MIAMI, (Reuters) – The United States yesterday sanctioned what it described as a “major drug dealer” in the Dominican Republic, barring Americans from dealing with Jose “La Arana” Calderon and freezing his assets.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury said Calderon runs a criminal group involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, and public corruption, and controls several drug trafficking routes into the United States.
Calderon “leads one of the most significant criminal organizations in the Dominican Republic,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in statement. “Treasury will continue to sanction those who enable the flow of deadly narcotics to the United States.”
Calderon was indicted for multiple drug trafficking offenses by a federal grand jury in Florida in September, the statement said.
In 2012, Calderon was arrested and charged with drug trafficking offenses by Dominican Republic law enforcement authorities and served a three-year prison sentence.
The Caribbean has for decades served as a major trafficking route for drugs coming from South America into the United States.
The Dominican Republic in 2019 said it broke up a major drug gang that used two former Major League Baseball players to launder assets.
