The United States has sanctioned Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa; his wife, Auxillia; nine government officials and three companies for alleged human rights violations and corruption. In a twist, the US lifted 2003 sanctions imposed in response to late President Robert Mugabe’s 2000-01 land redistribution campaign.
US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo announced the fresh sanctions on 4 March, saying they were meant to punish the ‘criminal network’ around Mnangagwa. However, Zimbabwean spokesperson Nick Mangwana doubted the country’s pain would dissipate, saying on X, ‘We are all under sanctions.’
Some online have asked why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not being sanctioned for overseeing a five-month military operation in Gaza, despite the International Court of Justice imposing provisional measures in January to stop what it has referred to as ‘plausibly’ genocidal acts. Further, the United Nations has alleged that US-aligned Rwandan President Paul Kagame backs militant group M23, whose attacks have been blamed for displacing millions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Let us know if you think the new ‘targeted sanctions’ will ease Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.