'INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL: A HIGH-PRIORITY PROGRAM ADDRESS BY SHELDON B. VANCE. DEPARTMENT OF STATE BULLETIN, JANUARY 27, 1975.

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• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02563675
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• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: August 18, 2020
• Case Number: F-2019-01204
• Publication Date: May 1, 1975

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FEATums
"INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL: A HIGH-PRIORITY P by
Sheldon B. Vance. Department of State Bulletin, January 27, 1975.
LATIN AMERICA': MAJOR SOURCE OF HARD DRUGS FOR U.S. The New York Times,
April 21 - 24, 1975.
The attached articles are for your background information and are prim-
arily intended to supplewent case officer knowledge regarding international
production of and traffic in hard drugs and the efforts of the U.S. and other
governments to curb both production and traffic.
The address by Ambassador Vance is a general view of anti-narcotics
actions taken by the U.S. Government in cooperation with other governments in
major narcotics producing/trafficking areas, and also U.S. participation in
international efforts to combat narcotics activities.
The series of four New York Times articles, each with a related supplem-
entary article, points out how and why Latin America has become the chief
source of drugs for the U.S. market. Some of the reasons are: increase in
the popularity of cocaine; decline in the availability of French produced
heroin, with subsequent increase in the demand for Mexican heroin; huge
profits derived from smuggling; and the cooperation of local corrupt officials
in smuggling efforts. The series also includes information on the operations
of drug rings within the U.S. and the key role played by women in Latin
American drug trafficking. The third article in the series is devoted to
the activities of the Argentine drug king, Armando Nicolai, and the last
covers anti-narcotics activities of the U.S. Government, with some coverage
of the role of CIA.
This issuance contains articles from domestic and foreign
publications selected for field operational use. Recipients are
cautioned that most of this material is copyrighted. For repub-
lication in areas where copyright infringement may cause prob-
lems payment of copyright fees not to exceed $50.00 is authorized
per previous instructions. The attachment is unclassified when
detached.
1 May 1975
CON FIpeNTIA1
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International Narcotics Control: A High-Priority Program
Address by Sheldon B. Vance
Alcohol. and drug problems are genuine
concerns Of anyone with management re-
sponsibilities, and in this sense my personal
invOlvernent is not new. However, my inter-
est has been more immediate and full time
since early this year when Secretary Kissin-
ger named me his Senior Adviser on Nar-
cotics Matters.
The Federal international narcotics con-
trol program is a combined effort of several
U.S. agencies, operating within the frame-
work of the Cabinet Committee on Interna-
tional Narcotics Control, which is chaired by
Secretary of State Kissinger. I also serve as
the Executive Director of the Cabinet Com-
mittee and therefore direct or coordinate, un-
der the President's and Secretary's control,
what our Federal Government is attempting
to do abroad in this field, whether in the en-
forcement, treatment, or prevention areas.
My remarks today will not address alcohol
abuse, not because we believe alcohol a lesser
or insignificant problem�we definitely do
not�but because our international narcotics
control program does not extend to alcohol.
The Cabinet Committee was, in fact, formed
largely in response to the tragic victimization
of American youth by heroin traffickers in
the late 1960's and early 1970's. As you know,
the same period also saw a sharp rise in the
abuse of other drugs over which we seek
tighter controls, including marihuana, hash-
ish, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates,
' Made before the North American Congress on Al-
cohol and Drug Problems at San Francisco, Calif.,
on Dec. 17. Ambassador Vance is Senior Adviser to
the Secretary of State and Coordinator for Interna-
tional Narcotics Matters.
tranquilizers, and LSD and other hallucino-
gens. Poly-drug abuse, the mixing or alter-
nating consumption of different drugs, also
emerged as a problem requiring special at-
tention.
The American drug scene is not confined
to our borders. It extends to our military
forces and other Americans residing abroad,
as well as to tourists. As of September 30 of
this year, 1,289 U.S. citizens were languish-
ing in foreign prisons on narcotics charges,
principally in Mexico, Germany, Spain, and
Canada. The 1,289 compares with the figure
of 242 in September of 1969.
However hard we fight the problem of
drug abuse at home, we cannot move signifi-
cantly to solve it unless we succeed in win-
ning and maintaining comprehensive and ef-
fective cooperation of foreign governments.
Some of the key drugs of abuse originate in
foreign countries. There is a legitimate need
for opium as a source for codeine and other
medicinal compounds, but illicit opium�
from which heroin can be processed�has
been produced in such countries as Turkey
(prior to its ban), Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Burma, Thailand, Laos, and neighboring
Mexico. Opium is also being produced legally
in India and Turkey for export and in Iran
and a number of other countries for domestic
medical and research utilization.
Some idea of the dimensions of our prob-
lem can be gained when we consider that the
world's annual legal production of opium is
close to 1,500 tons and illegal production is
estimated kit 1,200 tons. Similarly, the co-
caine used in the United States is of foreign
origin, produced as the coca plant princi-
Department of State Bulletin
January 27, 1975
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pally in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Colom-
bia transforms more coca paste into cocaine
than other countries. Cannabis, from which
we get marihuana and hashish, is both im-
ported and grown in the United States; the
biggest supplier of the U.S. market is Mex-
ico, followed by Jamaica.
We have had our problems with U.S.-man-
ufactured amphetamines, barbiturates, and
other mind-beading drugs. We are attempt-
ing to deal with the U.S. sources through do-
mestic measures, but for the foreign sub-
stances we must look to other governments
for cooperation. Frequently, it has been a
case of persuading them that the problem is
not just ours but is also theirs.
We have been increasingly successful in
these efforts since mid-1971, when stopping
the flow of narcotics to the United States�
with emphasis on heroin and cocaine�be
came one of our principal foreign policy ob-
jectives. At that time, the Department of
State was assigned the primary responsibil-
ity for developing an intensified interna-
tional narcotics control effort and for man-
aging the expenditures under the program.
To encourage cooperation from other gov-
ernments and to assist them and internation-
al organizations to strengthen their antidrug
capabilities, we have provided an annual
average of $22 million in grant assistance
over the past three years. Our request for
international control funds for the current
fiscal year is $42.5 million. Our bilateral
programs emphasize cooperative law enforce-
ment and exchange of intelligence. The ma-
jor categories of grant assistance are train-
ing programs and equipment for foreign en-
forcement personnel and financial assistance
for crop substitution and related agricul-
tural projects. We are also exploring useful
cooperative ventures in the fields of drug
abuse education, treatment, and prevention.
During the past two months, I visited
many of the countries in Latin America, the
Near East, and Asia to examine our pro-
grams and look for ways to strengthen them.
I can report that all of these governments
expressed a sincere willingness to help stamp
out illicit production and trafficking. But
these governments also face serious internal
problems. The opium poppy, for example,
usually flourishes in the more isolated areas
where central government control is weak or
nonexistent. In many areas it is the only cash
crop of unbelievably poor tribesmen, and it
also provides their only medication and relief
from serious disease and hardship.
On my trip I saw something of the poppy-
growing areas in Afghanistan in Badakshan
and Nangarhar Provinces and of the Bunei.
and Swabi poppy-producing areas of Pak,-
istan's Northwest Frontier Province when t
drove from Kabul, Afghanistan, to Pesh4-
war, Pakistan, through the Kabul Gorge and
Khyber Pass and then went on to Islamabad
by Pakistani Government helicopter. I also
helicoptered over the northern mountains of
Thailand, where the Meo hill tribes grow
opium like the tribesmen in the neighborini
mountains of Burma and Laos in what iS
called the Golden Triangle.
The experience vividly demonstrated to mp
the conditions which make it very diffict4
for these governments�despite a genuine
desire to stamp out illegal opium�to control
production effectively any time soon. We and
producing countries cannot expect to see 4
high degree of success in our cooperative en-
forcement efforts until significant adjust-
ments are made in the social attitudes and
economic conditions in the opium-growing
areas.
Western Hemisphere Control Programs
Mexico�Today, the number-one prioriti,
country in our international narcotics conr
trot efforts is Mexico. The Mexican opiurn
crop and heroin laboratories are the current
source of more than half of the heroin on oui.
streets. The so-called Mexican brown heroin
has not only moved into our largest cities
but is also spreading to some of the sma110
cities throughout our country. When Presi
dent Ford met with President Echeverria in
October, narcotics control was very high on
their agenda and they agreed that an even
more intensified joint effort is needed.
The Mexican Government under President
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Echeverria has assigned high priority to its
antidrug campaign and has directed Attor-
ney General Pedro Ojeda PauHada to coor-
dinate its eradication and control efforts.
We are helping them by providing air-
craft, mainly helicopters, to assist in the
eradication of opium poppy cultivation in
the western mountains. This cultivation is il-
legal in Mexico, and there is no question of
the Mexican .Government offering income
substitution to the farmer. There is also a
crash program to strengthen antismuggling
controls on both sides of the border. Our
crooks smuggle guns and appliances into
Mexico, in coordination wjth their crooks
Who supply ours with heroin and marihuana.
U.S.-Mexican cooperative measures are pay-
ing off, but much remains to be done before
illicit trafficking can be reduced in a major
way.
For fiscal year 1975, about $10 million, or
almost one-quarter, of our international nar-
cotics control funds are being allocated to the
Mexican program. Our Mexican neighbors
are spending much more. My colleague John
Bartels, Administrator of the Drug Enforce-
ment Administration (DEA), and I meet
three or four times a year with our friend
Pedro Ojeda Paullada, either in Mexico City
or Washington, in order to coordinate our
respective efforts.
Cobombia�A country with extensive coast-
lines and huge land areas, Colombia is the
major transit point for illegal shipments of
cocaine entering the U.S. market. The Co-
lombian Government has launched a great
effort to eliminate the criminal element, to
combat drug trafficking, and to crack down
on the laboratories processing coca base
smuggled in from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador,
and Chile. The United States is moving for-
ward with an assistance program tailored to
help the new Colombian Government thrust.
We are furnishing such enforcement items
as jeeps, motorcycles, radios, and laboratory
equipment. We are also providing antinar-
cotics technical training for the Judicial Po-
lice, the National Police, and Customs.
Jamaica�This Caribbean island has
emerged as a major supplier of marihuana
to the United States, surpassed only by Mex-
ico. Moreover, there is evidence that Jamaica
is a transit point for the smuggling of co-
caine and heroin to our country from South
America. Within the past year, the Jamaican
Government has undertaken major steps to
curb illicit drug activities. In response to ur-
gent requests for assistance from the Jamai-
can Government, U.S. technical assistance
and equipment was extended to a Jamaican
task force set up to intercept boats and air-
craft engaged in narcotics smuggling, to dis-
rupt trafficking rings, and to destroy commer-
cial marihuana cultivation. Well over 000,000
pounds of commercially grown marihuana
have been destroyed thus far. U.S. support
consists of loaning of helicopters and trans-
fers of communications equipment and in-
vestigative-enforcement aids together with
training and technical assistance.
The Situation in Turkey
Torkey�In 1971, with the realization that
a substantial amount of opium legally pro-
duced in Turkey was being diverted to illicit
narcotics trafficking, the Turkish Govern-
ment concluded that a total ban on poppy
growing would be the most effective way to
stop the leakage. However, the Turkish Gov-
ernment which assumed office in January
1974 reconsidered the ban, amid great in-
ternal political debate, and on July 1 re-
scinded it on the grounds that what is grown
in Turkey is a sovereign decision of the
Turks.
In high-level dialogue between our two
governments we have made clear our very
deep concern at the possibility of a renewed
massive flow of heroin from Turkish opium
to the United States. We stressed our hope
they would adopt effective controls. A spe-
cial U.N. team held discussions on this sub-
ject in Turkey on the invitation of the Turk-
ish Government, which has stated publicly
many times that it will not allow its resump-
tion of poppy cultivation to injure other peo-
ples.
In mid-September, the Turkish Govern-
ment issued a statement that it would adopt
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a method of harvesting the poppies called the
poppy straw process, which involves the col-
lection by the Turkish Government of the
whole poppy pod rather than opium gum.
This was the procedure recommended by the
U.N. experts. Traditionally, the opium gum
was taken by the farmers through lancing
the pod in the field, and it was a portion of
this gum that was illegally bought by the
traffickers. � s
Last month I talked with senior Turkish
Government officials and with police officials.
