The Nation - News from Dec. 1, 1987

Federal agents seized nearly $20 million in Florida property linked to the Medellin drug cartel. U.S. agents, using a law allowing the government to take control of assets bought with drug sale profits, took control of a Bal Harbour condominium, a Miami Beach luxury home, the Summerfield horse farm and apartment buildings in Plantation and Miami Beach. Assessed value of the properties was listed at about $12.5 million, but Drug Enforcement Administration officials estimated the market value at closer to $20 million. “It is probably the most significant coup against the Medellin cartel, financially,” said spokesman Jack Hook. The federal government says the Medellin cartel is the principal source of cocaine entering the United States.