Zimbabwe’s Sanctions Removed Except those of the Ruling Elite

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and first lady Auxillia have come under a slate of new US sanctions imposed that also targeted senior government officials accused of corruption and human rights abuses. The Mnangagwas were part of 11 people, including Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Defense Minister Oppah Muchinguri, senior security officials and businesspeople designated by Washington “for their involvement in corruption or serious human rights abuse.” The US said the new sanctions aimed at blocking the assets of the Zimbabwean officials and barred American financial institutions from engaging in transactions with them will replace a previous Zimbabwe sanctions program that was introduced more than two decades ago. Incumbent President Mnangagwa, 81, who was the speaker of the Zimbabwean parliament in 2003, was among 76 high-ranking officials hit by the US sanctions at the time. The US Treasury Department also said in a statement that the previous sanctions imposed on Zimbabwean officials had been lifted after US President Joe Biden approved an executive action Monday revoking them.

SOURCE: CNN