    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [October 21, 1996]
    [Pages 1888-1890]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the National Emergency With
    Respect to Narcotics Traffickers Centered in Colombia
    October 21, 1996

    Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)
        I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since my report
    of April 23, 1996, 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).
        1. On October 21, 1995, I signed Executive Order 12978, ``Blocking
    Assets and Prohibiting Transactions with Significant Narcotics
    Traffickers'' (the ``Order'') (60 Fed. Reg. 54579, October 24, 1995).
    The Order blocks all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which
    there is any interest of four significant foreign narcotics traffickers
    who are principals in the so-called Cali drug cartel centered in
    Colombia. They are listed in the Annex to the Order. The Order also
    blocks the property and interests in property of foreign persons
    determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
    Attorney General and the Secretary of State, (a) to play a significant
    role in international narcotics trafficking centered in Colombia or (b)
    to materially assist in or provide financial or technological support
    for, or goods or services in support of, the narcotics trafficking
    activities of persons designated in or pursuant to the Order. In
    addition the Order blocks all property and interests in property subject
    to U.S. jurisdiction of persons determined by the Secretary of the
    Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of
    State, to be owned or controlled by, or to act for or on behalf of,
    persons designated in or pursuant to the Order (collectively ``Specially
    Designated Narcotics Traffickers'' or (SDNTs)).

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        The Order further prohibits any transaction or dealing by a United
    States person or within the United States in property or interests in
    property of SDNTs, and any transaction that evades or avoids, has the
    purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate, the prohibitions
    contained in the Order.
        Designations of foreign persons blocked pursuant to the Order are
    effective upon the date of determination by the Director of the
    Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
    acting under authority delegated by the Secretary of the Treasury.
    Public notice of blocking is effective upon the date of filing with the
    Federal Register, or upon prior actual notice.
        2. On October 24, 1995, the Department of the Treasury issued a
    notice containing 76 additional names of persons determined to meet the
    criteria set forth in Executive Order 12978 (60 Fed. Reg. 54582-84,
    October 24, 1995).
        The Department of the Treasury issued another notice adding the
    names of one additional entity and three additional individuals, as well
    as expanded information regarding addresses and pseudonyms, to the List
    of SDNTs on November 29, 1995 (60 Fed. Reg. 61288-89).
        3. On March 8, 1996, OFAC published a notice in the Federal Register
    adding the names of 138 additional individuals and 60 entities
    designated pursuant to the Order, and revising information for 8
    individuals on the list of blocked persons contained in the notices
    published on November 29, 1995, and October 24, 1995 (61 Fed. Reg. 9523-
    28). The OFAC, in coordination with the Attorney General and the
    Secretary of State, is continuing to expand the list of Specially
    Designated Narcotics Traffickers, including both organizations and
    individuals, as additional information is developed.
        4. Since my last report, OFAC has issued 498 alert letters to
    businesses in Colombia that are known to have had some form of pre-
    sanctions business or financial relationships with entities identified
    as SDNTs of the Cali drug cartel. These letters urge the Colombian
    companies to sever any business or financial relationships they have
    with the SDNTs.
        5. A task force operating under OFAC's direction and staffed with
    personnel detailed from the Department of Justice and other Federal
    agencies has been established in the U.S. Embassy in Bogota to enhance
    OFAC's enforcement capabilities under the SDNT program. The task force,
    which also has other personnel assigned to OFAC in Washington, is
    working on an expedited basis to escalate the attack on the drug cartels
    in Colombia as envisioned by Executive Order 12978.
        The task force mission is to identify, develop, and exploit all
    forms of information resources in Colombia in order to further expose
    and incapacitate the businesses and operatives of the Cali drug cartel
    and other significant narcotics traffickers in Colombia. By increasing
    the number of SDNT designations, U.S. sanctions will impact an ever-
    larger number of individuals and entities that are owned or controlled
    by, or act for or on behalf of the cartels, or which provide material or
    financial support to the activities of Significant Narcotics
    Traffickers. Personnel and related costs are being born by the parent
    agencies of the persons detailed to the narcotics sanctions project in
    Bogota and Washington.
        6. As of August 31, 1996, OFAC had issued five specific licenses
    pursuant to Executive Order 12978. These licenses were issued in
    accordance with established Treasury policy authorizing the completion
    of pre-sanctions transactions and the provision of legal services to and
    payment of fees for representation of SDNTs in proceedings within the
    United States arising from the imposition of sanctions.
        7. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 6-month
    period from April 21 through October 20, 1996, that are directly
    attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities conferred by the
    declaration of the national emergency with respect to Significant
    Narcotics Traffickers are estimated at approximately $1 million.
    Personnel costs were largely centered in the Department of the Treasury
    (particularly in the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Office of the
    General Counsel, and the U.S. Customs Service), the Department of
    Justice, and the Department of State.
        8. Executive Order 12978 provides this Administration with a new
    tool for combatting the actions of significant foreign narcotics
    traffickers centered in Colombia, and the unparalleled violence,
    corruption, and harm that they cause in the United States and abroad.
    The Order is 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. Executive Order 12978
    demonstrates the

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    U.S. commitment to end the scourge that such traffickers have wrought
    upon society in the United States and abroad.
        The magnitude and the dimension of the problem in Colombia--perhaps
    the most pivotal country of all in terms of the world's cocaine trade--
    is extremely grave. I shall continue to exercise the powers at my
    disposal to apply economic sanctions against significant foreign
    narcotics traffickers and their violent and corrupting activities as
    long as these measures are appropriate, and will continue to report
    periodically to the Congress on significant developments pursuant to 50
    U.S.C. 1703(c).
            Sincerely,

                                                          William J. Clinton

    Note: Identical letters were sent to Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House
    of Representatives, and Albert Gore, Jr., President of the Senate. This
    letter was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on October 22.