US Department of the Treasury – OFAC

Rule Changes

Implemented the designations and issued a narrow wind-down authorization

The U.S. just sanctioned two sitting International Criminal Court judges—because they helped keep the Israel-related Gaza case alive. It's a rare thing in diplomacy: Washington using the same financial weapon it uses on oligarchs and terror networks against a courtroom.

Updated Yesterday

Force in Play

Sanctions engine naming ships, owners, and facilitators tied to Venezuela oil flows.

Trump's Venezuela "blockade" threat is now backed by policy. Washington has added new Venezuela-linked sanctions and also targeted Iran's shadow-fleet network. Together, these expand the pool of already-sanctioned vessels that the U.S. Navy could board if they try to trade with Venezuela.

Updated Yesterday

Money Moves

Issuing and adjusting licenses that govern Lukoil’s foreign asset sales

First the US froze Lukoil's assets. Now it's effectively forcing Russia's biggest private oil company to auction off its global business. A fresh Treasury waiver gives buyers until January 17, 2026 to lock in deals for oilfields, refineries and thousands of gas stations worth about $22 billion.

Updated 6 days ago

Rule Changes

Enforcing Nicaragua sanctions program

On February 8, 2026, Nicaragua canceled its visa-free entry policy for Cuban citizens, closing a corridor that had let more than 400,000 Cubans fly directly into Central America and begin overland journeys toward the United States. The Ortega government acted under sustained pressure from Washington, ending a four-year arrangement that had made Managua the last easy air route off the island for Cubans seeking to leave without a US visa. Havana called the reversal a betrayal; Washington treated it as a quiet win in its campaign to shut down alternative migration channels.

Updated Apr 23

Force in Play

Leading international sanctions effort

For five years, Southeast Asia's scam compounds operated with near-impunity, generating an estimated $75 billion while trafficking hundreds of thousands of workers into forced labor. Then a Chinese actor got kidnapped in January 2025, and Beijing decided it had seen enough. Within twelve months, China extradited scam kingpins from Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar, sentenced crime family leaders to death, and pressured regional governments into coordinated enforcement—transforming what was tolerated as a regional nuisance into an existential threat for the criminal networks.

Updated Jan 31

Force in Play

Implementing sanctions on Iranian officials

On December 28, shopkeepers in Tehran's Grand Bazaar closed their stalls and took to the streets. The Iranian rial had just hit 1.4 million to the dollar—double its value from a year earlier. Within days, the protests spread to all 31 provinces, evolved from economic grievances into demands for regime change, and drew comparisons to the 1979 revolution that brought the Islamic Republic to power.

Updated Jan 20