The word has moved all the way down the
chain to the poppy farmer that opium gum
production is definitely prohibited, and the
enforcement mechanism is moving into place.
Turkey and the U.N. narcotics organization
are cooperating fully in this effort, and all
will be watching closely to endeavor to pre-
vent and to head off diversions into the illicit
traffic.
Joint Efforts in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia�The Golden Triangle
area, where Burma, Laos, and Thailand come
together, is the largest source of illicit opium
in the world, with an estimated annual pro-
duction of GOO-700 tons. Most of this produc-
tion is consumed by opium or heroin smokers
in Southeast Asia. Since 1970, when heroin
processed from opium in Golden Triangle re-
fineries began to become widely available to
U.S. troops in Viet-Nam, we have been con-
cerned that heroin from this source would
increasingly reach the United States, espe-
cially as the ban on opium production in Tur-
key and disruption efforts along the way
dried up the traditional Middle Eastern-
European route to the United States.
For the past three years, therefore, we
have made Southeast Asia a major object of
our international control efforts. We have de-
voted a significant share of our suppression
efforts and resources to our cooperative pro-
grams in Thailand, Laos, Viet-Nam, the Phil-
ippines, and Hong Kong. The biggest concen-
tration has been in Thailand, which serves as
the major transit area for Burmese-origin
opium. A recent series of agreements for
U.S. assistance to Thailand include helicop
ters, communications equipment, vehicle,
and training programs. Important steps were
also taken on the income-substitution side
including the approval of an aerial survey of
northern Thailand, where opium is grown bV
the hill tribes. In Burma, the government has
stepped up its antinarcotics efforts. For fiscal
year 1975, Southeast Asia will account for
over $10 million of our international nar-
cotics control funds.
While our joint suppression efforts are
making some headway in Southeast Asia, we
should not view the situation there through
rose-colored glasses. Anti narcotics efforts ih
Southeast Asia run up against several unique
problems. Burma and Thailand are threat
ened by insurgent groups which control or
harass large areas of the opium-growing re-
gions. The governments have limited re
sources and few trained personnel available
for narcotics control. In addition, the lack of
internal security hampers police action and
intelligence operations against traffickersi.
The Government of Burma, for example, does
not have effective administrative control over
a significant portion of the area where most
Asian poppies are grown.
The topography of the Golden Triangle
area is mountainous, wild, and uncontrolla
ble. When one smuggling route is uncovered
and plugged by police and customs teams, the
traffickers can easily detour to alternate
routes and modes of transportation. We need
only look at the difficulties that our own
trained and well-equipped law enforcement
agencies have in blocking narcotics traffiC
across our clearly defined peaceful border
with Mexico to gain a better appreciation of
the difficulties in Southeast Asia.
Moreover, use of opium has been tolerated
in the area, and opium has been regarded as
a legitimate commodity of commerce for cent
turies under both colonial and indigenou
governments. For the hill tribes, opium is
still the principal source of medicinal relief
for endemic diseases and is also the most lu-
crative crop to sell or barter for basic neces-
sities. We are actively seeking alternative
crops and other sources of income for these
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peoples, in close cooperation with similar ef-
forts by the U.N. narcotics organizations;
but progress will be slow, as a way of life
of primitive and remote peoples must be mod-
ified.
And so the situation in Southeast Asia is
complex and long term.
Multilateral Approaches
Concurrently with our bilateral action pro-
grams, we have given full support to the
multilateral or international efforts in the
fight against illicit narcotics production and
trafficking.
For example, the United States was a lead-
ing proponent of the establishment of the
United Nations Fund for Drug. Abuse Con-
trol. To date, we have contributed $10 million
of the $1'3.5 million made available to the
Fund by all countries. In Thailand, the Fund
is assisting in a comprehensive program de-
signed to develop alternate economic oppor-
tunities for those who grow opium; the Fund
has a similar project in Lebanon for the de-
velopment of alternatives to cannabis pro-
duction. Within the past year, the Fund has
financed a World Health Organization world-
wide study of the epidemiology of drug de-
pendence which we hope will contribute to-
ward clarifying the nature of the problem we
seek to solve. It is also financing treatment
and rehabilitation activities for drug addicts
in Thailand, fellowships and consultancies in
rehabilitation in various countries, and semi-
nars on community rehabilitation programs
in Eu rope.
The U.S. Government has also taken a
leading role in formulating two major pieces
of international narcotics legislation. The
first relates to the 1961 Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs. I am happy to report that
the U.S.-sponsored amending protocol, which
would considerably strengthen controls over
illicit production and trafficking, has been
ratified by 32 of the 40 countries necessary
for its coming into force. The United States
was one of the first countries to ratify the
protocol, on November 1, 1972.
The second major area of international
legislation pertains to the Convention on Psy-
chotropic Substances, which would provide
international control over LSD and other
hallucinogens, the amphetamines, barbitu-
rates, and tranquilizers. The administration
submitted the convention to the Senate in
mid-1971 with a request for its ratification.
We are now waiting for congressional ap-
proval of the proposed enabling domestic
legislation that would pave the way for rati-
fication of this essential international treaty.
U.S. approval of the Psychotropie Conven-
tion would strengthen our hand in obtaining
cdoperation from other governments in con-
trolling the classic narcotic substances.
The approach to a successful antidrug pro-
gram cannot, of course, relate to supply
alone. Nor is an attack on the demand side
alone the answer. Only through a combined
effort can the job be done. Thus the initial
objective of our international program has
been to reduce availabilities of illicit supplies
so that addicts will be driven into treatment
and others will be deterred from experimen-
tation. We are also examining ways to foster
international cooperation in the fields of
treatment and prevention to augment aware-
ness that drug abuse is not exclusively an
American problem but one that seriously af-
fects developing countries just as it plagues
the affluent. We also hope to demonstrate our
progress in treatment and prevention and to
learn from other countries the methods that
they have found effective.
As many of you know, we have several co-
operative treatment and research projects
with a number of concerned governments
throughout the world. For example, with the
Government of Mexico through Dr. Guido
Ifelsasso's organization, the Mexican Center
for Drug Dependency Research, we have pro-
vided some assistance to the Mexican epide-
miological study and we are jointly studying
heroin use along our common border.
I think we can point with pride to our role
over the past three years toward a tightening
of international controls. Worldwide seizures
and arrests of traffickers have become more
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and more significant as other countries have
joined in the battle. And there has been a
move in the direction of more effective con-
trols through treaty obligations. However,
the job is far from done. It should be ap-
parent to us all that abundant supplies of
narcotics�both in storage and under cultiva-
tion�quickly respond to illicit high profits.
Our task, then, is to further strengthen the
international control mechanism to reduce
illicit trafficking.
On October 18, John Bartels, the Admin-
istrator of DEA, Dr. Robert DuPont, Direc-
tor of the Special Action Office for Drug
Abuse Prevention, and I met with President
Ford to review the U.S. drug abuse pro-
grams. The President stated that he had per-
sonally seen examples of the human devasta-
tion caused by drug abuse and said he wanted
every appropriate step taken to further the
U.S. Government's drug abuse program both
at home and abroad. On the international
front, the President specifically directed that
all American Ambassadors be made aware of
the prime importance he attaches to our ef-
forts to reduce the flow of illicit drugs to the
United States and requested that each Am-
bassador review the activities of his mission
in support of the drug program.
Thus, drug control continues to be a high-
priority foreign policy issue. In cooperation
with our missions abroad and the govern-
ments to which they are accredited, we shall
carry on with our efforts against the scourge
of drug abuse.
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In the last two years, Latin
America has become the major
source of hard drugs entering
the United States. Much of it
is being supplied by rings con-
trolled by businessmen and
professionals who have grown
so politically and economically
powerful that they can operate
with virtual immunity from ar-
rest and prosecution.
Latin America now supplies
all of the cocaine sold in the
United States, where the de-
mand for the drug has risen
so sharply that the price of
coca leaves, from which co-
caine is extracted, has soared
1,500 per cent since 1973 in
some Latin countries � from
$4 to $60 a bale.
In addition, Mexico has now
replaced France as the main
supplier of heroin to the United
States, increasing its share of
the illegal heroin market from
20 to 60 per cent in the last
five years.
The increasing market for
drugs from Latin America,
which is centered in New York,
Miami and Los Angeles, is sup-
plied by traffickers who can
buy protection by bribing poor-
ly paid police officers, judges
and other officials. In some
cases, corrupt policemen and
public officials in Latin Ameri-
ca have gone into the profitable
drug traffic themselves.
New Networks Formed
The shift of the drug flow
from Europe to Latin America
also has brought into power
new criminal networks in New
York and other cities in the
United States that are dominat-
ed by Colombians, Cubans and
Mexicans.
The Federal Drug Enforce-
ment Administration has ident-
ified about 250 Latin Americans
as controlling the rings that
supply cocaine and heroin to
the United States market. Some
of them are so influential p0-
NEW YORK TIMES
21 April 1975
Latins Now Leaders
Of Hard-Drug Trade
Operators of Rings Supplying U.S.
Virtually Immune From Prosecution
By NICHOLAS GAGE
litically that they are consid-
ered "untouchable" in their na-
tive countries.
Typical of the situation is
the case of Luis Rivadeneira
of Ecuador, who was arrested
there last Dec. 16 with two
kilos (4.4 pounds) of cocaine
paste in his possession. Soon
after his arrest, according to
authorities, Adm..Alfredo Pove-
da Burbano, Ecuador's Minister
of Government, who directs all
law-enforcement agencies in
the country, called the police
and ordered them to change
the evidence against Mr. Ri-
vadeneira so that the charges
against him would have to be
dismissed.
"Admiral Poveda explained
his order by saying that Ri-
vadeneira was a close relative
of a friend of his�another ad-
miral," said a police captain.
The police complied.
If drug traffickers can't use
political influence to stop in-
vestigations against them, they
can often successfully bribe
police officers or judges.
Traffickers have so much
available cash, for example,
that in Colombia judges some-
times compete to try major
narcotics cases because of the
potential payoffs involved.
Eduardo Davila, reputed to
be a major cocaine trafficker
from the city of Santa Marta,
was arrested late last year on
charges of murdering a police-
man. According to the Colom-
bian national police, three
judges have already tried to get
his case.
Traffickers often find the po-
lice even easier to corrupt than
judges because throughout Lat-
in America they are so badly
paid. Police salaries range from
about $60 a month in Bolivia
to $250 a month in Argentina.
In Mexico, some high police
officials are known to have
become millionaires by taking
bribes. When some police offi-
cers are transferred from one
district to another, they sell
to their successors the list of
narcotics traffickers who paid
them on a regular basis.
The New York Times has
conducted a two-month in-
.vestigation in eight Latin
American countries to ex-
plore how the drug traffic
works there, how narcotics
reach the main market in
New York, who the major
dealers are and what the
United States and Latin
American nations are doing
about the problem. This is
the first in a series of four
articles and supplemental re-
ports on that investigation.
Extortion Is Practiced
Some Latin American police-
men who won't take bribes
are not averse to arresting drug
traffickers and then extorting
money from them�a practice
called volteo, which means
"rolling."
Last year a United States
citizen was arrested trying to
buy two kilos of cocaine for
$7,000 from Maj. Oscar Zebal-
los of a Bolivian narcotics unit
who was posing as a trafficker.
Major Zeballos seized the mon-
ey, keeping $5,000 for himself
and letting two younger offi-
cers split the rest.
His mistake was not sharing
the money with the informant
who had originally put him
on to the North American. The
irate informant told the officer's
superiors and Major Zeballos
was quietly dismissed from the
police force, losing all his ben-
efits.
The astronomical profits of
the drug trade sometimes prove
so tempting to some underpaid
Latin American policemen that
!they go into the business them-
selves.
Last year, for example, a
DC-3 flying from Peru to Co-
lombia had mechanical trouble
and was forced to land on a
military base in Colombia. There
were five people inside. The
head of the group identified
himself as Lieut. Benhur Bena-
vides of the Colombian nar-
cotics unit of F-2�the detective
division of the national police.
Nevertheless, the commander of
the military compound had the
plane searched and inside he
fpoausnted. 100 kilograms of cocaine
Resisting Easy Money
Despite the temptations,
many policemen remain honest.
"I've met cops making $60 a
month who wouldn't take a
nickel from anybody," said
Louis Bachrach, the Drug En-
forcement Administration's re-
gional director for South
America.
Many government officials
also are unmoved by any per-
sonal or political considera-
tions. When the Bolivian police
arrested the socially prominent
Maria Malky Farah with 15
kilos of cocaine in her posses-
sion, the judge on the case
dismissed the charges against
her. But the Minister of the
Interior, Juan Pereda Asbun,
had both Miss Malky, whose
family he knew, and the judge
jailed on corruption charges.
Several factors have put
Latin America on the crest of
the wave of profitable drug
traffic.
In recent years cocaine has
become the most fashionable
drug in the United States and
Europe because it is less expen-
sive than heroin, it is not physi-
cally addictive and it has a
reputation as a sexual stimu-
lant. One indication of the
drug's growing popularity is
that cocaine seizures in the
United States have increased
700 per cent since 1969.
The huge profits to be
made by transporting co-
caine from Latin America to
New York also make it clear
why so many are willing to
take the risk. In New York
City a kilo of cocaine is sold
on the street for between $75,-
000 and $100,000. In La Paz,
Bolivia, that same kilo would
cost only $4,000: in Lima, Peru,
$5,000; in Quito, Ecuador,
$6,000; in Bogota, Colombia,
,$7,500, and in Buenos Aires,
$8,500. (North American cus-
tomers are charged 15 to 30
per cent above these going
rates.)
French Source Weakened
While cocaine has been
growing in price and populari-
ty, heroin from France�the
traditional source�has been
declining in availability be-
cause of international law-en-
forcement pressure on French
traffickers. This has left a gap
that is increasingly being filled
by Mexican heroin.
Mexico began producing her-
oin for the United States
market during World War II.
"When the war dried up the
supply of heroin from Europe,
several New York Mafiosi�
Tom Gagliano, Frank Livorsi,
Joe Bonanno�went to Mexico
and set up a new source of
supply," said John T. Cusack,
head of the Drug Enforcement
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Administration's international
operations. "Until then only a
few Chinese immigrants were
growing poppies in Mexico."
Today the Federal authorities
estimate that Mexico produces
15 tons of opium base, from
which heroin is made, every
year. It ewes from thousands
of cultivation sites situated
principally in the states of
Sinaloa, Durango, Sonora and
Guerrero. The heroin refined
from Mexican poppies is brown
in color while French heroin,
refined by more sophisticated
methods, is white.
Mexico is now employing
soldiers to seek out and destroy
fields of opium poppies. "So far
this year we have destroyed
6,000 poppy fields and have de-
tected another 2.000," said
Pedro Ojeda-Paullada, Mexico's
Attorney General, who is di-
recting the eradication pro-
gram.
But so far the drive has not
slowed up poppy cultivation to
any noticeable degree. When
one field is destroyed, the
campesinos (peasant -farmers)
plant again elsewhere.
Last year Mexico passed a
law that provided for confisca-
tion of land used for cultivating
opium poppies. But the campe-
sinos worked around that by
planting the poppies on Federal
lands�often on mountainsides
that are too steep for army
helicopters to land on and hard
to reach on foot.
'Like the Old West'
In Mexico, the investigation
of narcotics traffickers is just
one of many responsibilities of
a 340-man Federal police force.
The Federales are led by 20
comandantes and enforcement
apparently depends largely on
the competence of individual
commanders.
"It's like the Old West," said
Robert Eymart, the Drug En-
forcement Administration's re-
gional director in Mexico. "If
you have a strong Marshal
Dillon, you get good enforce-
ment."
United States officials esti-
mate that there are four Mar-
shal Dilions among the 20 Co-
mandantes. Some of the others
are said to be simply indiffer-
ent, but several are thought
blatantly corrupt, having be-
come millionaires on a job that
pays about 5500 a month.
To combat such problems,
Mr. Ojeda-Paullada uses select-
ed cornandantes, such as Salva-
dor Del Toro and Ismael Diaz
Laredo, to carry out special
missions. He also periodically
shifts comandantes from one
post to another to keep them
from establishing ties with traf-
fickers.
Nevertheless, many traffick-
ers retain their power, pro-
tected not only by the po-
lice, but also by public officials.
Some narcotics dealers, in fact,
are public officials themselves.
Among the 70 major drug traf-
fickers United States agents
have chosen as primary targets
in Mexico, is a high official in
a major ministry.
Attorney General Ojeda-Paul-
lada has tried to fight such
corruption by dismissing or
reassigning corrupt officials in
several provinces, promoting
mandatory sentences for major
drug traffickers and setting up
a school to provide professional
standards for the Federal po-
lice.
But thus far the Mexican
Government's efforts have not
been enough to inhibit heroin
production in Mexico. Nor have
they succeeded in discouraging
the use of the country as a
transshipment point for co-
caine from South America,
Crop From Andes
Cocaine is derived from the
leaves of the coca plant, which
grows at elevations of 2,000
to 8,000 feet on the eastern
slopes of the Andes mountains.
Because of the large quantity
of leaves required to produce
cocaine�more than 300 pounds
for one kilo�the leaves are
processed by campesinos into
"coca paste" in primitive stills
close to the growing areas.
These stills are no more than
oil drums containing a solution
of potassium carbonate, water
and kerosene in which the
leaves are allowed to soak.
The paste, which resembles
moist flour, is then shipped
to laboratories throughout Lat-
in America to be processed
into cocaine. Processing co-
caine does not require the so-
phisticated chemistry needed to
produce heroin. A cocaine lab-
oratory can be set Up with
about $1,500 worth of equip-
ment.
Peru and Bolivia are the only
two Latin American countries
where the cultivation of coca
leaves is legal. In Peru, new
coca planting has been forbid-
den since 1964, but production
of coca has increased 20 per
cent a year. Last year Peru
produced 20 million kilograms
of coca leaf, only 4 million
of which were used for such
legitimate purposes as export
for chemical use and for chew-
ing by local Indans.
When the Peruvian Govern-
ment clears jungle land for
farming and turns it over to
the campesinos, they almost
always plant coca on the land.
The Government winks at this
practice, however, because it
allows the campesinos, who are
mostly Indians, to support
themselves without any train-
ing or financial support.
"The Peruvian Government
has no unified policy on coca,"
said an American official in
Lima. "Many ministers feel that
cocaine is an American problem
and not a Peruvian responsibili-
ty."
Crop Test in Bolivia
Unlike Peru, Bolivia has been
trying harder to bring coca
production under control. Bo-
livia is now participating in art
$800,000 United States pilot
project to find crops that the
campesinos would be willing to
grow instead of coca. Many
observers are doubtful about
the project's chances of suc-
cess, however, pointing out
that coca requires little atten-
tion and provides three to four
harvests a year, attributes that
few other crops can offer.
"I've got as much skepticism
about the project as anyone,"
said William Stedman, the
United States Ambassador to
Bolivia. "But we've never tried
crop substitution down here
and an experimental effort
should be made."
A year ago Bolivia enacted
broad narcotics legislation call-
ing for the control of coca
production, stiff prison terms
for drug dealers and unified
police action against major
traffickers. But implementation
of the law has been extremely
slow and the narcotics unit
has made few significant ar-
rests or seizures.
Col. Luis Carrasco, director
of the Department of Narcotics,
has attributed the lick of prog-
ress to organizational prob-
lems.
"We want to set up an effec-
tive unit and find honest, able
men for it," he said. "This
takes time."
But other officials wonder
whether the lack of progress
is not related to the political
influence that some major traf-
Tickers are said to have in
For example, when Alberto
Sanchez Bello, a courier for
one of Bolivia's major cocaine
traffickers, Carlos Balderama,
needed diplomatic papers to
facilitate carrying a cocaine
shipment to Canada last year,
he was able to go to Edwin
Tapia Frontanilla, secretary to
the presidency. Mr. Sanchez
was arrested in Canada and
Mr. Tapia's role in the affair
was exposed, forcing his dis-
missal from office.
The centers of the narcotics
traffic in Bolivia are La Paz,
the capital, sprawling across
the slopes of a canyon 12,000
feet above sea level, and Santa
Cruz, the country's commercial
center on the eastern lowlands.
Bolivian traffickers process
coca paste, which they buy
from the campesinos at $350
a kilo, at a handsome profit.
They also export it at $1,000
a kilo to laboratory operators
in Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil
and Chiie.
So much coca paste is sent
from Santa Cruz to northern
Paraguay and western Brazil
that the area is called "the
Silver Triangle" to compare it
to the center of opium traffic
in Laos, Cambodia and Thai-
land known aS "the Golden
Triangle."
Until 1973, Bpivia exported
most of its coca paste to Chile.
"Chile has alwa s had the best
cocaine chemi ts in South
America," said of. Guido L6-
pez of the Bo ivian national
police. "It wa the Chileans
in fact who first taught the
Bolivian campeSinos how to
make paste from coca leaves."
Junta Cratks Down
But the milititry junta that
seized power in Chile in 1973
has acted against major traf-
fickers, jailing hem, expelling
them to the U ited States or
forcing many o them to flee
the country. Mary dealers went
to northern Argentina, where
they are now setting up new
laboratories. But they are mov-
ing cautiously because they
have alien statuS and therefore
are subject to exPulsion.
Those remaining in Chile
operate mostly around the
northern city of Arica, which
is near the borders of both
Bolivia and Peru. The traffick-
ers in Arica anparently still
are entrenched enough to com-
mand police protection.
"When we have a case in
Arica, we never tell the police
what we're up ti," said a lieu-
tenant in the Carabineros in
Santiago. "We've been -burned
too many times."
Peru, the other coca-produc-
ing country in Latin America,
exports most of its coca paste
to its northern neighbors, Ecua-
dor and Colombia.
In Ecuador the major cocaine
rings operate out of Quito, the
capital, and Guayaquil, the
principal port. ECuadorian traf-
fickers now send more than
100 kilograms pf cocaine a
month to the Vnited States,
, according to alter White,
head of Drug Enforcement Ad-
ministration's office in Quito.
A Faltering Effort
The police in Ecuador have
not been considered effective
against the drug traffickers.
As is customary throughout the
country's various police forces,
officers in the iarcotics unit
are transferred t other duties
every four mon hs and they
are never on the j41, long enough
to learn how td make major
drug cases.
A reorganizatiqn law for the
police was drafted more than
a year ago that established
two-year tours of duty for nar-
cotics work, But the law keeps
bouncing from ministry to min-
istry without being imple-
mented.
Even when major dealers are
arrested in Ecuador, they often
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are able to avoia prosecution.
"If a trafficker is a land-
owner or a lawyer or an
important man, many judges
will dismiss the charges against
him no matter what the
evidence," said Col. Tarquino
NOnez, director general of nar-
cotics enforcement in Ecuador.
"A professor was caught with
three kilos of coca paste last
September and the judge re-
leased him only because of his
position."
Ecuador not only processes
cocaine, it also produces opium
poppies. Acres of poppies are
planted every year in remote
mountain fields, usually mixed
with other crops such � as corn
or barley.
"Heroin is not a serious prob-
lem in Ecuador now, but the
potential is here," Mr. White
said.
His immediate concern, he
said, is to persuade Ecuadorians
to strengthen controls along
their borders with Peru and
Colombia.
"Tons of paste come up from
Peru with little interference and
a lot of it moves on up to Co-
lombia," he said. "If we could
do something about the bor-
ders, we would disrupt the co-
caine traffic not only here, but
also in Colombia, which sends
more of the stuff to the United
States than any country in
South America."
Federal authorities believe
Colombia now has between 60
and 80 major criminal organi-
zations engaged in the cocaine
traffic. "Half of them are as
NEW YORK TIMES
21 April 19 75
sophisticated and as disciplined
as our own Mafia families,"
said Octavio Gonzalez, head
of the Drug Enforcement Ad-
ministration's office in Bogota.
"They have ample capital re-
sources, large organizations of
from 50 to 100 people and
layers of authority that effec-
tively insulate their leaders
from prosecution."
These groups are based in
Colombia's major cities�Me-
dellin, the industrial capital;
Bogota, Cali, Barranquilla, San-
ta Maria and Cartagena. They
employ their own chemists to
process cocaine in sophisticated
laboratories outside the main
cities, own fleets of planes,
trucks and automobiles, and
can call on scores of couriers
to transport their product.
