[House Document 107-273]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-273
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, 2002.--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) of the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(c), I transmit herewith a 6-month
periodic report that my Administration has prepared 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, 2002.
Periodic Report on the National Emergency With Respect to Significant
Narcotics Traffickers Centered in Colombia
This report to the Congress covers developments over the
course of the past 6 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. 11641(c), and
section 204(c) of the International Emergency Economic Powers
Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. 1703(c). Sanctions imposed against
specifically designated narcotics traffickers (SDNT) centered
in Colombia pursuant to Executive Order 12978 are separate
from, and independent of, sanctions imposed pursuant to the
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901-1908;
8 U.S.C. 1182).
1. During this reporting period, the Department of the
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in
consultation with the Departments of Justice and State, removed
two individuals from the SDNT list because they no longer met
the criteria. Persons or entities with whom financial and
business dealings are prohibited and whose assets are blocked
under Executive Order 12978 total 576, comprised of ten
principals, 231 entities, and 335 individuals from Colombia's
Cali, North Valle, and North Coast drug cartels. The narcotics
trafficking sanctions continue to have a significant adverse
impact on the operation of these cartels. The SDNT list will
continue to be expanded to include additional Colombian drug
trafficking organizations and their fronts, as appropriate.
2. As of August 22, 2002, OFAC had issued six licenses
during the current reporting period. One license authorized the
payment/receipt of legal fees and costs in connection with the
provision of legal services, while the other five licenses
authorized the release to blocked funds following a
determination that there was no property interest of an SNDT
involved.
3. During this reporting period, as of August 19, 2002,
U.S. banks have blocked 25 financial transactions involving
SDNT-related assets, totaling $120,000. OFAC has continued to
disseminate and update details of this program to the
financial, securities, and international trade communities by
both electronic and conventional media. This included bulletins
to banking institutions via the Federal Reserve System and the
Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS). The same
material was also provided to the U.S. embassy in Bogota for
distribution to U.S. companies operating in Colombia.
4. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the
6-month period from April 21 through October 20, 2002, 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 approximately $745,000.
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.
5. Executive Order 12978 provides the Government of the
United States with an effective tool for combating the actions
of significant narcotics traffickers centered in Colombia and
the extreme level of violence, corruption, and harm that such
actions cause in the United States and abroad. The magnitude
and the dimension of the narcotics trafficking in Colombia--
perhaps the most pivotal country of all in terms of the world's
cocaine trade--are extremely grave.