US Accuses Guinea-Bissau Military Officers of Drug Trafficking

"US Accuses Guinea-Bissau Military Officers of Drug Trafficking Two top officers are named as major players in cocaine shipment from Latin America to Guinea-Bissau"

SNIPPET: "Na Tchuto denied the allegations on Friday and said that he will cooperate with the United States government. He also said the charges of drug trafficking do not make sense because he was in Portugal on June 29, 2008 when the cocaine shipment from Venezuela arrived. Na Tchuto said he did not return to Guinea-Bissau until July.

Na Tchuto also pointed out that he was not arrested by Interpol when he was in Gambia or while staying at the U.N. compound in Bissau. Since he was not taken into custody, Na Chuto says this shows he is not guilty.

Interpol is aware that he could have been dismissed as Navy chief of staff were he guilty, added Na Chuto. But he remained in his post which he said means he had nothing to do with illegal drug trafficking.

Remote airstrips on islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau are used by Latin American drug gangs as a transit point for cocaine headed for Europe."

SNIPPET: "The Foreign Minister of Senegal, Madike Niang, adds that narco-traffickers pose a real threat to Guinea-Bissau and the surrounding region. With a disorganized army and a fragile state, Niang says the international community must step in to help stabilize Guinea-Bissau."

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg633.htm

April 8, 2010
TG-633

Treasury Designates Two Narcotics Traffickers in Guinea-Bissau

Treasury Targets Emerging West African Narcotics Transit Route

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated two Guinea-Bissau based individuals, Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto and Ibraima Papa Camara, as drug kingpins due to their significant roles in international narcotics trafficking. Today’s action, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with these individuals and freezes any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

“Today’s action underscores the harmful role that narcotics-related corruption plays in West Africa, especially in Guinea-Bissau,” said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. “Targeting Na Tchuto and Camara impedes their ability to profit from the narcotics trade and engage in destabilizing activities.”

Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, Guinea-Bissau’s former Navy Chief of Staff, and Ibraima Papa Camara, current Air Force Chief of Staff, are both involved in narcotics trafficking in Guinea-Bissau, including being linked to an aircraft suspected of flying a multi-hundred kilogram shipment of cocaine from Venezuela to Guinea-Bissau on July 12, 2008. Na Tchuto has long been suspected of being a major facilitator of narcotics trafficking in Guinea-Bissau. In August 2008, Na Tchuto fled into exile to The Gambia, but returned to Guinea-Bissau in late December 2009 to seek refuge at the United Nations Peace-Building Support Office. In addition to his narcotics trafficking activities that form the basis for his designation, most recently, Na Tchuto was complicit in the activities surrounding the illegal detention of Guinea-Bissau’s Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior, and others on April 1, 2010.

According to the Department of State’s 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Guinea-Bissau provides an opportune environment for narcotics traffickers because of its lack of enforcement capabilities, susceptibility to corruption, porous borders, and location in relation to Europe, South America, and neighboring West African transit points. Cocaine transits through Guinea-Bissau from South America via air or sea, and continues on to Europe by way of maritime traffic, drug mules on commercial air flights, or traditional caravan routes through Northern Africa and across the Mediterranean to Southern Europe.

Today’s action, taken in conjunction with the Department of State, is part of ongoing efforts pursuant to the Kingpin Act to apply financial measures against significant foreign narcotics traffickers worldwide. Internationally, more than 600 businesses and individuals associated with 82 drug kingpins have been named since June 2000. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.

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