Colombian drug rings send
at least 300 kilograms of co-
caine a mOtith to the United
States, mostly to New York
and Miami, according to Feder-
al law-enforcement agency esti-
mates.
Like many Latin-American
countries, Colombia has several
police forces fighting the nar-
cotics trade�the security police;
F-2, the detective branch of
the national police; and the
customs police. The F-2 narco-
tics unit is considered to be
the most effective.
But police action alone, no
matter how intensive, cannot
destroy the narcotics traffic
in Latin America. "There are
too many loopholes in our laws
and not enough cooperation
between countries," said Capt.
Theodoro Campo Gomez, the
31-year-old commander of the
F-2 narcotics unit in Colombia.
"We have to change."
Herreras Among Biggest
Of Cocaine Organizations
One of the biggest rings
supplying the New York mar-
ket with cocaine is the Her-
rera organi7ation of Colom-
bia, which has its headquar-
ters in Cali, the flourishing
city southwest of Bogoi
"The Herreras send out
an average of 40 kilograms
of cocaine a month, mostly
to New York and Miami,"
says Octavio Gonziilez, head
of the Federal Drug Enforce-
ment Administration office
in Bogota. "At wholesale
prices that adds up to a $14-
million a year business."
Like most Latin-American
criminal groups dealing in
drugs, the Herrera organiza-
tion has a family as its nu-
cleus�seven brothers, two
sisters, cousins and in-laws.
Outsiders chosen for their
professional skills bring the
organization's membership to
a total of 92.
A Daring Escape
United States and Colom-
bian authorities say the nom-
inal head of the organization
is 34-year-old Benjamin (Ne-
gro) Herrera. They say it
is indicative of the organiza-
tion's power that the Herre-
ras arranged for Beniamin's
successful escape from the
Federal penitentiary in Atlan-
ta, where he had been sen-
tenced to five !.'ears in 1970
for trying to smuggle heroin
into the United States.
After his escape. Benjamin
returned to Colombia, which
is one of a number of Latin-
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The New York Times/April 21,1975
So much coaaste, which is processed into cocaine,
is snipped from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to northern Para-
guay and western Brazil that the area is called "The
Silver Triangle," to compare it to the center of opium
traffic in Southeast Asia called "The Golden Triangle."
American countries that will
not extradite its own citi-
zens. Later, however, he made
the mistake of visiting Peru.
At the request of United
States officials there he was
arrested and expelled to the
United States. He is now
back in prison in Atlanta.
In Benjamin's absence,
leadership of the family has
been taken over by his broth-
er Gustavo, according to the
Colombian police. Ramiro,
another brother, is in charge
of importing coca paste from
Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.
Informants say the paste
is often flown to the interna-
tional airports at Cali and
Bogota in ordinary suitcases
and rushed through customs
without inspection by accom-
modating officials on the or-
ganization's payroll.
Authorities say the Herre-
ras have several well-
equipped laboratories in Co-
lombia where, under the su-
pervision of the organiza-
tion's chief chemist. Carlos
Alvarez, the coca paste is
refined into cocaine. These
laboratories are usually with-
in 10 to 15 miles of 'Colom-
bia's main cities �Bogota,
Medellin, Cali and Barran-
quilla.
Last Dec. 16 the Colombian
police raided a laboratory
�����.'ide Cali supplying co-
caine to the Herrera organi-
zation that was capable of
turning out 50 kilos of co-
caine in one batch. Of the
eight persons arrested, one
was a professor of chemistry
at Santiago University in Cali
and another was a captain
in the Cali fire brigade. The
police also found a 25-ton
press used for packing the
cocaine into fine sheets, 700
gallons of acetone used in the
chemical process and other
equipment and materials val-
ued at $800,000.
Elaborate Courier System
Although the Herreras may
lose a lab once in a while,
their business still expands.
After Herrera laboratories
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NEW YORK TIMES
22 April 1975
process tne paste, the fin-
ished cocaine is distributed
to Emilio Herrera in Barran-
quilla, Carlos Herrera in Bo-
gota and David Herrera in
Medellin. They, in turn, ex-
port it by "mules" (couriers)
in small amounts of two to
four kilograms each. Larger
quantities are sent on com-
mercial vessels through the
ports of Turbo and Bue-
naventura to Atlantic coast
harbors in the United States.
Couriers for the Herreras
sometimes pose as students.
They are given student visas
and they are supplied with
hooks that have sheets of
cocaine secreted in them. The
''students" are paid from
$500 to $1,000 plus expenses
and are given new clothes
for carrying the cocaine to
New York.
The authorities say false
documents for these couriers
are usually procured by Aura
Monsalve, a cousin of the
Herreras, and Francisco Mar-
tinez, who also serves as
a liaison to several of the
group's North American buy-
ers.
It is unlikely that an organ-
ization as large as the Her-
rerases could function with-
out police and political
protection. Authorities say
the organization's protectors
include not only influential
officials in the police, cus-
toms and the judiciary, but
also several leading members
of Colombian society who
have invested in the lucrative
cocaine trade.
Drug-Smuggling Logistics
Bizarre and Often Fatal
Second of four articles on why Latin America is now
the major source of hard drugs entering the United States.
By NICHOLAS GAGE
The rainy season has ended
in Chulumani, Bolivia, and
on the steeply terraced
mountainside, Juan Mamani
is crouching in his small plot
of coca plants, beginning to
strip the tiny green leaves
that will be his first crop
of the year. He will pack
the leaves into bales, called
tambors, and sell the 300
pounds he harvests for $250.
In Jackson Heights, Queens,
drug dealers are waiting
for new supplies of co-
caine from South America.
The 300 pounds from Juan
Mamani's small plot will pro-
duce one kilogram of the
drug (2.2 pounds). Although
he will get $250 for his crop,
the kilo of cocaine will bring
in at least $75,000 in the
New York City retail market.
The huge profit between
New York and Latin Ameri-
ca, which has become the
major source of hard drugs
entering the United States,
is what makes thousands of
men and women willing to
take the risks involved in
smuggling cocaine into the
United States.
The methods they use are
imaginative, bizarre and
sometimes fatal to the cour-
iers, who have been known
to soak their clothes in co-
caine or to swallow drugs
stuffed in a prophylactic
pouch.
Every conceivable contain-
er has been used by couriers
to secrete drugs coming in
from Latin America � false-
bottomed wine bottles,
frames of paintings, hollow
ski poles. Carmen Moreno,
a member of the Alberto
Bravo organization in Colom-
bia, one of the leading nar-
cotics rings, was captured
when she was about to fly
from Toronto to New York
with a kilo of cocaine hidden
in a hollow wooden hanger.
Large quantities of cocaine
�over four kilograms�are
usually sent by ship or plane.
Crew members on ships are
recruited by the Latin-Ameri-
can drug organizations to
carry narcotics on their ves-
sels into American ports. The
drugs then may be carried
ashore or dropped overboard
in harbors to be picked up
by scuba divers.
In Colombia, major drug
organizations often use pri-
vate planes flown by their
own pilots. A pilot will rent
a plane in the United States
and f:11 out a false flight
plan. Then he will fly to
Colombia, where the drugs
are waiting.
"In northeast Colombia
there is a desert area called
Guajira that is so flat that
planes can land just about
anywhere," said Octavio
Gonzalez, head of the Federal
Drug Enforcement Adminis-
tration office in Bogota. "The
area is controlled by Indians
and there is little local law
enforcement.
"When they have a ship-
ment, Colombian traffickers
will pick a time and place
for the landing and hire In-
dians to guard the area.
There will be 20 to 50 Indians
armed with R-15 carbines.
The plane lands, picks up
the cargo, and takes off with-
in 45 minutes."
Large shipments of drugs�
usually cocaine and marijua-
na�can be moved on these
flights, according to Mr. Gon-
zalez. "Some of these planes
are big: B-26's, B-25's, twin-
engine Cessnas and, in one
instance, a Lockheed Con-
stellation. And then the
planes return to the states
and land at designated small
airports, sometimes in South
Carolina, Florida and Geor-
gia."
According to the Drug En-
forcement Administration,
the Colombian narcotics or-
ganizations have highly so-
phisticated logistical equip-
ment to assist these flights,
including fuel depots and
elaborate ground-to-air com-
munications equipment. If
one of their planes does get
into trouble or if the pilot
discovers that authorities are
tracking it, the standard pro-
cedure is to throw the drugs
overboard.
Smaller amounts of cocaine
�under four kilos�are car-
ried generally by couriers,
who account for the greatest
part of the traffic. Many of
the couriers come from Co-
lombia, which sends more
cocaine to the United States
than any other Latin-Amer-
ican country. Of the 165 co-
caine couriers arrested in the
United States during the sec-
ond half of last year, 117
were Colombians.
Latin-American drug traf-
fickers find it isn't difficult
to recruit their , countrymen
as couriers, called "mules,"
because if they are caught,
many judges in the United
States will give them only
suspended sentences and de-
port them in the belief that
they are not hardened crimi-
nals.
"When the Couriers go
back home, they're walking
advertisements for the re-
cruiters," said John R. Bar-
tels Jr., the head of the Drug
i Enforcement Adl inistration.
Fees Are igh
Couriers, who usually earn
from $500 to a $1,000 a
kilo plus expenses for each
trip, have used many methods
to conceal drugs. One of the
most ingenious is to soak
their cotton clothing in a
liquid solution that contains
cocaine and on their arrival
in the United States to put
the clothes in a sOlution that
releases the drug. Detection
is difficult.
"They start With cocaine
base (the stage before pure
cocaine) that they dissolve
in pure alcohol," explained
Eugene Castillo, A Drug En-
forcement AdMinistration
agent stationed in Bolivia.
"Then they take, an article
of clothing, soak it in the
solution and let it dry."
"When they get to the
States they take the article,
soak it in acetcine for 10
to 15 minutes, wring it out,
and run the solut on through
filter paper. Then they pour
the solution into a flat con-
tainer and let it dry. This
process not only conceals
the drug, it also refines the
cocaine base into finished
cocaine. For ever 300 grams
of base they soal this way,
they get 100 gr ms of co-
caine.
Another one the more
effective method of hiding
drugs also is the most dan-
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gerous: couriers fill prophy-
lactic pouches with the drug
and then swallow it before
crossing the border. They in-
tend to regurgitate the
pouches later. But in at least
four instances, United States
citizens who went to Latin
America to buy drugs, swal-
lowed the pouches and then
were stricken when their di-
gestive juices caused the
pouches to burst.
Three men�in Bolivia, Co-
lombia and Panama�died as
a result of this method of
smuggling. A partner of the
man in Bolivia also was
stricken and went into con-
vulsions, but his life was
saved.
Key City Areas Cited
When the cocaine reaches
the New York metropolitan
area, it goes to major distri-
bution rings centered in areas
with large Latin populations,
such as Jackson Heights in
Queens, the South Bronx,
Washington Heights and
Union City, N. J., according
to Arthur Grubert, head of
the Drug Enforcement Ad-
ministration's intelligence
unit in New York. "Union
City is known as Cocaine
City in some quarters," he
said.
The growth of the cocaine
market in New York has
created important rings to
supply it. These rings are
dominated by Colombians
and Cubans, Mr. Grubert
said.
Many of the rings are
closely bound through family
relationships, and disputes
are generally settled by dis-
cussion, he said. Violence is
used to maintain discipline,
he said, but not as often as
in Mafia groups.
"Latin criminal groups
maintain much closer ties
to the main organizations
back home than American
Mafia groups do with their
Sicilian counterparts," Mr.
Grubert said.
Mafia groups in New York
have not become active in
the cocaine traffic, Federal
officials believe, because
they do not have well-estab-
lished relations with sup-
pliers in South America.
New York cocaine dealers
are doing a booming busi-
ness, which has not been
affected by the economic re-
cession since many of their
customers are from affluent
circles where snorting co-
caine has become increasing-
ly popular.
Ounce Sells for $1,000
When the New York rings
receive the cocaine, they sell
it to wholesalers in kilo lots,
and they, in turn, market
it in ounce portions. Mr.
Grubert said that their
"stores" are often Latin bars
and restaurants throughout
the city.
An ounce of high quality
cocaine (more than 95 per
Approved for Release: 2
cent pure) sells at these
"stores" at between $1,000
and $1,500.
The retailers who buy the
ounce then cut the cocaine
three or four times and sell
the diluted Cocaine for $50 a
gram. Their gross for one
ounce thus ranges between
$4,200 and $5,600.
