Two recent pronouncements indicate that enforcement risks around dealing with criminal narcotics trafficking organizations in Latin America continue to increase. We expect the Trump Administration to continue to focus on designating such organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (“FTOs”), sanctioning their supporters, and enforcing the measures already in place. We also expect countries across Latin America to align more with the United States and impose their own sanctions against these organizations. First, on September 15, President…
On July 1, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) in the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on several parties due to links to Brazil-based Primeiro Comando da Capital (i.e., First Capital Command, or “PCC”). This was the first round of sanctions against parties connected to PCC since the US Government’s actions in the spring designating PCC as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization (“FTO”) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (“SDGT”). We refer to…
Since issuing its Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQ”) 1249 on April 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has updated its position with respect to “toll” payments to Iran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. At the time of its publication, FAQ 1249 made it clear that payments to Iran for “safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz are prohibited for U.S. persons. However, to further maximize…
In less than two weeks, we have seen Syria go from one of the most heavily sanctioned countries on the planet to a country well on the road to establishing normal trade relations with the Western world. The latest flurry of developments started on May 13, 2025, when President Trump caught much of the world by surprise when he said in a speech in Riyadh: “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria…