September 26, 2006
HP-112

Prepared Remarks by Adam Szubin, Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control

Today's agreements represent government at its best. By combining the financial sanctions powers of the Treasury Department with the law enforcement and criminal authorities of those on this stage, and working closely with our partners in Colombia, we have crippled what was one of the most notorious and dangerous drug cartels in the world.

Today's agreement also brings into sharp relief the power of financial sanctions. Since 1995, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or "OFAC," has relentlessly pursued Colombian drug cartels, using Executive Order 12978 to designate and freeze the U.S.-controlled assets of over 1,200 companies and individuals. We have focused in particular on the notorious Cali cartel, designating over 700 entities and people that were operating as fronts for Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela. The heart of this financial network was the Colombian drugstore chain Drogas La Rebaja, as well as pharmaceutical laboratories like Farmacoop, which allowed the Rodriguez Orejuelas to launder their narcotics proceeds while providing an ostensibly legitimate source of income for family members and associates.

For ten years, OFAC investigators pursued the Rodriguez Orejuela's dirty assets around the world, uncovering new front companies in Colombia, Ecuador, Spain and six other countries, as the family attempted to mask its financial trails and circumvent our sanctions.

The impact of these sanctions has been dramatic. When OFAC designates a person or company, any assets held by a U.S. person or bank, anywhere in the world, must be frozen. Trade with or through the United States is cut off. Even more importantly, Colombian businesses and banks follow suit, severing all ties with entities that OFAC has listed. Time and again, U.S.-designated narcotics traffickers have been barred from opening bank accounts in Colombia or conducting business. And Colombian authorities have frequently been able to act against designated companies or properties, as they did in a massive forfeiture action against Drogas La Rebaja.

Indeed, in Colombia, being designated by OFAC is referred to as "muerte civil," or civil death.

This unrelenting pressure was a key cause of today's agreements. In a separate agreement, 28 designated family members of the Rodriguez Orejuela family have today agreed to forfeit their interests in all narcotics-related entities worldwide, including the hundreds of entities designated by OFAC since 1995. They have also committed to assist U.S. and Colombian governments in any future forfeiture actions. If the 28 Rodriguez Orejuela family members fully comply with the terms of the agreement and meet all terms of removal, we will work to remove them from OFAC's list. Any future dealings with narcotics traffickers, including on behalf of the two still-designated Rodriguez Orejuela brothers, will land them back on the list.

Today's outcome is a success - two dangerous drug lords are headed to prison and their once-powerful financial empire has been dismantled. This result is a team effort in every sense of the word, and we extend our deep appreciation to our dedicated colleagues in the U.S. Attorney's Offices in Miami and New York, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Departments of Homeland Security and State, and in the Colombian government. And I want to extend a special thanks to our exceptional narcotics team at OFAC.