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The United States imposed fresh sanctions on Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other senior leaders of his administration, these are overhauls of the sanctions which were imposed in 2003. The new sanctions replace a broader program that was introduced two decades ago. Zimbabwe remains one of the most heavily sanctioned countries by the US after Washington hit the country with its first set of sanctions in the early 1990s, targeting then-president Robert Mugabe.
A spokesman for the Zimbabwean government, Nick Mnangagwa, described the lifting of the old sanctions program as a great vindication of President Mnangagwa’s Foreign Policy” and called the new tariffs”illegal “. If the president, the first lady, and senior officials remain sanctioned then Zimbabwe remains sanctioned and burdened by this illegality.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanctions – targeting three companies and 11 people, including the Mnangagwas, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, and retired Brigadier-General Walter Tapfumaneyi – after a review of the sanctions program that had been in place since 2003. Zimbabwe’s government was using smuggling gangs to sell gold worth hundreds of millions of dollars, helping to mitigate the impact of sanctions. Gold is the country’s biggest export.
The sanctions are not intended to target the people of Zimbabwe but those who are most responsible for corruption or human rights abuse against the people of Zimbabwe stated US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the new measures part of a stronger, more targeted sanctions policy on Zimbabwe as he voiced concern over serious cases of corruption and human rights abuse. Blinken said in a statement. Mnangagwa, whose party has been in power for more than four decades, was declared the winner of a new term in an election in August that international observers said fell short of democratic standards.
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Mnangagwa, whose party has been in power for more than four decades, was declared the winner of a new term in an election in August that international observers said fell short of democratic standards. He is the second consecutive Zimbabwean leader to face U.S. sanctions following veteran president Robert Mugabe.
