State Dept. Official Who Worked on Sanctions Issues Retires

Brian Nichols, the State Department’s assistant secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs since 2021, is retiring from the government, the agency announced Dec. 31. Nichols had worked on various sanctions policy issues during his time with the agency, including around Venezuela (see 2312060052), and had vowed during his 2021 confirmation hearing to aggressively sanction human rights violators (see 2105190038).