[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 165 (Tuesday, October 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H10693-H10694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DECLARATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY REGARDING FOREIGN NARCOTICS 
  TRAFFICKERS CENTERED IN COLOMBIA--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
                  UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 104-129)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed.

To the Congress of the United States:
  Pursuant to section 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic 
Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) and section 301 of the National 
Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631, I hereby report that I have exercised 
my statutory authority to declare a national emergency in response to 
the unusual and extraordinary threat posed to the national security, 
foreign policy, and economy of the United States by the actions of 
significant foreign narcotics traffickers centered in Colombia and to 
issue an Executive order that:
  --blocks all property and interests in property in the United States 
    or within the possession or control of United States persons of 
    significant foreign narcotics traffickers centered in Colombia 
    designated in the Executive order or other persons designated 
    pursuant thereto; and
  --prohibits any transaction or dealing by United States persons or 
    within the United States in property of the persons designated in 
    the Executive order or other persons designated pursuant thereto.
  In the Executive order (copy attached) I have designated four 
significant foreign narcotics traffickers who are principals in the so-
called Cali cartel in Colombia. I have also authorized the Secretary of 
the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General and the 
Secretary of State, to designate additional foreign persons who play a 
significant role in international narcotics trafficking centered in 
Colombia or who materially support such trafficking, and other persons 
determined to be owned or controlled by or to act for or on behalf of 
designated persons, whose property or transactions or dealings in 
property in the United States or with United States persons shall be 
subject to the prohibitions contained in the order.
  I have authorized these measures in response to the relentless threat 
posed by significant foreign narcotics traffickers centered in Colombia 
to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United 
States.
  Narcotics production has grown substantially in recent years. 
Potential cocaine production--a majority of which is bound for the 
United States--is approximately 850 metric tons per year. Narcotics 
traffickers centered in Colombia have exercised control over more than 
80 percent of the cocaine entering the United States.
  Narcotics trafficking centered in Colombia undermines dramatically 
the health and well-being of United States citizens as well as the 
domestic economy. Such trafficking also harms trade and commercial 
relations between our countries. The penetration of legitimate sectors 
of the Colombian economy by the so-called Cali cartel has frequently 
permitted it to corrupt various institutions of Colombian government 
and society and to disrupt Colombian commerce and economic development.
  The economic impact and corrupting financial influence of such 
narcotics trafficking is not limited to Colombia but affects commerce 
and finance in the United States and beyond. United States law 
enforcement authorities estimate that the traffickers are responsible 
for the repatriation of $4.7 to $7 billion in illicit drug profits from 
the United States to Colombia annually, some of which is invested in 
ostensibly legitimate businesses. Financial resources of that 
magnitude, which have been illicitly generated and injected into the 
legitimate channels of international commerce, threaten the integrity 
of the domestic and international financial systems on which the 
economies of many nations now rely.
  For all of these reasons, I have determined that the actions of 
significant narcotics traffickers centered in Colombia, and the 
unparalleled violence, corruption, and harm that they cause in the 
United States and abroad, constitute an unusual and extraordinary 
threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the 
United States. I have, accordingly, declared a national emergency in 
response to this threat.
  The measures I am taking are designed to deny these traffickers the 
benefit of any assets subject to the jurisdiction of the United States 
and to 

[[Page H 10694]]
prevent United States persons from engaging in any commercial dealings 
with them, their front companies, and their agents. These measures 
demonstrate firmly and decisively the commitment of the United States 
to end the scourge that such traffickers have wrought upon society in 
the United States and beyond. The magnitude and dimension of the 
current problem warrant utilizing all available tools to wrest the 
destructive hold that these traffickers have on society and 
governments.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, October 21, 1995.

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