BILL WOULD FREEZE CARTELS' ASSETS

WASHINGTON, - Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and
Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., are calling on the United States to hit
drug cartels where it hurts - in the bank account.

The two introduced a bill today that would prohibit U.S. companies
from making any financial transactions with any business or individual
associated with indicted drug lords. Similar tactics have been
employed against the Colombian drug cartels, the government of Iran
and former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.

The bill would freeze the U.S. assets of individuals identified as
drug traffickers by a special government task force. And like the
existing executive order against Colombia's Cali cartels, it would
block the drug lords and their families and associates from any
financial, commercial or business dealings with the United States.

Since much of the drug trade is conducted with U.S. currency, the law
has the potential to cripple the cartels. Feinstein said the Colombian
sanctions have been so effective that many of the cartels have moved
their operations to Mexico.

Unfortunately, the drug trade in Mexico is now so pernicious that some
in Congress are threatening to de-certify Mexico as a partner in the
drug war. Lieberman said the bill would be an alternative to leveling
sanctions against the countries in which the drug cartels operate.

Any U.S. corporation caught doing business with the so-called ``bad
actors'' would face criminal penalties of up to $500,000 per
violation. Individuals would face fines of up to $250,000 per offense,
as well as possible civil penalties.

If the legislation is passed into law, the Treasury Department's
Office of Foreign Assets Control would administer the program and draw
up the list of blacklisted drug traffickers, in cooperation with the
Departments of Justice and State.

Among the countries that have been identified as major producers or
conduits of the drug trade: Afghanistan, Aruba, the Bahamas, Belize,
Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico,
Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela
and Vietnam.