O 111532Z SEP 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
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OPEC COLLECTIVE
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UNCLAS STATE 097316 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTFN PTER PINR EFIN VE LE SNAR AND KCRM PREL
 
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: OFAC NARCOTICS KINGPIN ACT 
DESIGNATION OF THREE SENIOR VENEZUELAN OFFICIALS 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) This is an action request; see paragraph 3. 
 
  ¶2. (SBU) Summary. On September 12, 2008, the Department of 
the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will 
designate two senior Government of Venezuela (GOV) officials 
and one former official under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin 
Designation Act ("Kingpin Act")for materially assisting the 
narcotics trafficking activities of the Revolutionary Armed 
Forces of Colombia (FARC).  This designation triggers 
mandatory "blocking" or "freezing" of these individuals' 
assets within the United States.  The FARC was named by the 
President as a Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker 
("Tier I Kingpin") under the Kingpin Act on May 29, 2003. 
Action addressees are requested to demarche host governments 
and banking authorities and seek their support by taking 
three specific actions noted in para 4.  End Summary. 
 
¶3. (SBU) (Releasable only to host governments at action 
Posts.  Demarche is embargoed until 9am EST on September 12. 
Action request: We are requesting that Embassies Caracas, 
Bogota, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, Ottawa, 
Santiago, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Brussels and posts at 
OPEC member countries share this information with host 
government on September 12, the day of OFAC's public 
announcement.  At post's discretion, Bogota may demarche host 
government on September 11.  Posts may draw from the key 
objectives in para 4 in preparing demarches (as well as paras 
7-12). Points may be adapted to local circumstances.  End 
action request. 
 
--------------- 
Key Objectives 
--------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) 
 
-- Inform host government that on/about September 12, 2008, 
OFAC will publicly designate two senior GOV officials and one 
former senior official, under the Kingpin Act, for materially 
assisting the narcotics trafficking activities of the FARC. 
They are: (1) Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, Director of the 
Venezuelan Directorate General of Military Intelligence 
(DGIM); 2) Henry de Jesus Rangel Silva, Director of the 
Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP); 
and, (3) Ramon Emilio Rodriguez Chacin, former Minister of 
Interior and Justice. Emphasize that these three FARC 
supporters join 23 Colombian nationals and 10 Colombian 
entities that were designated under the Kingpin Act this year 
and that there will be more designations to follow.  In other 
words, this is fundamentally an effort against the FARC and 
not against any particular government.  Once the designation 
is announced, OFAC will have designated 78 individuals and 
entities as derivative Tier II designations of the FARC under 
the Kingpin Act. 
 
-- Express to host government that even though this is a U.S. 
domestic designation, we hope host government undertakes 
similar measures by freezing the assets of the three named 
individuals under their own domestic authority. 
 
-- Request that host government share with us information 
concerning any actions that they undertake, including the 
blocking of assets, to enforce domestic sanctions against the 
named individuals and entities.  In addition, welcome any 
information that host government would like to share with us 
regarding the activities of the named individuals in their 
country. 
 
-- To avoid the flight of assets that might otherwise become 
subject to freezing, strongly urge host government not to 
disclose publicly or privately the proposed U.S. designation 
until the public announcement has been made. 
 
-- Remind host government that the FARC was named a 
significant foreign narcotics trafficker (or Tier I Kingpin) 
by the President on May 29, 2003 pursuant to the Kingpin Act. 
 U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in unlicensed 
transactions with these as well as previously named Tier I 
and Tier II designees under the Kingpin Act, and U.S. persons 
face criminal and civil penalties should they violate this 
prohibition. Foreign companies that continue to deal with 
Tier I and Tier II designees are subject to OFAC 
investigation and could be designated as Tier II's 
themselves.  This action is part of an ongoing inter-agency 
effort to carry out the Kingpin Act, 21 U.S.C. 1904(b)(2). 
 
-- Remind host government that the Secretary of State 
designated the FARC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization 
("FTO") in 1997 and as a Specially Designated Global 
Terrorist ("SDGT") in 2001.  While the FARC is also listed as 
an FTO and SDGT, this action is taken solely under the 
authority of the Kingpin Act. 
 
-- Share the identifiers and background information in 
paragraph 6 as a non-paper. 
 
------------------ 
Reporting Deadline 
------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) Posts should report on any host government response 
no later than September 19. 
 
