US sanctions Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa over human rights abuses
On Monday, the United States imposed sanctions on President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, along with the country’s first lady and additional government officials. The sanctions were implemented due to their suspected participation in corruption and human rights violations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control within the Treasury Department has enforced sanctions on three organizations and eleven individuals, which include the Mnangagwas, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, and retired Brigadier General Walter Tapfumaneyi.
Mnnangagwa faces allegations of shielding individuals involved in the illegal trafficking of gold and diamonds within Zimbabwe. It’s claimed that he instructs government personnel to aid in the sale of these precious minerals on black markets and accepts bribes in return for his assistance, among other accusations.
On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to end the national emergency in Zimbabwe and lift the sanctions specific to the country. The administration is now utilizing a previous executive order from the Trump era, which enforces the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, as the basis for imposing these sanctions.
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Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the changes to Zimbabwe’s sanctions regime “are intended to make clear what has always been true: our sanctions are not intended to target the people of Zimbabwe.”
“Today we are refocusing our sanctions on clear and specific targets: President Mnangagwa’s criminal network of government officials and businesspeople who are most responsible for corruption or human rights abuse against the people of Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabwe’s government spokesman Nick Mangwana tweeted in response to the sanctions that “as long as senior leadership is under sanctions, we are all under sanctions. And as long as members of Corporate Zimbabwe are under Sanctions, we are under Sanctions.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the designations “are part of a stronger, more targeted sanctions policy towards Zimbabwe the United States is implementing.”
“Key individuals, including members of the Government of Zimbabwe, bear responsibility for these actions, including the looting of government coffers that robs Zimbabweans of public resources,” he said.
Mnangagwa was sworn in for a second term as Zimbabwe’s president last September.
US sanctions Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa over human rights abuses
