US Department of the Treasury – OFAC

The US agency responsible for administering economic sanctions, including those targeting Nicaragua's migration-facilitation operations. - Enforcing Nicaragua sanctions program

For four years, Nicaragua offered Cuban citizens something rare: a direct flight to Central America with no visa required. More than 400,000 Cubans used this corridor to begin overland journeys toward the United States. On February 8, 2026, that door closed.

Updated Feb 9

The Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed the largest-ever sanctions against a Southeast Asian cybercrime network in October 2025. - 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

Administers and enforces U.S. economic sanctions, including asset freezes and transaction prohibitions. - 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

Turns shipping into a target list: companies, IMO numbers, and “deceptive practices.” - Sanctions engine naming ships, owners, and facilitators tied to Venezuela oil flows.

Trump’s Venezuela “blockade” threat is no longer just rhetoric—it’s being scaffolded by fresh Treasury actions and a widening target universe. Since the blockade announcement, Washington has added new Venezuela-linked sanctions and separately hit Iran’s shadow-fleet network, expanding the pool of already-sanctioned vessels that could be swept into real-world stop-and-search enforcement if they touch Venezuela’s trade.

Updated Dec 20, 2025

OFAC turns foreign-policy targets into real-world banking and transaction prohibitions. - 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 Dec 18, 2025

Treasury’s sanctions arm is scripting which Lukoil deals are allowed, when, and on what terms. - 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 Dec 11, 2025