Arrests of Latin traffick-
ers in New York has dis-
closed that many of them had
entered the United States on
forged passports and that
most of them had police rec-
ords back home as petty
thieves.
The rings that handle co-
caine distribution in the city
include scores of members.
Last October, for example,
Federal agents and the New
York police arrested 150 per-
sons that they said were part
of just one ring, the Alberto
Bravo organization.
The Bravo grotto :as said
to have imported 1`00 pounds
of cocaine in 1974 alone.
Important figures in tl,e
group, according to narcotics
agents, included Mario Rodri-
guez of Forest Hills, Queens,
in whose apartment the po-
lice said they found nine
pounds of cocaine, and Do-
mingo Fernandez of Jackson
Heights, now a fugitive.
But, the organization's
leader, Alberto Bravo, ,re-
mains at large in Medellin,
Colombia. His chief lieuten-
ant in charge of maintaining
smuggling operations to New
York, Bernardo Roldan, also
remains free in Medellin. They
have been indicted in New
York on conspiracy charges,
but Colombi., will not extra-
dite its citizens to the United
States.
To keep its vast New York
network adequately supplied.
authorities say the Bravo or-
ganization shipped cocaine
to it through a variety of
routes, including Canada,
Mexico, Puerto Rico and Mi-
ami. One shipment was first
flown to Munich and then
to New York, where it was
said to have been delivered
to Mario Rodriguez.
The authorities contend that
New York distributors for
South American traffickers
are not restricted to Latins.
For years, one of the biggest
drug traffickers in Bolivia,
Jaime Hergueta, sent almost
all of the cocaine he
processed to James A. Aus-
tin, who operated out of
Manhattan and the Bronx,
according to narcotics offi-
cials here.
Mr. Austin, who the police
say accumulated four apart-
ments. three Mercedes Benz
automobiles and a 67-foot
yacht during his alleged asso-
ciation with Mr. Hergueta,
was arrested on narcotics
charges last Dec. 16 at Ken-
nedy Airport as he stepped
off a plane from Peru. He
still awaits trial.
New York gets all of its
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cocaine, but less than 20
per cent of its heroin, from
Latin America, according to
Federal agents. Mexican her-
oin in New York has sur-
faced primarily in Greenwich
Village, where it is said to
be running 17 per cent pure
compared to about seven per
cent for French heroin.
But outside New York, Fed-
eral agents say Mexican her-
oin dominates the market,
taking an 80 per cent share
in Chicago, a 70 per cent
share in Houston, a 60 per
cent share in Los Angeles
and a 50 per cent share
in Denver.
Los Angeles Is the source
city for Tost of the Mexican
heroin sold in the United
States, according to Abraham
L. Azzam, the Drug Enforce-
ment Administration's deputy
regional director in Califor-
nia. Dealers from other cities
go to Los Angeles to pick up
their supplies from whole-
salers there who deal directly
with Mexican traffickers, he
said.
Unlike the French heroin
traffickers, who prefer to
send drugs in big lots, the
Mexican suppliers use the
"human wave" approach.
They send a multitude of
couriers carrying small
amounts on the theory that
if some are apprehended, the
majority will get through.
"The biggest seizure of
French heroin we ever had
was 412 kilos," said John T.
Cusack, head of international
operations for the Drug En-
forcement Administration.
"But our biggest seizure of
Mexican heroin was only
eight kilos."
If a Mexican drug traf-
ficker wants to send a heroin
shipment of more than three
kilos to the United States, he
will usually have it driven
across the border in a special
"load" car or flown over in a
private airplane.
At checkpoints on the Mex-
-ican border, United States
Customs agents use COM-
puters into which they feed
the license number of any
suspicious car that passes
through. If any information
is recorded about the car, it
scores a "hit" on the com-
puter and is pulled aside and
searched.
Drug traffickers will often
send an empty car across the
border to see if it scores a
"hit." If it is passed through,
they will bring it back and
load it up with heroin.
Border Vigilance Difficult
Because the border be-
tween Mexico and the United
States is both big (2,000
miles) and busy (25 million
crossings last year) it is vir-
tually impossible to police it
thoroughly. This has tempted
some United States residents
to buy cocaine in Latin
America and try to smuggle
it to the United StatPs
2020/08/17 CO2563675
through Mexico.
Those who are apprehend-
ed carrying narcotics in Mex-
ico, however, run the risk
of serving at least five years
in a Mexican prison.
As of last February, there
were 509 United States citi-
zens in Mexican jails, 420
of them there on narcotics
charges. Of these 420, some
123 were women.
Conversations with some
of them in a Mexican prison
showed that they generally
believed they would soon be
deported by the Mexican
government in response to
pressure from the United
States Government.
"They seem to be convinced
that they'll be allowed to
go home if they just push
their Congressmen a little
harder," said Peter J. Peter-
son, the United States Consul
General in Mexico City. "They
often fabricate complaints
and it makes it difficult for
us to handle legitimate
grievances."
Asked about the Americans
in prison, Pedro Ojecla-Pau-
Hada, Mexico's Attorney Gen-
eral, said, "I can tell you
categorically that Mexico
will not deport anyone until
he completes his sentence.
We are totally committed
to the law and any person
bringing drugs into Mexico
faces five to 15 years in
our prisons."
Although most of the oth-
er Latin-American countries
have equally stiff drug laws,
recruiters of "mules" in the
United States assure them
that the Latin-American
countries don't enforce those
laws. The fact is, only Co-
lombia consistently deports
North American drug viola-
tors and it holds them about
a year first.
Latin-American drug traf-
fickers like to recruit
"mules" from among the
most innocent and honest-ap-
pearing United States res.
idents they can find.
Two grandmothers frorni
California, Jeanne McMi-i
chael, 61 years old, and Eliz-
abeth Lankton, 52, were in,
trigued when they were ap-
proached by a woman they
knew who offered them free
vacations to South America
plus $6,000 each for bringing
back cocaine.
The two grandmothers
successfully carried cocaine
back from Colombia and Bo-
livia. But on March 24, 1974.
they were arrested going
through customs in Mexico'
City and subsequently con-
victed of carrying six kilo-
grams of cocaine in false-bot-
tomed suitcases.
The women have been in
custody tor more than a year
now, but they have not been
sentenced yet. Because of
the mandatory drug laws in
Mexico, they are certain to
spend at least five years in
a Mexican jail.
Approved for Release: 2020/08/17 CO2563675
� No Antiwoman Job Bias
In the Narcotics Trade
It a,
.%-..
�
14.0.
Lima
Pacific
Ocean
Illicit CocaineTraffic
1. Growers
; Processors and Exporters
'Cr Shippers
404e,5; �
GUYANA
"In I SURINAM
VENEZUELA\ z
Arica
CHILE
Santis
BOLIVIA
,FRENCH
GUIANA
BRAZIL
Brasilia
�
1...-PARAGUAY ft
�
� Asuncion
Rio de
Janeiro
Atlantic
(Man
t,�,--URUGUAY
Montevideo
0"'"..1�47=11, 0
Map indicates where illicit cocaine
The New York Times/April 7.1.1975
originates and moves in Latin Amerca.
Women have a prominent
place in Latin America's illic-
it drug traffic, filling every
role from "mule" (courier) to
head of a criminal organiza-
tion.
A short, stocky, middle-
aged woman of Chilean de-
scent who owns three wig
shops in Buenos Aires is con-
sidered by American officials
to be one of the major
sources of narcotics brought
into the United States.
Yolanda Sarmiento, who
is 46 years old, has a long
history of narcotics involve-
ment.
"She's one of the sharpest
dealers anywhere," said
Rhyn C. Tryal, head of the
Federal Drug Enforcement
Administration's office in
Buenos Aires,
On April 15, 1970, the
New York police raided a
West Side apartment alleged-
ly used by Mrs. Sarmiento
and seized 72 kilograms of
heroin and 47 kilograms of
cocaine with a wholesale
value of $3.5-million.
A few days later, the po-
lice arrested Mrs. Sarmiento
along with her lover, Emilio
Diaz Gonzalez, who is a na-
tive of Spain, and two other
men outside a New Jersey
motel. Federal agents say
they were traveling by car
from Miami to claim the nar-
cotics that had been stashed
in the apartment.
Escapes City Jail
Mrs, Sarrniento's hail was
set at S100,000. She posted
the bail and then fled the
United States, leaving Mr.
Diaz and his associates in
custody in New York.
Several months later, on
Jan. 24, 1971, Mr. Diaz es-
caped from the Federal
House of Detention in Man-
hattan. Investigators in New
York believe that Mrs. Sar-
miento had helped plan and
finance his escape.
The pair were next seen
in Buenos Aires where Mr.
Diaz was seriously wounded
in a gunfight with the Argen-
tine police on Dec, 2, 1972.
He escaped and his wherea-
bouts are unknown, but Mrs.
Sarmiento was apprehended.
The United States tried to
have her expelled from Ar-
gentina to New York to stand
trial. But the Argentine
courts ruled that since her
children were born in Argen-
tina, Mrs. Sarmiento was en-
titled to the rights of an
Argentine citizen and so
could not be xpelled.
Unlike Ma ia wives who
avoid involv ment in their
husbands' rac cets. Latin wo-
men often wdrk closely with
their men in) the narcotics
traffic. When two brothers,
Juan and Roberto Hernandez,
were imprisoned in Mexico
for drug smuggling in 1970,
their wives Continued their
work.
On Oct. 17, 1974, the Mexi-
can federal police investi-
gatede
their a tivities in the
La Mesa Stat Penitentiary in
Tijuana an1 discovered
evidence showing that the
Hernandezes had continued
to run their drug ring even
behind bars. Also busy in
the traffic from her cell was
Roberto's wIe Helen, who
had been apprehended ear-
lier. [
A month 'later, Mexican
authorities rrested Juan's
wife Patrici in a Tijuana
motel as she was delivering
a kilo of heroin to a customer
from the United States. They
found in her possession fami-
ly records documenting ex-
tensive reaklestate holdings
and a balancte in Hernandez
bank accounts of about $20-
million. She, also was con-
victed.
But the risks for women
in the narclotics trade are
not always Confined to law-
enforcement agents. Consider
the harsh fate of Ruth Goda-
mez of Chile, who was a
dealer in cocaine with her
lover, Selim Valenzada. Unit-
ed States narcotics agents
had made Miss Godamez a
major target and placed her
under suveillance.
Mr. Valenzada saw Miss
God amez speaking to
someone whom he thought
was a narCotics agent and
decided thati she had become
an informer. He shot her
five times 'in the stomach,
but she surVived the wounds.
Later Mnl Valenzada was
expelled from Chile to the
United States, where he had
been under indictment on a
narcotics charge. As he was
led to detention, he asked
narcotics agents, "Was she
talking or did I waste the
bullets?" No one answered
his question.
Miss GOdamez did not
"turn"�beCome an inform-
ant � bl.it after several
months in jail, Mr. Valenzada
has decid d to cooperate
with the gOvernment.
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Approved for Release: 2020/08/17 CO2563675
NEW YORK TIMES
23 April 1975
Argentine Filled Key Role
In Latins' Drugs Network
Third of four articles on why Latin America is now;
the major source of hard drugs entering the United�States.i
By NICHOLAS GAGE ,
The one man in South Amer-
ica whom drug enforcement
officials say they would most
like to see behind bars is Ar-
mando H. Nicolai, a 46-year-old .
Argentine who has been under
indictment on narcotics con-
spiracy charges in New York
since 1971.
"Nicolai is the only man
down here with the reputation,
contacts and know-how to reor-
ganize the South American
Connection," said Frank Mac-
olini, the Federal Drug En-
forcement Administration's
deputy regional director for
South America.
Until 1972, 35 per cent of all
the French heroin smuggled
into the United States every
year was sent through the
Latin-American networks of
European fugitives, most of
them French Corsicans.
At its peak, the French Con-
nection controlled much of the
heroin supply for 'the United
States, but it lost its hold on all
its market except New York.
Even in the city, the French
traffickers fared poorly .for a
long spell, but authorities re-
port that French heroin is plen-
tiful on the streets again. [Page
531
The South American Connec-
tion, in its. pov.re,rful. days. was
composed primarily of two ma-
jor groups of Corsican traffick-
ers.
