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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 1, 2001

Statement by the Press Secretary

Today the President notified the Congress of the second set of determinations of drug traffickers who will be subject to the sanctions provided in the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (?Kingpin Act?). The initial set of determinations was made in June 2000, and the names just released are being added to that list.

The Kingpin Act, which became law in December 1999, targets, on a worldwide basis, significant foreign narcotics traffickers, their organizations, and operatives.  Its fundamental objective is to deny these foreign persons and entities access to the U.S. financial system and all trade and transactions involving U.S. companies and individuals.  The Kingpin Act does not target the countries in which these foreign persons and entities are operating nor the governments of such countries.

The additional foreign persons whom the President has determined are appropriate for sanctions pursuant to the Kingpin Act are:

          Osiel Cardenas Guillen
          Miguel Caro Quintero
          Joaquin Guzman Loera
          Ismael Higuera Guerrero
          Oscar Malherbe de Leon
          Alcides Ramon Magana
          Jose Alvarez Tostado
          Sher Afghan
          Nasir Ali Khan
          Chang Ping Yun
          Jamil Hamieh
          Joseph Gilboa

This action underscores our determination to do everything possible to fight drug traffickers, undermine their operations, and end the suffering that trade in illicit drugs inflicts on Americans and people around the world.

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