```

[House Document 108-64]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

108th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 
108-64
 
PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO SIGNIFICANT 
              NARCOTICS TRAFFICKERS CENTERED IN COLOMBIA

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

  A 6-MONTH PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO 
  SIGNIFICANT NARCOTICS TRAFFICKERS CENTERED IN COLOMBIA DECLARED IN 
   EXECUTIVE ORDER 12978 OF OCTOBER 21, 1995, PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 
                     1641(c) AND 50 U.S.C. 1703(c)

 April 29, 2003.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed

                                           The White House,
                                        Washington, April 15, 2003.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: 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 prepared by my 
Administration on the national emergency with respect to 
significant narcotics traffickers centered in Colombia declared 
in Executive Order 12978 of October 21, 1995.
            Sincerely,
                                                    George W. Bush.

Report on the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Narcotics 
                    Traffickers Centered in Colombia

    This report to the Congress covers developments from 
October 21, 2002 to April 20, 2003 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). 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, carried 
out three major SDNT actions. The first occurred on October 25, 
2002, when OFAC designated two North Valle drug cartel leaders 
as SDNT principal individuals. OFAC also added 13 businesses 
and 21 associated individuals in Colombia that were determined 
to be acting as fronts for the two newly designated North Valle 
cartel leaders or for another previously designated North Valle 
cartel leader. The second action occurred on February 6, 2003, 
when OFAC designated 59 businesses and 78 individuals in Spain 
and Colombia as fronts for the Cali cartel. Third, on March 21, 
2003, OFAC designated another nine businesses and eight 
individuals as fronts for the Cali cartel. Persons or entities 
with whom financial and business dealings are prohibited and 
whose assets are blocked under Executive Order 12978 now total 
749, comprised of twelve principals, 303 entities, and 434 
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 February 24, 2003, OFAC had issued seven licenses 
during the current reporting period. four licenses authorized 
the payment/receipt of legal fees and costs in connection with 
the provision of legal services, one license authorized certain 
administrative transactions, while the other two licenses 
authorized the release of blocked funds following a 
determination that there was no property interest of an SDNT 
involved.
    3. During this reporting period, as of February 20, 2003, 
U.S. banks have blocked more than 1,000 financial transactions 
and additional accounts involving SDNT-related assets, totaling 
$1.1 million. 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 close to 20,000 emails to 
Listserv subscribers to OFAC's website and bulletins to banking 
institutions via the Federal Reserve System and the Clearing 
House Interbank Payments System. 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 October 21, 2002 through April 20, 2003, 
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 
$750,000. 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 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.

                                

```