One organization, based in
Paraguay, was led by Auguste
Joseph Ricord, a 64-year-old
Itoiralized Argentine citizen
served as an nen:. of
0 Gestapo in Frassce during
I'ic
ld War r. The other was
ded by Lucien Sarti, the
'tive murderer of a Belgian
eman, who arrived in
4uth America in 1966, when
4 was 29, to look into the nar-
atics trade. Mr. Nicolai was an
portant member of the Sarti
anization.
Beginning in 1972, a barrage
extraditions, shootouts and
zures broke up the lucrative
uth American Connection,
i1st of the leading principals,
luding Mr. Ricord, were ex-
led to the United States,
% ere they were convicted of
rcotics violations and impris-
ed. Others fled to their na-
e Europe. Authorities say
t only major figure who man-
d to avoid their net was
ando Nicolai.
Ir. Sarti and Mr. Nicolai
t when the Corsican and
associates began courting
n ive contrabandistas�South
ericans who made a living
b smuggling various goods
a oss borders for the black
rket.
r. Nicolai had already be-
c le a legend among the con-
t bandistas. Part of his fame
s due no doubt to his physi-
c size and strength, for in
a.,.. ountry where great height
is; uncommon, Mr. Nicolai is
6 eet 3 inches tall and weighs
1 over 230 pounds.
n one instance, in 1962,
en he and a group of asso-
c tes were arrested by the p0-
Ii Mr. Nicolai broke his
h dcuffs with his bare hands
a beat up seven policemen
Ile his cohorts escaped. "Af-
t that, every contrabandista
inebtrgentina looked up to him,"
sa!flhithyn C. Tryal, the head of
the Drug Enforcement Admin-
istration's district office in
Buenos Aires.
Mr. Nicolai has an aristo-
cratic appearance that hints of
his Italian heritage. His strong
profile, with an arched nose,
suggests an ancient Roman
bust, and his hair, worn fairly
long, is dyed reddish brown. He
walks with a decided stoop.
Mr. Nicolai was attracted by
the huge profits to be made
by smuggling hard drugs, and,
thanks to his natural leadership
ability, he soon rose to a posi-
tion in the organization equal
to that of Mr. Sarti.
He did not, however, share
the almost fanatic Spartan dis-
cipline of Mr. Sarti and his
French Corsican associates,
some of whom formed a group
called the "Pietra Forte" (hard
rock), a Mafia-like organization
that specialized in extortion
and bank robbery in addition
to heroin dealing.
Mr. Macolini of the Federal
drug agency said that the
group, whose members includ-
ed Francois Rossi, Benzo Rogai
and Francois Chiappe, prac-
ticed giving one another shock
treatments to train themselves
to withstand torture if they
were seized and questioned by
the police. Mr. Sarti himself
was admiringly referred to by
his cronies as "Iron Head."
Informants say that Mr. Ni-
colai regarded these activities
of the Pietra Forte with some
amusement. He considered him-
self merely a "businessman" in
the smuggling business and had
no taste for robbing banks or
exchanging shock treatments.
As a contrabandista, Mr. Ni-
colai had accumulated a large
number of contacts and asso-
ciates throughout Latin Ameri-
ca who were in a position
to ease his passage across bor-
ders and through customs.
Informants say that after he
got into the heroin trade he
used. the enormous amounts
of money he was making to
extend his influence within the
government, judiciary and the
police in half a dozen Latin-
American countries.
He moved his headquarters
from Buenos Aires to Montevi-
deo, Uruguay, where he lived
In luxurious style, entertaining
influential politicians at his
apartment near the presidential
palace and overseeing his fleet
of automobiles and private
planes, staffed by his own pi-
lots.
Informants maintain that Mr.
Nicolai's contacts were so good
that he would fly to France
himself to pick up shipments
of heroin and carry them in
suitcases to South America
say, he would be allowed
add, he would be allowed
through customs without hav-
ing his bags examined.
Mr. Nicola' was doing very
well in the heroin-smuggling
business when, on July 8, 1971,
a young man from Panama
named Rafael Richard, was ar-
rested at John F. Kennedy Air-
port in New York after it was
discovered that his suitcases
contained 70 kilograms (154
pounds) of heroin.
Mr. Richard had refused to
open his suitcases, maintaining
that he had diplomatic immu-
nity because his father was
Panama's Ambassador to Tai-
wan. But the inspector opened
them anyway and when Mr.
Richard was taken into cus-
tody, he agreed to cooperate
with the authorities.
Mr. Richard said he had made
five earlier smuggling trips to
the United States and another
to Brazil and Argentina, most
of them with his uncle, Guiller-
mo Gonzalez, or in one case
with his aunt, Nelva Jurado
de Gonzalez. In Buenos Aires,
he said, his aunt gave a pack-
age to a man named Armando,
who gave her money in return.
Two other informants subse-
quently said that Guillermo
Gonzalez was closely linked
with Armando Nicolai, and that
the association between them
dated back 10 years when Mr.
Gonzdlez was an air controller
in Panama and would clear
planes for Mr. Nicolai that con-
tained contraband.
As a result of this informa-
tion, Mr. Nicolai was indicted
in New York for conspiracy
in connection with the heroin
Mr. Richard attempted to
smuggle into the United States.
Mr. Richard and Mr. Gonzalez
were convicted and sent to
prison.
A Prime Target
After the Richard arrest, Mr.
Nicolai became a prime target
of United States narcotics
agents posted in South Ameri-
ca. When informants leaked
the information that something
big was brewing in the Sarti-
Nicolai group, United States
narcotics agents got permission
from Uruguyan officials to put
a tap on Mr. Nicolai's tele-
phone.
In early 1972, Lucien Sarti
traveled to La Paz, Bolivia,
In the company of a friend
named Jean-Paul Angeletti and
House!) Cararnian, a Buenos
Aires businessman who had
been introduced to the heroin
traffic a few years earlier.
Traveling with the men were
Mr. Sarti's. common-law wife
and Mr. Angeletti's girlfriend.
All were using false identities.
Informants say the group
went to Bolivia to buy a 6,000-
acre plantation on which to
grow their own coca leaves
so that they could branch out
into cocaine. They carried with
them $380,000 in a case, which
they had with them when they
were arrested at their hotel.
The police had been called by
an astute bellhop who remem-
bered Mr. Sarti from a previous
visit and who noticed that on
this trip he had registered un-
der a different name.
Armando Nicolai's lawyer in
Buenos Aires, Mario COnterno,
promptly turned up in La Paz
and attempted without success
to obtain their release. Next
to arrive, however, was Helena
Ferreira.
Miss Ferreira had flown to
La Paz from her native Brazil,
where she had been living
for a time with Mr. Sarti. Pre-
tending to be his sister, she
persuaded the Bolivian officials
to release Mr. Sarti and all his
associates except Mr. Cara-
mian. But when they left La
Paz, informants say, they no
longer had the $380,000 that
had been in their possession
when they arrived.
The group traveled first to
Peru, where they were picked
up by Mr. Sartes pilot, Julio
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Lujan who flew them to Mexi-
co. Miss Ferreira, however, was
not with them; she had been
arrested in Peru and detained
co a currency charge. The ar-
rest may have saved her life.
When Mr. Sarti arrived in
Mexico, he telephoned Arman-
do Nicolai in Montevideo. The
narcotics agents who were tap-
ping Mr. Nicolai's phone heard
Mr. Sarti (whom they had not
yet identified) tell him that he
must come at once to Mexico
City. Mr. Sarti wanted him
to meet with two Frau:lob Corsi-
cans who were suppliers of
heroin and some representa-
tives from Mafia families in
New York who were presume-
ably to be the buyers.
There was going to be
conference to set up future
sales, Mr. Sarti indicated, as
well as to settle a deal for
70 kilograms of heroin that
he had already on hand.
"Nicolai made reservations
half a dozen times for Mexico,
but each time he held off,"
recalled Mr. Macolini, the
narcotics agent heading the in-
vestigation of Mr. Nicolai. "He
drove us crazy."
Although he could not put
his finger on what was wrong,
Mr. Nicolai apparently sensed
that there was danger afoot
and he was reluctant to join
Mr. Sarti in Mexico City. It
was just one example of Mr.
Nicolai's sixth sense for danger
that authorities say has made
him the only survivor of the
South American Connection.
Lucien Sarti and his asso-
dates were all using aliases'
during their stay in Mexico
City and in their telephone
conversations with Mr. Nicolai.
The eavesdropping narcotics
agents were desperately trying
to find out their real identities.
The Agents Move In
The break came when, in
the course of a conversation
with Mr. Nicolai, Mr. Sarti men-
tioned his own daughter's
name. Veronica.
The name was telegraphed
to Washington, where Jerry
Strickler was then heading the
Federal drug agency's Latin
American desk. Mr. Strickler
was known for his computer-
like memory and soon he was
able to identify Lucien Sarti
simply from his daughter's first
name.
After repeated telephone calls
to Mr. Nicolai, saying that the
Frenchmen were now in Mexico
City and waiting for him, Mr.
Sarti gave up and decided to
go ahead with the meeting
without him. At that point the
police decided to move against
the principals.
On April 27, 1972, the Mexi-
can police approached Lucien
Sarti as he was getting into an
automobile with his wife and
young daughter. Mr. Sarti, who
probably realized he would be
identified as the fugitive under
sentence of death for killing a
policeman in Belgium. pulled
out a Colt Cobra and opened
fire. The police shot him dead.
Immediately the police moved
in on the hotel room of Mr.
Sarti's companion, Jean-Paul
Angeletti. They expected anoth-
er shootout, but when they
entered the room Mr. Angeletti
was in bed with his mistress,
Georgette Viazzi, and his Colt
Cobra wae out or reach on
the night table. :
After the death of Lucien
Sarti, all of his associates in
Mexico were deported. Mr. An-
geletti and Mr. Sarti's wife,
Liliana Rolls` Viallet,. were sent
back to France. VVIthin the next
several months rhea of the
European-born traffickers in-
volved in the South American
Connection were arrested or
deported and the Sarti and
Ricord organizations had col-
lapsed.
Armando Nicolai alone had
survived the purge, but shortly
after, he faced a new threat.
The Drug Enforcement Admi-
nistration had organized "Oper-
ation Springboard," which was
designed to persuade Latin
American countries to expel to
the United States traffickers
who were not natives of the
country if they were under
indictment in the United States.
Mr. Nicolai realized that he
was no longer safe in Uruguay
and so he returned to his native
Argentina. Authorities there say
he made some efforts toward
reorganizing the drug traffic
from Buenos Aires. But they
add that he knew he was a
prime target of the police and
that the knowledge evidently
was working on his nerves.
In February, 1973, during a
state of siege in Argentina be-
fore Juan Peron had returned to
power, the police picked him
up in a general round-up. They
say he was so rattled that
he shouted to the arresting
officers, "I give up! Don't kill
me!"
Elements of the Argentine
police were said to be so
eager to get Mr. Nicolai
out of their country that they
arranged to hold him incommu-
nicado until the Federal drug
agents arranged for a plane to
come and take him to the
United States.
But once again Mr. Nicolai
second-guessed them. He had
made arrangements with his
family and friends that he
would call them every couple
of hours. If they did not bear
from him, they were to assume
he had been arrested.
Within two hours of his ar-
rest, Mr. Nicolai's lawyer, Ma-
rio Concern�, had contacted
the police, saying that a writ
of habeas corpus was on its
way and demanding that his
client be produced.
Within four hours the writ
arrived�not from a local court.
but from the Supreme Court
of Argentina. The police rea-
lized that they would never
be able to spirit away Mr.
Nicolai to the United States
On May 25, Mr. Nicolai was
released in a general amnesty.
By this time, some Argentine
Approved for Release:
police officers were so frus-
trated at not being able to act
against Mr. Nicolai that they ap-
proached United States agents
with an offer: If the United
States consented, they would
have him killed.
The offer was rejected, "We
didn't want him that bad," said
the United States official to
whom the offer was made.
Mr. Nicolai is now maintain-
ing a very low profile in Buenos
Aires, conscientiously living the
life of a middle-class merchant
In leather goods. He lives in a
modest apartment in Barrio
Once, the old Jewish section of
Buenos Aires, with his wife
Angela and two sons, Er-
nesto, 20, and Angel, 12.
