Sigal Mandelker, the Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, is resigning to return to the private sector, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Oct. 2. In a statement. Mnuchin called Mandelker a “fierce advocate for effectively leveraging our powerful economic tools to make an impact for a safer world,” according to Reuters. Mnuchin said Mandelker made the decision to resign over the summer.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control updated two Venezuelan general licenses related to dealings with certain bonds and securities, OFAC said in a Sept. 30 notice. General License No. 3F is replaced with General License No. 3G, which authorizes dealings with certain Venezuela-related bonds until March 31, 2020. General License No. 9E is replaced with General License No. 9F, which authorizes certain dealings related to Petroleos de Venezuela securities, also until March 31, 2020.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Russian people, entities and other actors for trying to influence the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, Treasury said in a Sept. 30 press release. The sanctions also increase pressure on Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a previously designated Russian businessman, by sanctioning three of his planes, a yacht and employees of the Internet Research Agency (IRA), which Prigozhin funds, Treasury said.

The State Department sanctioned Raul Modesto Castro Ruz, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and first secretary of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, according to a Sept. 26 press release. The State Department also sanctioned his children: Alejandro Castro Espin, Deborah Castro Espin, Mariela Castro Espin and Nilsa Castro Espin. Castro is being sanctioned for human rights violations, the press release said. "As General of Cuba’s Armed Forces, Castro is responsible for Cuba’s actions to prop up the former Maduro regime in Venezuela through violence, intimidation, and repression," it said.

The European Union sanctioned seven members of Venezuelan’s security and intelligence forces for human rights violations, the European Council said in a Sept. 27 press release. The EU said it now has active Venezuelan sanctions imposed on 25 people. The sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes.

A sanctioned shipping company received expedited removal from the Treasury’s sanctions list because of its cooperation, transparency and commitments to the agency, according to a Sept. 25 post by Winston & Strawn.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned one entity, three people and five ships for evading U.S. sanctions and delivering jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria, Treasury said Sept. 26.

The U.S. does not plan on easing sanctions on Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, even after reports that the administration considered lifting restrictions to encourage a meeting between President Donald Trump and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (see 1909110039).

President Donald Trump said he is not planning to impose additional sanctions on North Korea, saying the two sides are “getting along very well.”

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for a new nuclear deal with Iran and pointed to Donald Trump as the person who should negotiate it, in a Sept. 23 interview with NBC. "I think there's one guy who can do a better deal ... and that is the president of the United States. I hope there will be a Trump deal,” Johnson told NBC.