[House Document 107-134]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-134
PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO SIGNIFICANT
NARCOTICS TRAFFICKERS CENTERED IN COLOMBIA
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A SIX MONTH PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO
SIGNIFICANT NARCOTICS TRAFFICKERS CENTERED IN COLOMBIA THAT WAS
DECLARED IN EXECUTIVE ORDER 12978 OF OCTOBER 21, 1995, PURSUANT TO 50
U.S.C. 1641(c) AND 50 U.S.C. 1703(c)
October 17, 2001.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
As required by section 401(c) of the National Emergencies
Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and 204(c) of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(c), I transmit
herewith a 6-month periodic report on the national emergency
with respect to significant narcotics traffickers centered in
Colombia that was declared in Executive Order 12978 of October
21, 1995.
George W. Bush.
The White House, October 16, 2001.
President's Periodic Report on the National Emergency With Respect to
Significant Narcotics Trafficers Centered in Colombia
I hereby report to the Congress on developments over the
course of the past six months concerning the national emergency
with respect to significant narcotics traffickers centered in
Colombia that was declared in Executive Order 12978 of October
21, 1995. This report is submitted pursuant to section 401(c)
of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section
204(c) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(``IEEPA''), 50 U.S.C. 1703(c) based upon information made
available to me. Sanctions imposed against significant
narcotics traffickers centered in Colombia pursuant to
Executive Order 12978 are separate from, and independent of,
sanctions imposed pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin
Designation Act (Pub. L. 106-120, Title VIII). This report
covers sanctions imposed and persons named as specially
designated narcotics traffickers (``SDNTs'') pursuant to
Executive Order 12978, but does not cover those persons
identified pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin
Designation Act, which are addressed in a separate report as
provided in that Act.
1. On May 30, 2001, the Treasury Department's Office of
Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') amended the appendices to 31
C.F.R. chapter V (66 Fed. Reg. 29229) by adding the names of
twenty-seven individuals and three entities determined to play
a significant role in international narcotics trafficking
centered in Colombia or to materially assist in, or provide
financial or technological support for or goods or services in
support of, other SDNTs or to be owned or controlled by, or to
act for or on behalf of, other SDNTs.
Additions and deletions to the list of SDNTs during the
life of the program have brought it to a total of 578 names
(comprised of ten principals, 231 entities, and 337
individuals). These are persons or entities with whom financial
and business dealings are prohibited and whose assets are
blocked under Executive Order 12978. The list of SDNTs now
includes kingpins, associates, and businesses from Colombia's
Cali, North Valle, and North Coast drug cartels.
2. As of August 30, 2001, OFAC had issued seven licenses
during the current reporting period. Four licenses were issued
for the release of blocked funds upon determination that there
was no property interest of an SDNT involved. Three licenses
were issued in accordance with established Treasury policy
authorizing the receipt and payment of legal gas fees for
reprsentation of SDNTs and certain administrative transactions.
OFAC has disseminated and routinely updated details of this
program to the financial, securities, and international trade
communities by both electronic and conventional media.
Thisincluded bulletins to banking institutions via the Federal Reserve
System and the Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS). The
same material is also provided to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota for
distribution to U.S. companies operating in Columbia.
3. During the reporting period, as of August 31, 2001, six
financial transactions totaling approximately $95,000 were
reported to OFAC as having been blocked. Since my last report,
OFAC has collected one civil monetary penalty in the amount of
$2.5 million from a U.S. company for violations of the
Narcotics Trafficking Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR Part 536. A
second penalty proceeding is pending against another U.S.
company for dealing in property in which an SDNT has an
interest.
4. The narcotics trafficking sanctions have had a
significant impact on the Colombian drug cartels, with some
being forced out of business and others suffering financially.
Of the 231 business entities designated as SDNT as of August
24, 2001, more than 60, with an estimated annual aggregate
income of more than $230 million, have been liquidated or are
in the process of liquidation. As a result of OFAC
designations, Colombian banks have closed SDNT accounts in
large numbers. SDNTs are isolated financially and commercially
from both the Colombian and U.S. business communities. The
cooperation of the Colombian governmental authorities and the
Colombian financial and business sectors contributes
significantly to the impact these sanctions are having on the
designated business entities of the drug cartels.
5. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the
six-month period from April 21, 2001, through October 20, 2001,
that are directly attributable to the exercise of powers and
authorities conferred by the declaration of the national
emergency with respect to SDNTs are estimated at more than $1
million. Personnel costs were largely centered in the
Department of the Treasury (particularly in the Office of
foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Customs Service, and the
Office of the General counsel), the Department of Justice, and
the Department of State. These data do not reflect certain
costs of operations by the intelligence and law enforcement
communities.
6. Executive Order 12978 provides the Government of the
United States with a tool for combating the actions of
significant foreign narcotics traffickers centered in Colombia
and the unparalleled violence, corruption, and harm that such
actions cause in the United States and abroad. The order is
designed to deny these traffickers the benefit of any assets
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and the
benefit of trade with the United States by preventing U.S.
persons from engaging in any commercial dealings with them,
their front companies, and their agents. Executive Order 12978
and its associated SDNT list demonstrate the United States'
commitment to end the damage that such traffickers wreak upon
society in the United States and abroad. The SDNT list will
continue to be expanded to include additional Colombian drug
trafficking organizations and their fronts, as appropriate. The
magnitude and the dimension of the problem in Colombia--perhaps
the most pivotal country of all in terms of the world's cocaine
trade--are extremely grave. I shall continue to exercise the
powers at my disposal to apply economic sanctions against
significant foreign narcotics traffickers and their violent and
corrupting activities as long as these measures are
appropriate, and will continue to report periodically to the
Congress on significant developments pursuant to 50 U.S.C.
1703(c).