The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ordered that all property and interests in property of Jose Calderon Rijo (La Araña) in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons in the US be blocked and reported to the OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50% or more by the blocked person are also blocked. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by US persons or within the United States (including transactions transiting the United States) that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.
The US government accuses Calderon Rijo of materially contributing to the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production. “Calderon Rijo leads one of the most significant criminal organizations in the Dominican Republic, which poses a major drug trafficking threat to the Caribbean region and the United States,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson in making the announcement. “Treasury will continue to sanction those who enable the flow of deadly narcotics to the United States.”
Calderon Rijo, a Dominican Republic national, is described as: “The leader of a Dominican Republic-based criminal organization engaged in various illicit activities, including drug trafficking, money laundering, and public corruption. His organization directly controls several drug trafficking routes into the United States and is one of the most prolific drug trafficking organizations in the Caribbean. In 2012, Calderon Rijo was arrested and charged with drug trafficking offenses by Dominican Republic law enforcement authorities. However, while serving a three-year prison sentence, Jose Calderon Rijo continued to oversee his organization. Most recently, in September 2022, a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment charging Calderon Rijo with multiple drug trafficking offenses.“
The US Treasury said that it acted with the support and assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division, the DEA Santo Domingo Country Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Dominican government authorities have not commented on the sanctions nor on who protected Calderon Rijo here throughout all those years. Calderon Rijo apparently kept a low profile with the complicity of Dominican judicial and law enforcement authorities.
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US Treasury
Diario Libre
15 December 2022