The U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday it is
freezing the assets of a drug trafficker based in Medellin, Colombia, as well as
those of more than two dozen individuals and entities located in Colombia,
Mexico and Panama.
In a notice Wednesday, the Treasury Department credited Mexican officials for
capturing the alleged drug trafficker, Pedro Antonio Bermudez Suaza, in October.
“When Mexican authorities captured Bermudez Suaza, they took down a major
conduit of cocaine between the Colombian and Mexican drug cartels,” said Adam J.
Szubin, director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. “Today’s
designations expose Bermudez Suaza’s numerous illicitly-obtained assets in his
hometown of Medellin, Colombia as well as those in Mexico and Panama.”
Meanwhile, the Treasury said it has also taken action against 13 other
individuals and 14 entities linked to Suaza, freezing their assets as well.
Three of the individuals, including Suaza’s son, had been arrested by Mexican
authorities in 2007 for their ties to a plane carrying 3.7 metric tons of
cocaine, said the Treasury, adding that the failed smuggling operations were
managed by Bermudez Suaza.
By “targeting” these individuals and entities, the Treasury said it aims to
freeze all of their assets that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction.