The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a senior Cuban official and a government agency for their involvement in the repression of pro-democratic protests on the island this month, OFAC said July 22. The designations target Alvaro Lopez Miera, the Cuban defense minister, and the Brigada Especial Nacional del Ministerio del Interior (also known as the Boinas Negras or the Black Berets). “This is just the beginning,” President Joe Biden said in a July 22 statement. “The United States will continue to sanction individuals responsible for oppression of the Cuban people.”
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added five names to its global anti-corruption sanctions listings, a financial sanctions notice said July 22. Nawfal Hammadi Al-Sultan of Iraq, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue of Equatorial Guinea, Alvaro Enrique Pulido Vargas of Colombia, Alex Nain Saab Moran of Colombia and Kudakwashe Regimond Tagwirei of Zimbabwe will now be subject to an asset freeze.
The U.S. said it will not block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, a commitment meant to strengthen ties with Germany but one that frustrated U.S. lawmakers who for months have called for strict sanctions against the pipeline. While the State Department said the U.S. and Germany remain “united in their determination” to sanction Russia for “malign activities,” the Russia-backed pipeline will proceed, they said.
CBP has begun drafting an announcement that will require shippers to use electronic export manifests (see 2003110038) for all ocean, air and rail shipments, said Jim Swanson, CBP’s director of the Cargo and Security Controls Division. While the agency doesn’t yet have a firm effective date, he said CBP is finally working on regulatory changes that would mandate those electronic filings and expects to issue Federal Register notices in “the next several months.”
The United Kingdom should hasten the imposition of sanctions on Myanmar businesses and other entities in key industries on which the ruling junta is dependent, a July 16 report from the U.K. House of Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee said. The report also called on the government to encourage other nations that do not have Myanmar sanctions in place to implement them and ensure that third-country financial institutions support U.K.-implemented sanctions placed on junta-backed businesses and individuals.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added defense company JSC Agat-Electromechanical Plant to its Belarus sanctions regime, a July 21 notice said. The company, which is listed as one of a number of Belarusian defense companies on the State Authority for Military Industry of the Republic of Belarus website, will be subject to an asset freeze.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list amineptine, a synthetic tricyclic antidepressant with central nervous system (CNS) stimulating properties that, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, has no approved medical use and no known therapeutic application in the U.S., under schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice released July 21. "If finalized, this action would impose the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis with, or possess), or propose to handle, amineptine." Comments are due Sept. 20.
The U.S. extended for one year national emergencies authorizing sanctions against Lebanon and Mali, the White House said July 20. The White House said ongoing Iranian arms transfers to Hezbollah are continuing to undermine Lebanese sovereignty, and that Mali's stability is threatened by growing areas of terror activity and intensification of attacks against civilians, the Malian defense and security forces -- all of which continue to threaten U.S. national security. The extensions are to Aug. 1, 2022, and July 26 2022, respectively.
The State Department will push for a “strong response” from the United Nations for Turkey’s continued interference in Cyprus territory and urged Turkey to reverse its illegal development of the Varosha coastline, the agency said July 20. The U.S. is working with allies to urge a United Nations Security Council response but warned against “provocative unilateral actions that increase tensions on the island.” A bipartisan group of senators last week asked the Biden administration to impose sanctions on Turkey for its activities in Cyprus (see 2107150012).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 20 extended a general license related to Petroleos de Venezuela and updated a frequently asked question to reflect the change. General License No. 5G, which replaced No. 5F (see 2012230066), now authorizes certain transactions with PdVSA involving an 8.5% bond on or after Oct. 21, 2021.