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August 15, 2007
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Treasury Targets Financial Network of Ramierz Abadia
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today added to its list of Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers 23 Colombian individuals and 23 Colombian companies tied to Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia (a.k.a. Chupeta), a leader of Colombia's North Valle drug cartel.
"At the peak of his career, Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia was one of the wealthiest and most elusive drug traffickers in Colombia," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. "Today he is under arrest and his assets are under attack. OFAC will continue its assault on Chupeta's ill-gotten gains until his empire collapses."
Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia was named as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker (SDNT) by OFAC in August 2000 and was arrested in Brazil on August 7, 2007. He was indicted on federal drug trafficking charges in Colorado in 1994 and the Eastern District of New York in 1995. In 2004, the District Court for the District of Columbia indicted the North Valle drug cartel under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and named Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia as one of its leaders. OFAC has worked closely with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on this investigation.
Among the 23 individuals designated today, Hernan Felipe Ramirez Garcia, Jhon Jairo Ramirez Lenis, Sergio Alberto Ramirez Rivera, and German Rosero Angulo help form the leadership of the criminal organization headed by Ramirez Abadia. Other individuals named as SDNTs today include Alvaro Barrera Marin and his son Alvaro Enrique Barrera Rios, who act as key front persons by holding companies and real estate on behalf of Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia.
Companies designated today include: APVA S.A., a real estate company located in Cali, Colombia; Campo a la Diversion E.U. (a.k.a. Parque Yaku), an amusement park located in Yumbo, Valle, Colombia; Criadero Santa Gertrudis S.A., a horse breeding farm in Jamundi, Valle, Colombia; and Ensambladora Colombiana Automotriz S.A., an automotive assembly company located in Barranquilla, Colombia.
SDNTs are subject to the economic sanctions imposed against Colombian drug cartels in Executive Order 12978. Today's designation action freezes any assets the designees may have subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and prohibits all financial and commercial transactions by any U.S. person with the designated companies and individuals.
The assets of a total of 1,521 business and individuals in Aruba, Barbados, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Spain, Vanuatu, Venezuela, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the United States have been blocked pursuant to E.O. 12978. The 597 businesses that have been named as SDNTs include agricultural, aviation, consulting, construction, distribution, financial, hotel, investment, manufacturing, maritime, mining, offshore, pharmaceutical, real estate, retail, service, sporting, telecommunication, and textile companies. The SDNT list includes 22 kingpins from the Cali, Medellin, North Valle, and North Coast drug trafficking organizations in Colombia.
A detailed look at the program against Colombian drug organizations is provided in OFAC's March 2007 Impact Report on Economic Sanctions Against Colombian Drug Cartels. http://www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/reports/narco_impact_report_05042007.pdf
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