Treasury sanctions prolific Caribbean drug trafficker

Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned a Dominican Republic National who runs one of the most prolific drug trafficking organizations in the Caribbean.

Jose Calderon Rijo and his group engage in money laundering and public corruption in order to move drugs, according to the agency.

"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 a statement. "Treasury will continue to sanction those who enable the flow of deadly narcotics to the United States."

In 2012 Calderon Rijo was arrested and charged with drug trafficking in the Dominican Republic. While in prison, he continued to oversee the organization. Then in September, he was indicted in the Southern District of Florida for multiple drug trafficking offenses.

"Today's action is part of a whole-of-government effort to counter the global threat posed by the trafficking of illicit drugs into the United States that causes the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually, as well as countless more non-fatal overdoses," the Treasury Department said.