LONDON: Dozens of alleged human rights abusers around the world face new sanctions Friday under a coordinated action by the United States, Britain and Canada to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The long list of targets ranges from human traffickers in Southeast Asia involved with “scam farm” operations, Taliban officials responsible for rights abuses in Afghanistan and leaders of gangs ravaging Haiti’s population.
London said it was hitting 46 individuals and entities with asset freezes and travel bans ahead of the December 10 landmark, recognized annually as International Human Rights Day.
The United States for its part targeted 37 people in 13 countries, while Canada imposed sanctions on seven people as part of the joint action.
“We will not tolerate criminals and repressive regimes trampling on the fundamental rights and freedoms of ordinary people around the world,” said UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
“I am clear that 75 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UK and our allies will continue to relentlessly pursue those who would deny people their freedom.”
The landmark 30-article document, which outlines fundamental rights and freedoms for all of humanity, was adopted on December 10, 1948 during the early days of the United Nations.
The UK’s list of targets include 17 members of the Belarusian judiciary, including prosecutors in charge of politically motivated cases against activists, journalists and rights defenders.
Five individuals in Iran face curbs for imposing and enforcing the country’s mandatory hijab law, while nine people were targeted for trafficking people in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to work for online “scam farms.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “with today’s actions, the United States is addressing some of the most challenging and harmful forms of human rights abuses in the world, including those involving conflict-related sexual violence, forced labor, and transnational repression.”
Among those facing US sanctions are a senior Taliban official who participated in the decision-making to ban women and girls from school after the group’s 2021 takeover of Afghanistan.
Blinken said that in addition to the US sanctions imposed Friday, Washington would recommend UN Security Council designations for four Haitian gang leaders and five armed group chiefs in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Canada for its part included in its list four Russians responsible for LGBTQ rights violations in Chechnya as well as the leader of the junta in Myanmar.
“Our actions to promote respect for human rights are stronger and more durable when done in concert with allies committed to the international rules-based order,” Blinken said of the coordinated action with Ottawa and London.
US, UK, Canada sanction dozens on human rights anniversary
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US, UK, Canada sanction dozens on human rights anniversary
- The United States for its part targeted 37 people in 13 countries, while Canada imposed sanctions on seven people as part of the joint action
- Five individuals in Iran face curbs for imposing and enforcing the country's mandatory hijab law
US Justice Department official eyes cases against Cuba leaders as Trump floats ‘friendly takeover’
- “Working group” formed to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government
- Trump’s has increasingly displayed aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership
MIAMI: The top Justice Department prosecutor in Miami is considering criminal investigations of Cuban government officials, according to people familiar with the matter. The inquiry comes as President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover” of the communist-run island.
Jason Reding Quiñones, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has created a “working group” that includes federal prosecutors and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies to try to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government and its Communist Party, according to one of the people. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the effort.
It was not immediately clear which Cuban officials the office is targeting or what criminal charges prosecutors may be looking to bring.
The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that “federal prosecutors from across the country work every day to pursue justice, which includes efforts to combat transnational crime.”
The effort is taking place against the backdrop of Trump’s increasingly aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership.
Emboldened by the US capture of Cuba’s close ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump last month said his administration was in high-level talks with officials in Havana to pursue “a friendly takeover” of the country. He repeated those claims this week, saying his attention would turn back to Cuba once the war with Iran winds down.
“They want to make a deal so bad,” Trump said of Cuba’s leadership.
While Cuba has faded from Washington’s radar as a major national security threat in recent decades, it remains a priority in the US Attorney’s office in Miami, whose political, economic and cultural life is dominated by Cuban-American exiles.
The FBI field office has a dedicated Cuba group that in 2024 was instrumental in the arrest of former US Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha on charges of serving as a secret agent of Cuba stretching back to the 1970s.
In recent weeks, several Miami Republicans, in addition to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, have called on the Trump administration to reopen its criminal investigation into the 1996 shootdown of four planes operated by anti-communist exiles.
In a letter to Trump on Feb. 13, lawmakers including Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez highlighted decades-old news reports indicating that former President Raúl Castro — the head of Cuba’s military at the time — gave the order to shoot down the unarmed Cessna aircraft.
“We believe unequivocally that Raúl Castro is responsible for this heinous crime,” lawmakers wrote. “It is time for him to be brought to justice.”
While no indictment against Castro has been announced, Florida’s attorney general said this week that he would open a state-level investigation into the crime.
The Trump administration has also accused Cuba of not cooperating with American counterterrorism efforts, adding it alongside North Korea and Iran to a select few nations the US considers state sponsors of terrorism.
The designation stems from Cuba’s harboring of US fugitives and its refusal to extradite several Colombian rebel leaders while they were engaged in peace talks with the South American nation.
