    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [October 21, 1995]
    [Pages 1659-1660]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress on Sanctions Against Narcotics Traffickers
    Centered in Colombia
    October 21, 1995

    To the Congress of the United States:
        Pursuant to section 240(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

    [[Page 1660]]

          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 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.

    Note: This message was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    October 23. The Executive order is listed in Appendix D at the end of
    this volume.