The European Union is planning to impose sanctions on Venezuelan officials and people who attempted to block the country’s election process, Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative, said Jan. 9. Borrell called the attempts to control the election “utterly unacceptable” and said “the EU is ready to start work towards applying targeted measures against individuals involved in the violation of these principles and rights.” U.S. officials have urged the EU to increase sanctions pressure on Venezuela (see 1912200049 and 1909240039).
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended five entries under the European Union’s Mali sanctions regime, according to a Jan. 8 notice. The notice amends entries that were added to the list by the United Nations Security Council on Dec. 19 and by the U.K. on Dec. 20, the notice said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Taban Deng Gai, the first vice president of South Sudan, for human rights violations, Treasury said Jan. 8. Gai was involved in silencing human rights lawyers and advocates to solidify his position within the government, Treasury said.
The U.S. will impose further sanctions against Iran in response to its recent missile attacks on a U.S. military base in Iraq, President Donald Trump said Jan. 8. Trump called the measures “punishing economic sanctions,” which will “remain until Iran changes its behavior,” including abandoning its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Details of the sanctions were not immediately released.
The U.S. is actively seeking to impose more sanctions on Venezuela and the Nicolas Maduro-led regime, a top State Department official said during a Jan. 6 press conference. “We are looking at additional sanctions, personal sanctions, economic sanctions that we think will bring more pressure yet on the regime,” said Elliott Abrams, the U.S.’s special representative for Venezuela. That effort involves urging Venezuela’s neighbors to pressure the country with their own sanctions, Abrams said. Abrams’s comments have been echoed by other Trump administration officials, who have said the Venezuela program is one of its most active sanctions regimes and expect sanctions to continue (see 1911190028). Abrams has said he feels no pressure from U.S. companies to lift Venezuela sanctions (see 1912200049).
The United Nations Security Council Committee removed 15 Iraq-related entities from its sanctions list, the committee said in a Jan. 2 notice. The entities include state-operated chemical, steel, agricultural and engineering entities.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control amended a Venezuela-related general license to extend the authorization period for certain activities with Globovision Tele C.A. or Globovision Tele CA, Corp., OFAC said in a Jan. 7 notice. The two entities are controlled by Gustavo Adolfo Perdomo Rosales and Raul Antonio Gorrin Belisario, who were sanctioned by OFAC in January 2019. General License No. 6A, which replaces General License No. 6, authorizes certain activities with the two entities or any entities they own by 50 percent or more until Jan. 21. The general license was previously scheduled to expire Jan. 8.
The U.S. designated Aas’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) a foreign terrorist organization and sanctioned two of its leaders, Qays (also known as Qais) al-Khazali and Laith al-Khazali, both Iraqi nationals, the State Department said in a Jan. 3 press release. The sanctions are aimed at denying AAH and its leadership the “resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks,” the State Department said. The agency said the group and its leaders are backed by Iran, and their efforts are aimed at undermining “Iraqi sovereignty.” Qays and Laith were previously sanctioned by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in December (see 1912060022). OFAC updated identifying information for both individuals, according to a Jan. 3 notice.
The State Department sanctioned Leopoldo Cintra Frias, minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, due to human rights violations, the agency said in a Jan. 2 press release. The State Department also sanctioned his children: Deborah Cintra Gonzalez and Leopoldo Cintra Gonzalez. Frias has been involved in supporting the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela, the press release said. Designated individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.
Along with sanctions related to Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline (see 1912190075), the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act includes a prohibition on Venezuela-related procurement actions and additional measures against Turkey, North Korea and Syria, according to a Dec. 27 post from Crowell & Moring.