According to Mr. Conterno,
an aristocratic, handsome, well-
spoken lawyer, reports of such
involvement in the heroin trade
are "fantasies." He said that
Mr. Nicolai has categorically
denied any involvement in the
drug charges against him in the
United States.
When it was pointed out that
Rafael Richard and other con-
victed drug traffickers have
named Mr. Nicolai as the source
of their drugs, Mr. Conterno
said, "When a man is facing 20
years in jail and you give him
a guitar and tell him that if he
sings well be !night get out
earlier, you'd be surprised how
many arias he'll make up."
He contended that the "per-
secution" of Mr. Nicolai by
United States aigents is "a
water-closet scandal. It's like
Watergate and it 'stinks."
Underworld in ormers sug-
gest, however, th t Mr. Nicolai,
is considering tw very tempt-
ing deals.
After Lucien Sarti was shot
in Mexico City, his pilot, Julio
Lujan was said tp have flown
back to Uruguay with a cache
of 90 kilos of heroin that Mr.
Sarti had on hand. Mr. Luiri
is now serving a prison term
and Mr. Nicolai Would like to
think of a way to sell that
heroin, the police Said.
In addition, Mr' Sarti is said
to have hidden another 100
kilos of heroin in everal places
and Mr. Nicoiai is trying to
find it.
Meanwhile, boIli American
and Latin American narcotics
agents are eagerly trying t.7
find something�anything�on
which they can convict Mr.
Nicolai in Argent na. They be-
lieve his freedorri constitutes
the biggest threat that the
South American Connection
might once agairi be revived.
French Connection Connection Stiys
Dominant in Market Here
The French Connection has
lost its hold on the heroin
market in most of the coun-
try, but it still dominates
in New York.
, After a long dry spell, Fed-
eral authorities here say
that French heroin is plenti-
ful again in the city, as dem-
onstrated by the fact that
it's averaging close to seven
per cent pure on the street.
up from four per cent a
year ago.
"It's a buyers' market
again," said John Fallon, the
Federal airug . E.efsrcement
Administrielorri regional di-
rector here.
Until 1971 heroin processed
In France was flowing into
the United States at the rate
of 10 tons a year and bags
sold on the street were run-
Ping as much as 15 per cent
pure. But in the next year the
French heroin suppliers began
!uttering a series of devas-
ating reversals.
A Global Assault
First the South American
toute, which was handling
35 per cent of all French
heroin shipments to the Unit-
ed States, was demolished
With the arrests of the major
trench - Corsican traffickers
In Latin America.
Then United States narcot-
ics agents began intercept-
ing huge shipments of heroin
being sent directly to North
2020/08/17 CO2563675
American cities, including
pne totaling 442 kilos (908
pounds).
Back in Fratie, the police,
acting under 'international
pressure, started convicting
major trafficketis, identifying
laboratories an4 making big
seizures of bot finished he-
roin being shipped out of
the country anc opium base
from Turkey being shipped
Into France to be processed.
, The law-enforcement pres-
sure was enhanced by Turk-
ey's decision in 1972 to pro-
hibit further daltivation of
poppies.
All these factors forced
French suppliers to cut back
sharply on the amount of
heroin they sent to the Unit-
ed States.
"They decided to concert-
trate on their main market,
the East Coast from Rich-
mond to New York, and
leave the rest of the country
to the Mexican," said John
T. Cusack, the Grug Enforce-
ment Administration's chief
of international operations.
But the harassed French
suppliers could I not provide
enough heroin even for their
narrowed market, and local
wholesalers wete forced to
cut their supp y so much
that by 1973 wha,t was sold
on the street Was only two
per cent pure.
� Unsatisfied with the heroin
available. Mr. Cusack said,
Approved for Release: 2020/08/17 CO2563675
many addicts here switched
to methadone, ,went into
treatment centers or slowly
detoxified themselves be-
cause the heroin they were
buying was increasingly di-
luted. "As a result, the num-
ber of heroin addicts on our
streets declined considera-
bly," he said.
In the last year, however,
authorities believe the
French traffickers have reor-
ganized and have found new
ways-of sending heroin here.
One methiad, according to
Federal agents, involves
sending shipments to the
Midwest, where they're less
likely to be intercepted, ana
.having them forwarded East
from there.
The reorganization of the
traffickers in France and the
decrease in customers here
have made heroin more avail-
able again, authorities say,
and that, in turn, has resulted
in the higher purity of what
is sold on the street. The
degree of purity is seen as
a measure of availability.
Some narcotics specialists
believe the increased availa-
bility is due to the release
of heroin stockpiles compiled
by the traffickers three years
ago when Turkey announced
its ban on further cultivation
of opium poppies.
The traffickers stockpiled
the heroin, the theory goes,
in anticipation of soaring pri-
ces once the ban was felt
in the illegal drug market,
and they released the stock-
piles when Turkey an-
nounced last year that it
would resume cultivation of
poppies.
A New Worry
Mr. Cusack and Arthur
Grubert the chief of intel-
ligence in the Drug Enforce-
ment Administration's office
in New York, do not believe
that significant stockpiles
ever existed.
"If the French had that
much heroin available, they
would have broadened their
market again, but they
haven't," Mr. Cusack said.
But officials of the Drug
Enforcement Administration
are very concerned that the
French traffickers will start
to do big business again once
the 'poppy crops in Turkey
are harvested.
Mr. Cusack pointed out that
Turkey first said it would al-
low 70,000 farmers to culti-
vate opium poppies, but it
has now quietly increased
that number to 103,000.
"If each farmer holds back
just one kilo for the illegal
drug market, that's 100 tons
of opium," he said. "That
can bury us."
active drug traffickers in Co-
lombia for narcotics violations
in this country, but under ex-
isting international agreements
they cannot be extradited from
Colombia or prosecuted at home.
So these dealers continue in
business, supplying much of the
cocaine sold in New York and
other major-cities.
The lack of adequate extradi-
tion agreements and treaties
with Latin American nations
to allow the prosecution of
major drug traffickers hi their
own countries has been a major
stumbling block in the efforts
of United States agents to stem
the rising flow of narcotics
from Latin America.
Many law enforcement offi-
cials involved in those efforts
are critical of the State Depart-
ment for not pushing to achieve
such agreements and treaties.
What is missing from the
United States effort in Latin
America, they say, is the kind
of concerted drive the United
States Government made at its
highest levels a few years ago
to persuade France to go all
out against what had then been
the major narcotics traffic into
this country.
The heioin traffic from
France was seriously disrupted,
they remember, after France
responded to such pressure by
expanding its own narcotics
enforcement units, establishing
close investigative cooperation'
with United States agencies
and agreeing to prosecute
French traffickers on evidence'
gathered in the United States.
"We started off strong with
Latin America, too," said one
official, who, like others, re-
quested anonimity because of
his professional relationship
with State Department. "But
with all the Watergate prob-
lems, Washington's interest
faded and we lost the momen-
tum. We haven't .got it back
yet."
A number of agencies are
involved in the United States
NEW YORK TIMES
24 April 1975
Lack of Treaties Hinders
U.S. Effort to Curb Drugs
Last of four articles on why Latin America is now
the major � source' of hard drugs enteri,ng the United States.
By NICHOLAS GAGE narcotics effort in Latin Amen-
ed more than half df the 200 ca, but the most active arethe Federal Drug Enforcement
Administration, the Central In-
telligence Agency and the
Agency for International Devel-
opment.
Individual agents work under
the supervision of the United
States ambassador in the
country in which they are
posted. The over-all narcotics
effort, however, is directed from
Washington by the Cabinet
Committee of International
Narcotics Control, which is
headed by the Secretary of
State and which has among
its members the Attorney Gen-
eral and the Secretaries of
Agriculture and Defense.
, But officials from several
Iparticipating agencies believe
;that Secretary of State Kissin-
ger has little interest in the
narcotics effort and that, as
a result, many American diplo-
mats in Latin America haven't
devoted themselves. whole-
heartedly to it either.
Kissinger Is Defended
A State Department spokes-
man denied such allegations.
"Obviously he's been busy with
other problems," he said of
Secretary Kissinger. "But if he
didn't have 4 strong interest
in narcotics control, he
wouldn't remain as chairman
a the cabinet committee."
Evidence of the Secretary's
concern with the narcotics
problem, the spokesman said,
is the strong support Mr. Kis-
singer has given the com-
mittee's executive director,
Ambassador Sheldon Vance, a
career diplomat who coordi-
nates United States narcotics
control efforts throughout' the
world.
The United States declared
narcotics control a "major"
foreign policy goal four years
ago, but some diplomats to
South America concede they
have not yet given it that kind
of attention.
"I must admit I haven't regis-
tered our concern about narco-
tics sufficiently with the top
people here," said one ambas-
sador. "We've had so many
little crises."
Another diplomat said. "We
could jeopardize our relations
by pushing too hard on narco-
tics. These countries don't have
a drug problem themselves.
There's no mutual Interest to
work vith."
Wlife- some narcotics officials
have been grumbling about lack
of support from the State De-
partment. the most active and
visible of the agencies fighting
narcotics abroad�the Drug En-
forcement Administration�has
come under its own share of
criticism, much of it from the
Senate Permanent Subcommit-
tee on Investigations headed
by Senator Henry M. Jackson.
'Ineffectiveness' Is Explored
The subcommittee is now
conducting an investigation of
the agency and will hold hear-
ings later this spring. But a
spokesman for Senator Jackson
said that the subcommittee has
collected information showing
that the agency' has been "inef-
fective" on several fronts in
Latin America and that its
agents have been involved in
situations that threaten to em-
barrass the United States.
"No one person from the
subcommittee has come down
here to see what we're doing,"
countered Louis Bachrach. the
Drug Enforcement Administra-
tion regional director for South
America.
The spokesmaneifor Senator
Jackson said the subcommittee
may send investigators to
South America later, but that
it was now concentrating on
studying the agency's files.
Mr. Bachrach and his staff
maintain that the agency's
achievements in South America
have been significant. Since the
Drug Enforcement Administra-
tion was formed in July, 1973,
he said, cooperative efforts
with the police in South Ameri-
ca have resulted in the destruc-
tion of 73 cocaine laboratories,
the arrest of 457 important
traffickers and the seizure of
more than 1,300 kilograms of
cocaine and cocaine base.
Furthermore, Mr. Bachrach
said, agents in his region
should be credited for wiping
out the South American Con-
nection, the rings headed by
Corsican gangsters that former-
ly handled 35 per cent of all
the French heroin entering the
United States.
The South American Connec-
tion collapsed after a series
of arrests, extraditions and ex-
pulsions of the maior Corsican
traffickers operating in Latin
America.
Cocaine Gains Cited
Another achievement cited
by Mr. Bachrach was the dis-
ruption of cocaine production
jn Chile. Shipments of cocaine
to the United States from Chile
have now been reduced from
more than 200 kilos a month
to less than ten, he said.
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The important advance in
fighting narcotics in Chile came
after the military coup against
President Salvador Allende, Mr.
Bachrach .said. The junta that
overthrew him agreed to expel
19 Chilean traffickers to the
United States, where they faced
narcotics charges, even though
they were Chilean citizens.
Most of the other traffickers,
fearing similar action against
them, fled the country, he said.
he said.
Chilean officials cite several
factors for taking such unusual
action against the traffickers.'
"We don't want to wind up
with a big drug problem like
the United States has." said
Lieut. Col. Luis Fountaine, head'
of the narcotics unit of the
Chilean Carabineros. "We want
to nip it in the bud."
"There is evidence that sup-
porters of Allende have been
involved in narcotics," Colonel
Fountaine added. When pressed
to discuss such evidence, he
said that he hadn't seen it
himself, hut that the junta's
intelligence agency was gin pos-
session of it.
Unit Is Eliminated
Despite its energetic prosecu-
tion of narcotics traffickers,
the Chilean junta did not hesi-
tate to eliminate the Customs
Investigative Agency, by all ac-
counts the most effective police
unit fighting narcotics in Chile.
It is believed that the junta
did so because the unit had
been identified closely with
President Allende.
The head of the unit was
Luis Sanguinetti. a friend of
President Allende's. He and his
top aasistants were arrested
immediately after the coup and
his body was later found in
the hold of a ship taking politi-
cal prisoners to an island pri-
son.
