OFAC

The Trump administration placed a U.N. human-rights expert and multiple International Criminal Court officials on a U.S. sanctions blacklist typically reserved for terrorists and major criminals, according to a Reuters investigation.

The Trump administration is preparing to issue a broad Treasury Department license as soon as this week that would allow companies to pump oil in Venezuela, a move aimed at easing U.S. sanctions and jump-starting investment in the country’s decaying energy infrastructure. 

The Trump administration has granted confidential licenses to two of the world’s largest oil traders, Vitol and Trafigura, to broker sales of Venezuelan crude, despite both firms’ recent brushes with bribery prosecutions tied to oil deals elsewhere, The Washington Post reported.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday blacklisted nine ships and their owners in response to Iran’s ongoing crackdown on protestors, including Tehran’s decision to shut down internet access within the country. 

The U.S. is targeting Hamas’ covert support network, including six Gaza-based nonprofits that purportedly masquerade as medical charities while supporting the Palestinian group’s militant wing. 

The Trump administration’s first sale of Venezuelan oil under a new arrangement is valued at $500 million, with much of that money being held in a U.S.-controlled bank account in Qatar, according to Semafor. 

The White House imposed new sanctions on Iran even as the Trump administration appeared to step back from its threat of military action in response to Tehran’s ongoing crackdown on Iranian protestors, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration designated three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, claiming the groups contribute to regional instability and violence. 

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on four companies it said were operating in Venezuela’s oil sector, along with associated oil tankers.

U.S. lawmakers have voted to repeal the 2019 Caesar Civilian Protection Act, ending a far-reaching sanctions regime that broadly targeted any entity providing goods or services to Syria’s government, the Financial Times reported.