing coca leaf - a rare sight in Lima.

3. (U) Two themes dominated the discussion: the clear
difference between coca producers and narcotraffickers
(though 90 percent of coca production goes to
narcotrafficking) and coca's historical, cultural, and
nutritional value. Vendors selling "coca flour" and coca
baked goods at the conference received much positive
attention. (Note: The "flour" is a nutritional supplement to
be mixed with water or milk that includes 9-10 healthy
additives (e.g., soy, rice, whole wheat, etc.) in addition to
coca. End Note.)

4. (U) Ricardo Soberon, staffer for cocalero Congresswoman
Nancy Obregon, said coca was Peru's biggest renewable natural
resource, but was a "sequestered plant" made taboo by "a dark
force" (the U.S.). Soberon told the crowd that the U.S. uses
the drug war as a pretext for its presence in Peru to steal
the country's natural resources. He added that the U.S. is
"like an octopus with tentacles spreading misinformation in
all the press," and that the GOP Ministries obey the orders
of the U.S. Embassy. Soberon closed his diatribe with a
commitment by Congresswoman Obregon to present new coca
legislation recognizing coca's historical, traditional, and
cultural significance, regionalizing management of the licit
market, and protecting coca producers and including them in a
dialogue. His speech got strong applause. (Note: On
September 19, Obregon and other pro-coca Congressmembers
submitted a draft bill to declare coca and its traditional
use as natural patrimony. End Note.)

5. (U) In a subsequent presentation, cocalero Congresswoman
Yaneth Cajahuanca said she, like farmers in the field, chews
coca because it energizes her and helps her work. She said
farmers in her district have no alternative to coca for cash
income and claimed fumigation had dried up coca crops in
Huanuco.

6. (SBU) Radical cocalero leader Nelson Palomino closed out
the event. His discourse reportedly united indigenous rights
and pride with coca as a cultural element. Palomino was
released from jail in June on parole after completing a third
of his 10-year sentence for kidnapping, burglary, aggravated
theft, public disturbance, and support of crime and coercion
(Refs B, C). Since his release he has criticized the GOP's
drug policies and formed a regional pro-coca political
movement called "Kuska Peru" (Quechua for "Together for
Peru.") Palomino's stature as a political leader has been
strengthened through the cocalero dialogue with the
government, meetings with senior GOP officials including
President Garcia, and in conferences such as this.

7. (SBU) Comment: The conference highlights the emergence of
a newly empowered leadership of pro-coca political leaders
inside and outside of Congress. Some observers believe
Palomino's and other cocalero leader's political stars are
rising, enabled by the government's decisions to elevate them

to the status of valid interlocutors. These pro-coca leaders
are attempting to shape the GOP's policy through the on-going
government dialogue and legislative proposals. It further
suggests the consolidation of the coca leaf, and its
cultivation free from the interference of outside powers, as
the banner of a larger anti-systemic, anti-U.S. political
movement that now has a foothold in Congress. End Comment.
STRUBLE

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