For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 31, 2002
Fact Sheet
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act
Introduction
The Administration has released the names of seven drug traffickers
against whom the President has designated as appropriate for sanctions
under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C.
1901-1908). The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (the
"Kingpin Act") targets, on a worldwide basis, significant foreign
narcotics traffickers, their organizations, and operatives.
Background
The Kingpin Act is the result of legislation originally introduced
by Senator Feinstein and the late Senator Coverdell. Its purpose is to
deny significant foreign narcotics traffickers, their related
businesses, and their operatives access to the U.S. financial system
and all trade and transactions involving U.S. companies and
individuals. The Kingpin Act authorizes the President to take these
actions when he determines that a foreign narcotics trafficker presents
a threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the
United States. Congress modeled the Kingpin Act after the effective
sanctions program that the Department of the Treasury's Office of
Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") administers against the Colombian drug
cartels pursuant to Executive Order 12978 issued in October 1995 under
authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
("IEEPA").
Implementation
The Kingpin Act requires that the Departments of Treasury, State,
Justice and Defense, and the Director of Central Intelligence,
coordinate on the identification of
proposed kingpins for designation by the President. By June 1 each
year, the President must report to specified congressional committees
those "foreign persons [he] determines are appropriate for sanctions"
and stating his intent to impose sanctions upon those foreign persons.
The long-term effectiveness of the Kingpin Act is enhanced by the
Department of the Treasury's authority (in consultation with
appropriate government agencies and departments) to make derivative
designations of foreign individuals and entities providing specified
types of support or assistance to designated traffickers. This
authority broadens the scope of application of the economic sanctions
against designated kingpins to include their businesses and
operatives. In addition, designated individuals and immediate family
members who have knowingly benefited from the designated individuals'
illicit activity will be denied visas to the United States under 8
U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(2)(C).
The Kingpin Act provides for criminal penalties of up to 10 years
imprisonment for individuals and up to a $10 million fine for entities
for violations, as well as a maximum of 30 years imprisonment and/or a
$5 million fine for officers, directors or agents of entities who
knowingly participate in violations. The Kingpin Act also provides for
civil penalties of up to $1 million.
Designations
The foreign persons that the President has determined are
appropriate
for sanctions pursuant to the Kingpin Act are:
Ismael Zambada Garcia - Ismael Zambada Garcia is a citizen of
Mexico.
There are two pending warrants for his arrest in Mexico. He is
charged
with narcotics trafficking, bribery, and violation of the federal
law
against organized crime.
Eduardo Gonzalez Quirarte - Eduardo Gonzalez Quirarte is a citizen
of
Mexico. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western
District
of Texas on April 21, 1994, and charged with conspiracy to possess
with
intent to distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana,
possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and conspiracy to
engage
in money laundering.
Mario Ernesto Villanueva Madrid - Mario Villanueva Madrid is a
citizen
of Mexico. Villanueva Madrid was indicted by a federal grand jury
in an
indictment in the Southern District of New York on January 8, 2002,
for
the importation of more than 200 tons of cocaine into the United
States.
Villanueva Madrid is charged in that indictment with conspiracy to
import cocaine and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent
to distribute cocaine.
Luis Fernando Da Costa - Luis Fernando Da Costa is a citizen of
Brazil.
Da Costa was indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District
Court
for the District of Columbia on March 7, 2002. Da Costa is charged
with
conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to manufacture and
distribute cocaine, intending and knowing that such substance will
be
unlawfully imported into the United States from Colombia.
Oded Tuito - Oded Tuito holds Israeli and French citizenship. He
has
three federal indictments pending against him. He also is facing
narcotics charges in the state of California. In March 2000, a
federal
grand jury in Brooklyn, New York returned a superseding indictment
that
charges Tuito with conducting a continuing criminal enterprise,
conspiracy to import ecstasy, importation of ecstasy, conspiracy to
distribute ecstasy with the intent to import it, and conspiracy to
engage in money laundering. Tuito also was indicted by a federal
grand
jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania in December 1999 on
charges
of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute ecstasy,
cocaine,
and marijuana.
Haji Ibrahim - Haji Ibrahim is a citizen of Pakistan. He was
indicted
by a federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey in August
1998 for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute
heroin
and conspiracy to import heroin into the United States from India.
Samuel Knowles - Samuel Knowles is a citizen of The Bahamas.
Knowles
was first indicted on May 25, 2000 by a federal grand jury in the
Southern District of Florida for smuggling cocaine. The grand jury
returned a separate indictment on December 8, 2000 on charges of
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and
marijuana,
conspiracy to import cocaine and marijuana, possession with the
intent
to distribute cocaine and marijuana, and importation of cocaine and
marijuana.
These names are being added to the designations announced by
President Clinton in June 2000 and President Bush in June 2001. The initial
designations were: Benjamin Alberto Arellano-Felix; Ramon Eduardo
Arellano-Felix; Jose de Jesus Amezcua-Contreras; Luis Ignacio
Amezcua-Contreras; Rafael Caro-Quintero; Vicente Carrillo-Fuentes;
Chang
Chi-Fu; Wei Hsueh-Kang; Noel Timothy Heath; Glenroy Vingrove
Matthews;
Abeni 0. Ogungbuyi; and Oluwole A. Ogungbuyi in 2000; 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;
and
Joseph Gilboa in 2001.
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