 
-------------------------- 
Identifiers and Background 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) 
 
-- Hugo Carvajal Barrios, Director of Venezuela's Directorate 
General of Military Intelligence (DGIM).  His assistance to 
the FARC includes the following: protecting narcotics 
shipments from seizure by the Venezuelan anti-narcotics 
authorities, providing weapons to the FARC, which allows them 
to maintain their stronghold in the coca cultivation and 
production areas along the Colombia/Venezuela border, and 
providing the FARC official Venezuelan government 
identification so FARC members can travel easily to and from 
Venezuela.  He has also held numerous meetings with FARC 
leaders such as Noe Suarez Rojas (a.k.a. Grannobles), Luciano 
Marin Arango (a.k.a Ivan Marquez), and Rodrigo Londono 
Echeverry (a.k.a. Timochenko, Timoleon Jimenez), all of whom 
were indicted in March 2006 on charges relating to their 
narcotics trafficking activities by the U.S. District Court 
for the District of Columbia. In February 2004 OFAC 
designated Noe Suarez Rojas (a.k.a. Grannobles), Luciano 
Marin Arango (a.k.a Ivan Marquez), and Rodrigo Londono 
Echeverry (a.k.a. Timochenko, Timoleon Jimenez) pursuant to 
the Kingpin Act for acting for or on behalf of the FARC. 
 
The FARC's 10th front is heavily involved in narcotics 
trafficking from its base in the Colombian Department of 
Arauca, which borders the Venezuelan state of Apure.  The 
Arauca Department is known for its coca cultivation and 
cocaine production.  The FARC has engaged in combat with 
rival groups in order to control the significant narcotics 
trafficking activities in Arauca.  The border and airspace 
between Arauca (Colombia) and Apure (Venezuela) is a major 
smuggling route for cocaine and arms as it is difficult for 
Colombian authorities to patrol. 
 
-- Henry de Jesus Rangel Silva, the Director of Venezuela's 
Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP). 
The DISIP is the GOV agency in charge of intelligence and 
counterintelligence activities, and has been managed by 
Rangel Silva since 2005.  Rangel Silva has held meetings with 
FARC secretariat member Ivan Marquez on multiple occasions. 
Rangel Silva has also pushed for greater cooperation between 
the GOV and armed allies, including the FARC, on the 
Colombia/Venezuela border.  This region is a key stronghold 
for the FARC's narcotics trafficking activities. 
 
-- Ramon Emilio Rodriguez Chacin, former Minister of Interior 
and Justice.  Rodriguez Chacin, who stepped down as minister 
September 8, is also the GOV's weapons contact to the FARC, 
which uses its proceeds from drug sales to purchase weapons 
from the Venezuelan government.  He has held meetings with 
FARC secretariat member Ivan Marquez and FARC international 
representative Rodrigo Granda Escobar. OFAC designated 
Rodrigo Granda Escobar pursuant to the Kingpin Act on 
September 28, 2006 for acting for or on behalf of the FARC. 
Rodriguez Chacin also assisted the FARC by trying to 
facilitate a $250 million dollar loan from the Venezuelan 
government to the FARC in late 2007.  We cannot confirm that 
the loan was, in fact, made. 
 
---------------- 
For Embassy Info 
---------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) All Tier I and Tier II designees now on the Kingpin 
list have been determined by the Department of the Treasury, 
in consultation with the Departments of Justice, State, 
Defense, Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency, 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, to materially assist in or provide financial 
or technological support for, or goods or services in support 
of the narcotics trafficking activities of persons designated 
in or pursuant to the Kingpin Act. 
 
¶8. (U) All Tier I and II designees' property and interests in 
property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked.  U.S. 
persons doing business with a Tier I or Tier II designees 
face criminal penalties of up to $5,000,000 per violation for 
corporate officers and $10,000,000 per violation for 
corporations, as well as imprisonment of up to 30 years for 
corporate officers and imprisonment of up to 10 years for 
individuals.  Civil penalties of up to $1,075,000 per 
violation may be imposed administratively.  Under the Kingpin 
Act, a U.S. person is any U.S. citizen or national, permanent 
resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the U.S. 
(including foreign branches), or any person in the United 
States. 
 
¶9. (U) U.S. persons must cease all dealings with Tier I and 
Tier II designees immediately.  If there are particular 
circumstances involving the "U.S. person," such as 
outstanding contracts, or Tier I or Tier II designee property 
or funds in that person's possession, the funds and property 
are "blocked" and may not be transferred or otherwise dealt 
in, and the U.S. person should contact OFAC Compliance 
Division immediately at phone: 202-622-2490. 
 
¶10. (U) American subsidiaries incorporated outside the of the 
United States are not defined as U.S. persons under the 
Kingpin Act.  However, all U.S. citizens or permanent 
residents working in those subsidiaries are bound by the 
Kingpin Act.  Furthermore, any U.S. subsidiaries with ties to 
Tier I or Tier II designees are subject to designation 
criteria and the relationship between the subsidiary and its 
parent U.S. company will be examined by OFAC. 
 
¶11. (U) The new Tier II list will be available for download 
at OFAC's web address www.treasury.gov/ofac on the day of the 
announcement.  The official Treasury press release will be 
posted at: www.treasury.gov/press. All press inquiries should 
be directed to the Treasury Department's Office of Public 
Affairs at 202-622-2960. 
 
¶12. (U) Should posts have questions regarding any matter 
raised in this cable, please contact OFAC Associate Director 
of Investigations and Enforcement, J. Robert McBrien, at 
202-622-2420. 
RICE