[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.