The leaders of the House Select Committee on China urged the Biden administration on Dec. 14 to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong officials who are responsible for a new crackdown on pro-democracy activists.

The U.S. and the U.K. on Dec. 14 announced a coordinated set of sanctions targeting senior Iranian military officials, including those supporting the “terrorist activities” of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The U.S. and the U.K. this week announced new sanctions against members of the Hamas terror group, designating “key officials” who represent the group abroad and manage its finances. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said the designations were “closely coordinated” with the U.K.’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation and are aimed at disrupting Hamas fundraising campaigns designed to funnel revenue to Hamas military activities in Gaza.

The U.N. Security Council recently sanctioned four criminal gang leaders in Haiti. The designations target Johnson Andre, leader of the 5 Segond gang; Renel Destina, leader of the Grand Ravine gang; Wilson Joseph, leader of the 400 Mawozo gang; and Vitel’Homme Innocent, leader of the Kraze Barye gang.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned two former Afghan government officials for corruption, along with 44 of their companies. OFAC said Mir Rahman Rahmani and his son, Ajmal Rahmani, use the companies as part of a “complex procurement corruption scheme” designed to misappropriate millions of dollars from U.S. government-funded contracts meant for Afghan security forces. The sanctions were imposed under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

The U.S., the U.K. and Canada last week issued a range of new sanctions to mark the internationally recognized Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, designating people across more than 10 jurisdictions for their ties to human rights violations. They include U.S. sanctions against Chinese officials with ties to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, including one designated under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act.

The U.S. and the U.K. this week sanctioned two Russians involved in phishing campaigns against the U.K. to undermine the country’s “democratic processes.” The sanctions target Aleksandrovich Peretyatko, a Russian Federal Security Service officer, and Andrey Stanislavovich Korinets, a Russian information technology worker.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned 13 people and companies responsible for handling millions of dollars of Iranian sales revenue or for arranging shipments of Iranian commodities to the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. The sanctions target Iran-linked people and entities involved in a “complex network of exchange houses” and businesses across several countries, including Lebanon, Turkey, St. Kitts, Russia and the U.K.

Senior State Department official Brian Nichols met with staff members from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dec. 6 to seek their input on U.S. sanctions policy toward Venezuela, according to a State Department spokesperson.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned 15 Mexican people and two companies linked to the Beltran Leyva Organization, one of the world’s “most powerful” drug trafficking groups. The designations were announced during a trip by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to Mexico City, where she discussed strengthening U.S.-Mexican efforts to counter fentanyl trafficking, and came after the agency launched a new, multi-agency Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force that it said will improve how the U.S. targets drug traffickers with sanctions and civil and criminal penalties.