WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Treasury Department on Wednesday froze the US assets of what it said were a pair of Venezuela-based supporters of Hezbollah.
They are Ghazi Nasr al Din and Fawzi Kan'an, along with two travel agencies owned and controlled by Kan'an, the department said.
"It is extremely troubling to see the Government of Venezuela employing and providing safe harbor to Hezbollah facilitators and fundraisers. We will continue to expose the global nature of Hezbollah's terrorist support network, and we call on responsible governments worldwide to disrupt and dismantle this activity," said Adam Szubin, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Separately the department also moved to freeze the US assets of two leaders of the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), which it called "an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization with the goal of overthrowing the Uzbekistan government."
Najmiddin Kamlitdinovich Jalolov and Suhayl Fatilloevich Buranov were sanctioned under US measures to target terrorists and those providing financial, technological, or material support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.
"Under the leadership of Jalolov and Buranov, IJU has terrorized innocents and killed civilians," said Szubin. "Today's action and the parallel action by the UN demonstrate the international community's commitment to choking off the financial lifelines supporting IJU."
Assets designees have under US jurisdiction are frozen and US persons are barred from doing business or having interests in property blocked under the order.
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