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August 20, 2009
tg-265
Treasury Targets FARC Operative and Affiliated Companies
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated Jose Cayetano Melo Perilla for materially assisting the narcotics trafficking activities of, and acting for or on behalf of, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a drug trafficking organization. OFAC also today named four entities that are owned, controlled, or directed by, or act for or on behalf of, Jose Cayetano Melo Perilla. Today's action, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), is OFAC's tenth set of designations against the FARC under the Kingpin Act since 2004. These designations under the Kingpin Act freeze any assets the five designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with them.
"Although recent actions by the Colombian Government have undercut the FARC significantly, it continues to be the leading trafficker of narcotics out of Colombia," said Adam J. Szubin, Director of OFAC. "Today's designation builds on our longstanding campaign against the FARC by targeting a key trafficker and money launderer."
The FARC was identified by the President as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker, or drug kingpin, pursuant to the Kingpin Act on May 29, 2003. The State Department designated the FARC as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2001 pursuant to Executive Order 13224 and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997.
Jose Cayetano Melo Perilla, a Colombian national and resident of Costa Rica, is a narcotics trafficker and important financial contact for the FARC's 27th Front, which is led by Luis Eduardo Lopez Mendez (a.k.a. "Efren Arboleda"). Lopez Mendez ultimately reports to the FARC's chief of military operations and Commander of the Eastern Bloc, Victor Julio Suarez Rojas (a.k.a. "Mono Jojoy"). Suarez Rojas and Lopez Mendez were previously designated by OFAC on February 18, 2004, and November 1, 2007, respectively.
Also designated today are the following companies owned by Melo Perilla: Carillanca Colombia Y Cia S en CS, a Colombian company dedicated to hydroponic agriculture; Carillanca S.A., a Costa Rican company involved in tomato cultivation; Carillanca C.A., a company located in Venezuela whose focus is real estate and construction; and Parqueadero De La 25-13, a commercial parking lot located in Bogota, Colombia.
Today's action continues ongoing efforts under the Kingpin Act to apply financial measures against significant foreign narcotics traffickers and their organizations worldwide. In addition to the 82 drug kingpins designated by the President, 498 businesses and individuals have been designated pursuant to the Kingpin Act since June 2000. Today's designation would not have been possible without support from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act include civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation, criminal penalties for corporate officers up to 30 years in prison and $5 million in fines, and criminal fines for corporations up to $10 million. Other individuals face up to 10 years in prison for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act and fines determined pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code.
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