The junta said that Mr. San-
guinetti committed suicide by
lumping head first into the
hold. His two assistants were
shot while allegedly trying to
escape from detention, and two
others were killed in a shootout
with the police.
Another accomplishment
which Mr. Bachrach cited in
response to criticism of his
agency is the removal of 57
fugitive Latin American drug
traffickers to the United States
through a campaign called
"Operation Springboard."
The operation was conceived
as a means of getting around
the refusal of almost all Latin
countries to extradite their own
nationals. Since existing trea-
ties do not allow for evidence
collected in the United States
to be used against traffickers
in their native countries, drue
enforcement agents in Latin
America decided to coax traf-
fickers to third countries and
to try to persuade authorities
there to expel them to the
United States.
The Drug Enforcement Admi-
nistration calls "Operation
Springboard" a success. But
a number of the expelled traf-
fickers have appealed their con-
victions in Federal courts.
maintaining that their rights.
under due process were violat-
ed because they were kid-
napped.
The Federal Court of Appeals
has upheld the contention of
one defendant, Francisco Tos-
canino, an alleged associate of
Lucien Sarti and Auguste
Joseph Ricord of the South
American Connection. Mr. Tos-
canino said his rights were
violated because he was tor-
tured by the police in Brazil,
the country that expelled him.
The Government now is ap-
pealing the Toscanino decision
to the Supreme Court. It has
been upheld thus far on all
other appeals by defendants
extradited from Latin America
and later convicted of daug
violations here.
Mr. Bachrach said that if
Mr. Toscanino was tortured in
Brazil; it was done without
the knowledge of his agents.
"Our men are instructed to
get the'message to local police
that tcrture is not professional
or productive and cases in
which torture is used will not
stand up in the States," he
said. "We have a vested inter-
est in discouraging torture."
Building Some Bridges
Although they cannot make
arrests in Latin America, Fed-
eral narcotics agents there de-
velop cases and turn them over
to the local police. When the
police then go to make arrests
on the cases, the agents accom-
pany them.
"Too many things happen
to fool up the case when wc
don't," said an agent in Ecuador.
The task of drug enforcement
agents is complicated by the
fact that many countries have
more than one police force�
sometimes three or four �
working on narcotics, and the
various police units are some-
times fervent rivals.
To keep on good terms with
the different police groups,
drug enforcement agents from
the United States try to distri-
bute the cases they develop to
all the various local notice units.
Rut the potential hazards of
police rivalry within [stir.
American countries were illus-
trated in March when Unititgl
States narcotics agents heard
that a 23,000-pound cache of
marijuana was hidden in a spot
IRO miles south of Bogota.
Two drug enforcement agents
told the Colombian custatec
poare about the marijuana and
accompanied them in a private
plane to the spot. Unknown
to the agents. however, the
Colombian security nolice also
had been informed of the same
cache of marijuana and were'
already there.
When -the plane arrived with
the United States agents ir
kt, shooting broke out, with
each police groun thinking the
other was the traffickers.
Although no one was killed,
newspapers in Colombia la-
beled the incident a "Keystone
Kop raid" and back in Wash-
ington, Senator Jackson termed
it "greatly disturbing."
Mr. Bartels, the Drug En-
forcement Administrator,
thought his men performed well
under the circumstances. "Al-
though under attack neither
of them fired their guns," he
said. "And they got 23,000
pounds of marijuana."
'Buy and Bust'..
The drug enforcement agents
in Latin America also are criti-
cized by Senator Jackson and
others for allegedly relying ex-
cessively on the "buy and bust"
method of getting indictments.
In such cases, an agent works
under eover to buy drugs and
when the sale is glade, the
local police arrest the seller.
the undercover "buyer" some-
how managing to escape.
The buy - and - bust method
could prove politically embar-
rassing to the United States.
an aide to Senator Jackson
said, if the agent is exposed
or shot during an arrest Or
what would happen, he asked
if the agent shot a national in
his own country.
Agents in Latin America
maintain that they don't rely
on the buy-and-bust method
freauently, hut have developed
other technioues that allow
them to keep a low profile.
In eight of the 12 Drug Fn-
forcement Administration offi-
ces in South America. "special
action units" patterned on simi-
lar groups maintained by the
Central Intelligence Agents.
have been established.
The aeents in these units
hire local investigators, some
of them police officers, to con-
duct suraieillance. observe ar.
rests and perform other func-
tions that the United states
agents cannot do without risk-
ing exposure.
Some of the special units
are said to he quite effective.
In Bueros Aires, for example.
when terrorists began kidnap-
ning diplorriats. the United
States ambassador asked the
head of the narcotics agency's
special action unit to set tin a
security company to provide
nrotection for high officials in
the embassy.
The Drug Enforcement Admi
istration also has been criti-
,ized he members of the Jack-
son committee for failing to
reoperate with the Central In-
tellieenee Agency in develoning
a unified attack against narcot-
ics traffickers.
Mr. ri,rtels acknowledged
that differences between the
two agencies did develop at
one time over the handling
at informants,
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!They [the C.I A.] were so
protective of the'r informants,
we couldn't make cases with
what they gave us," he said'.
"But in the last year we've
settled our differences."
The C.I.A. was asked to join
the campaign against narcoticS
by President Nixan in 1971;
but apparently ts agents in
South America have never tak-
en fully to the idea.
One of the reasons given
for the C.I.A.'s discontent it
that while ager.c missions in
South America ha ,e been given
extra 'funds for narcotics work,
they have not received addi-
tional men, except in Argen-
tina.
Some drug enforcement
agents said that he C.I.A. has
helped them on several levels
in South Ameriea, providing
them with intelligence reports
on the narcotics traffic in each
country and on political power.
structures,
"If we want to oax a fugitive
trafficker to a third country
to expel him to the States,
one narcotics agant explained,
"they can tell us if he's got
enough pull in that country
to beat us there."
Effort Is hripaired
The drug agency's effort was
impaired earlier 1 this \'ear,
however, when it ackaowledged
that it had hired 5a former C.I.A.
agents. The disclosure upset
many South American officials,
who maintained that it would
be imposible to tell narcotics
agents from spies.
As a result, Mr. Bartels said,
the agency has 'fond resistance
in tryine to open four neva
offices in South America�two
in Colombia and two in Brazil
�which were considered nea
cessary for adeqjaate coverage
of the continent.
Mr. Bartels said that none
of the former C.I.A. agents now
with the agency is serving aS
a drug enfoscemsnt agent in
South America. ,
In an attempt to reassure
South American officials, Mr.
Sartels said he i tended to in-
vite Latin narco ics agents tO
come to the United States and
work with his own men here.
"We want them to see that'.
we're not C.I.A. and that we
don't mean narcotics camera-
tion to be a 'one-way street,",
he said.
Intelligence Area Lags .
Ironically, the brug Enforce,
!nent � Administration effort in
South America paobably needs
improvement mott in an area
that is the strength of the
C.I.A. � intelligence gathering
and coordination. For example,
in the agency's regional head-
Quarters in Caracas. only one
staff member handles intel-
ligence duties for all of South
America.
"We've had three more
people svaiting tri go down for
months, hut the C.I.A. furor
has held us back," Mr. Barters
said.
� Approved for Release: 2020/08/17 CO2563675
Narcotic Agent Living a Boyhood Dream
In addition to enforcement
efforts, American agencies in,
Latin America are trying to
fight narcotics through a vane-'
ty of training and assistance
programs. Over the last three
years, the United States has
provided an average of S22-mil-
lion annually in grant assis-
tance for fighting narcotics.
The largest chunk of assis
tance for narcotics control In
Latin America�$12-million last
year�has gone to Mexico re-
flecting the high priority give,
it-, Washington to diminishitre,
the flow of Mexican heron to,
the United Stataes.
In South America. many of
the narcotic's assistance pro;
grams are tieing implemented
by the Agency for International.
Development. The agency oper-
ates training classes for narcot-
ics and customs police and
arranges for material assistance�
such as communications equip-
ment, vehicles and weapons.
Picking the Priority
Still, the assistance programs
and the enforcement efforts
have not appreciably stemmed
the flow of drugs to the United
States.
The hest way to stop the
drug traffic, enforcement offi-
cials believe, is to go after the
major traffickers in their own
countries.
They point out that the co-
caine traffic' in Chile and the
heroin traffic in France were
disrupted when major traffick-
ers in those countries were
either expelled or prosecuted.
even when the e\ idence was
gathered elsewhere.
"As long as traffickers feel
safe in their own countries,"
said Frank Macolini, the Drug
Enforcement Administration's
deputy regional director for.
South America, "they're going
to keep sending drugs to ours.
From the time he was a
young boy, the son of the
local constable in the sleepy
Texas town of Palacios,
George Frangullie "always
wanted to be a cop."
Now, at 37 years old, he
is the special agent in charge
of the Federal Drug Enforce-
ment Administration office
in Santiago, Chile, and an
iniportant component in the
United States narcotics effort
in Latin America.
Mr. Frangullie is a man
who clearly enjoys his work.
But there have been prob-
lems. He had an assistant,
Charles Cecil, until eight
months ago when 'Mr. Cecil
and his wife were shot at
while driving home from g
movie. Mr. Cecil was trans-
ferred to Colombia and now
Mr. Frangullie must break
in a new man.
In addition, he must cope
with the frustrations every
Federal narcotics agent faces
in Latin America. He has
to maintain a low profile,
stay on good terms with
operatives from rival police
forces and let local authori-
ties make cases he has de-
veloped. Nevertheless, Mr.
Frangullie delights in trying
to get around these prob-
lems.
"There are two ways to
work as a cop." he says.
"You can use traditional meth-
ods or you can try to come
up with new ideas."
Transforms Situation
Mr. Frangullie's skill in de-
veloping new ideas has
helped to transform the drug
situation in Chile in the two
years he has been posted
there. Today most of the
traffickers in Chile have
either been expelled or have
fled the country as a result
of one of Mr. Frangullie's
untraditional methods.
Latin - American countries
generally will not extradite
their own nationals who have
been indicted on drug viola-
tions in the United States.
'But after the overthrow of
the government of Salvador
Allende in JIM, Mr. Fran-
gullie found the situation
there more "flexible."
He discovered a loophole
In the law through which he
has so far threaded 19 major
Chilean drug traffickers. As
he tells it, "A friend of mine
came to my office with the
official gazette and showed
me an article about a new
law that had gone into ef-
fect. It said that any person
�alien or Chilean�who
threatens the security of the
state, can be expelled from
Ihe country.
"At 4 the next morning, it
hit me that we could use that
law to. expel major Chilean
traffickers to the United
States where they were under
indictment. I had a meeting
with the Minister of the In-
terior and pointed out to him
that profits from cocaine
could be used ny radical
groups to buy arms and am-
munition. The minister said
'Go' and we chartered a Boe-
ing 707 to take nine traffick-
ers to New York."
Mr. Frangullie and the six
Chilean police officials who
accompanied the traffickers
found the ride an eventful
one. Mr. Frangullie knew
that most of ti* cases against
these men had been devel-
oped years before by Thomas
Duggan, an experienced Fed-
eral agent in New York who
had since given up all hope
of seeing them brought to
justice.
Mr. Frangullie arranged to
have Mr. Duggan at the air-
port in New York so he
could see his face when the
Chileans were brought off
the plane.
Most Traffickers Curbed
Since then 10 more traf-
fickers have been expelled
to the United States from
Chile under the same law
and most of the remaining
traffickers under indictment
are believed to have fled
the country in fear of meet-
ing the same fate.
The hard line taken against
traffickers by the ruling jun-
ta has made Mr. Frangullie's
iob easier. "But I made good
cases under Allende," he
says. "I've received good
cooperation ever since I got
here."
Mr. Frangullie spent two
years in college before leav-
ing to join the Houston police
force. He found a tour of
duty in the narcotics division
so stimulating that he joined
United States .Customs In
1964. Four years later he
switched to the Federal Bu-
reau of Narcotics and Danger-
ous Drugs, which became
the Drug Enforcement Admin-
istration in 1973, the same
year he was sent to Chile.
His wife, Anita, whom he
met in a Texas drugstore,
has found it difficult raising
two children�a boy of 11
and a girl of 6�in a foreign
country. So Mr. Frangullie
has asked for a stateside
assignment at the end of
the year. But as he talks
about moving, it's clear he
doesn't look forward to it.
Approved for Release: 2020/08/17 CO2563675