FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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March 17, 2005
JS-2324
Treasury Designation Targets North Valle Drug Cartel Leader
In another step aimed at depriving Colombian narcotics traffickers of capital, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today added the name of North Valle drug cartel leader Carlos Alberto Renteria Mantilla ("Beto Renteria") to its list of Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers (SDNTs), along with 11 front companies and individuals operating on his behalf.
"Designating Beto Renteria as a leader of North Valle cartel is a fundamental step in our battle to undermine the financial network of this notorious Colombian drug cartel," said Robert Werner, Director of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). "The North Valle drug cartel depends on its financial network to stay in businesses, and actions like today's can deal a serious blow to those resources."
Beto Renteria is a leading member of the North Valle drug cartel, and his involvement in narcotics trafficking has been documented back to the late 1970s. Beto Renteria is the subject of two federal criminal indictments in the United States. In 2004, the District Court for the District of Columbia charged Beto Renteria with violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Ten years prior, an indictment was filed in the Southern District of Florida charging Beto Renteria with conspiracy to import, possess and distribute cocaine in the United States. The United States is offering up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest.
This action also targets a financial network of 11 front companies and individuals that act for or on behalf of Beto Renteria. The four Colombian businesses identified today are Dimabe Ltda., Inversiones Agroindustriales del Occidente Ltda., Compania Agropecuaria del Sur Ltda. and Colombo Andino Comercial Coalsa Ltda. All four businesses are located in Bogota, Colombia. The seven Colombian individuals designated today include Beto Renteria's wife, Maria Nury Caicedo Gallego, and their key financial front man, Mauricio Pardo Ojeda.
Today's announcement is a result of OFAC's close working relationship with U.S. law enforcement authorities, and particularly in this case, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
SDNTs are subject to the economic sanctions imposed against Colombian drug cartels in Executive Order 12978. Today's action freezes any assets found in the United States and prohibits all financial and commercial transactions between the designees and any U.S. person.
The U.S. Government continues to work with and support the Colombian government in attacking the finances of Colombia's drug cartels. In February 2005, the Colombian government seized the airline Intercontinental de Aviacion, which had been designated by OFAC in October 2004 because it was owned and controlled by North Valle cartel leaders Gabriel Puerta Parra and Luis Hernandez Zea.
The assets of a total of 1,159 business and individuals in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Spain, Vanuatu, Venezuela, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands are now blocked under E.O. 12978. The 428 SDNT businesses include agricultural, aviation, consulting, construction, distribution, financial, investment, manufacturing, mining, offshore, pharmaceutical, real estate and service firms. The SDNT list includes 17 kingpins from the Cali, North Valle, and North Coast drug cartels in Colombia, including North Valle cartel leader Carlos Alberto Renteria Mantilla.
A complete list of the entities identified today can be found at: http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/actions/.
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