Embassy Hanoi and Consulate General Ho Chi Minh - OIG - US ...

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
Orange can cause, including birth defects in children. For the moment, it appears
to serve Vietnam’s interests to blame Agent Orange and not its environmental
practices for some of the medical conditions affecting the country’s children.
Embassy Hanoi should be more forceful in developing public guidance for
American officers to use in explaining Agent Orange. It does little good to promote
a Vietnam-wide speakers’ program and have no current guidance on Agent Orange
for participants, many of whom are first-tour officers. OIG made a recommendation
on this in the public affairs section of this report.
Unsatisfactory Law Enforcement Cooperation
Vietnamese distrust and a consequent lack of cooperation mark U.S. law
enforcement relations with Vietnam. As relations strengthen, the embassy will
have to assign a higher priority to law enforcement cooperation, a subject covered
under mutual understanding and human rights in the MPP. The mission is developing
a “local goal paper” devoted to law enforcement, but it remains in the drafting
stage. Vietnam must move more responsibly against money laundering if it is to
establish acceptable banking practices within the Bilateral Trade Agreement and
eventually the World Trade Organization.
The United States wants Vietnam to secure its borders against heroin, opium,
and synthetic drug trafficking from Laos and Cambodia and to combat moneylaundering
emanating from Vietnamese-American traffickers in the United States.
The United States also seeks Vietnamese cooperation in combating international
terrorism and transnational crime.
So far, the Drug Enforcement Administration, with three American employees
located in Hanoi, has had a difficult time in Vietnam, although it has been able to
facilitate some counternarcotics training. A Federal Bureau of Investigation regional
legal attaché covers Vietnam from Bangkok.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is located in Ho Chi Minh City,
the site of most of its activities. Two DHS law enforcement officers seek to
counter international terrorism and a wide variety of crimes, including money
laundering, illegal trafficking in persons, and various forms of fraud. Vietnam
provides almost no prosecutorial assistance, not even in cases involving baby
trafficking or pedophilia. Counterterrorism cooperation remains to be established,
and to the extent it exists, appears to be characterized by one-way communication.
The two incumbents are officials of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement under DHS. A third DHS officer will soon focus on citizenship and
immigration issues.
OIG Report No. ISP-I-05-28A, Inspection of Embassy Hanoi and CG Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, September 2005
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