Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

A nationwide power failure in Cuba has caused major disruptions for American travelers, with the U.S. Embassy in Havana advising citizens to prepare for ongoing grid instability. The crisis, including six outages in 2026, has led to extreme heat and reliance on outdoor cooling methods. Cuban officials have cited U.S. sanctions as a factor in the energy crisis, though the cause of the latest blackout remains unclear.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s OFAC issued and revoked Iran-related sanctions relief via General Licenses X and X1 in June and July 2026, following a pattern similar to the earlier JCPOA. These actions aimed to facilitate negotiations but faced practical challenges due to lack of carve-outs for IRGC-related transactions and limited State Department waivers.

The US Treasury froze over $130 million linked to Iran-associated cryptocurrency wallets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that OFAC sanctioned multiple wallets tied to Iran.

The US imposed new sanctions on Iran targeting Mojtaba Khamenei, a key financier for Iran's new leader, and 13 others following attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The sanctions aim to disrupt financial networks linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and other entities.

The U.S. Treasury's OFAC and Mexico’s UIF have sanctioned two individuals and nine entities linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) for cross-border fuel theft and smuggling. The sanctions target Oscar Guillermo Juraidini Silva and J. Refugio Ruiz Villagomez, along with businesses and logistics companies they control, aiming to disrupt illicit revenue streams from fuel smuggling, which the Treasury calls a major non-drug income source for Mexican cartels.

The US has announced a 60-day reprieve from sanctions on Iran, allowing temporary oil and petrochemical trade, but dismantling decades of sanctions faces legal, political, and commercial challenges. The interim deal requires coordination with Congress, international bodies, and private-sector entities, with some sanctions tied to laws that only Congress can amend. Republican lawmakers have criticized the move.

The article examines how the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (GLOMAG) and Section 7031(c) of U.S. sanctions laws, designed to combat corruption and human rights abuses, are being weaponized by adversaries to target political and business rivals. It highlights structural vulnerabilities, including vague 'credible information' standards and weak procedural protections, enabling exploitation by oligarchs and authoritarian regimes.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed U.S. sanctions targeted wallets linked to Iran, but an analyst's analysis suggests the wallets may instead be connected to other state actors. The discrepancy highlights potential inaccuracies in the U.S. government's attribution of cryptocurrency wallets to Tehran.

The U.S. Treasury Department warned shippers against paying Iranian tolls for access through the Strait of Hormuz, warning of potential sanctions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an advisory highlighting U.S. awareness of Iranian toll demands.

Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China are conducting coordinated financial fraud operations within the U.S. system using shell companies, stolen identities, and synthetic profiles. Iran's 'shadow banking' network, linked to the Zarringhalam brothers, evades sanctions by routing funds through intermediaries in the UAE and Hong Kong to finance military and terrorist activities.

The US imposed sanctions on a Cambodian senator allegedly involved in cryptocurrency scam operations. Over 500 fraudulent web domains linked to the crypto investment fraud were seized by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The U.S. Treasury eased sanctions on Venezuela's state-run financial system to allow the country to use U.S. currency, receive oil revenues, and reenter the global financial system. This move aims to stabilize Venezuela's economy and support oil-sector development under acting president Delcy Rodriguez.