The Senate this week unveiled its fiscal year 2023 government spending package, which includes additional funding for key export control, sanctions and trade priorities. The package also includes another round of emergency defense aid for Ukraine.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week announced what it said are "historic steps" to implement new humantiarian-related authrotizations across its sanctions programs in an effort to better allow the flow of aid to sanctioned countries. The move builds on a U.N. Security Council decision earlier this month that established a humanitarian carve-out across sanctions regimes, allowing nongovernmental organizations, banks and others a general license for certain aid-related transactions involving sanctioned jurisdictions (see 2212120054). Treasury said the U.S. is "the first country in the world" to implement the U.N. carveout in its own borders.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week published its Illicit Drug Trade Sanctions Regulations. The regulations implement Executive Order 14059, “Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade,” issued on Dec. 15, 2021. OFAC said it intends to supplement the regulations with a more comprehensive set, which may include additional guidance and general licenses. The regulations are in effect Dec. 20.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 16 removed 19 entries from its Specially Designated Nationals list. The entries were sanctioned for counter-narcotics reasons and include people with entities with addresses in Mexico and Colombia. The primary goal for sanctions is behavioral change and the delisted individuals demonstrated a change in behavior and circumstances, a Treasury spokesperson said Dec. 16, adding that the delisted persons are no longer "engaged in sanctionable activities." The spokesperson also said most of the companies deleted from the SDN List are "now defunct."

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated 18 entities related to Russia's financial services sector, according to a Dec. 15 press release. The State Department also issued a set of Russia sanctions, primarily targeting oligarch Vladimir Potanin, three members of his immediate family and his business network, the department said in a Dec. 15 press release.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Jose Calderon Rijo, leader of a Dominican Republic-based criminal organization, for engaging in major drug trafficking, according to a Dec. 14 news release. In addition to drug trafficking, Rijo's organization allegedly engages in money laundering and public corruption. The organization directly controls several drug trafficking routes into the U.S. and is "one of the most prolific drug trafficking organizations in the Caribbean," OFAC said. Calderon Rijo was arrested and charged with drug trafficking offenses by Dominican Republic law enforcement authorities in 2012 but continued to oversee the organization from prison. In September, a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida charged him with multiple drug trafficking offenses.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week renewed a general license that authorizes certain transactions related to safety and environmental measures for certain sanctioned vessels. General License 21A, which replaces GL 21, is valid through 12:01 a.m. Jan. 14. The license was scheduled to expire Dec. 15 (see 2211150053). OFAC also amended one of its frequently asked questions, FAQ 1097, to reflect the renewal.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week deleted various sanctions entries related to Iran, Syria and others, including some that were previously determined to be “sanctions evaders.” The agency also updated one North Korean sanctions entry. OFAC didn’t immediately provide more information on the decisions.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned four Zimbabweans and two Zimbabwean entities in an effort to tackle corruption in the country’s government. The agency also removed 17 Zimbabweans from its Specially Designated Nationals List because they “no longer undermine Zimbabwe’s democratic processes.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 9. designated "a diverse array" of over 40 people and entities connected to corruption or human rights abuses in recognition of International Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day. The sanctions target people and entities across nine countries, OFAC said.