US Sanctions Houthi Military Officer for ‘Unlawful Tactics’

Treasury Dept says Houthis seized over $100 million in property

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Saleh Mesfer Alshaer, a senior military officer for the Houthi movement in Yemen, accusing him of “unlawful tactics” in the war in Yemen.

The statement suggests Alshaer is a close ally of Abdul Malik al-Houthi, and claims he oversaw the seizure of over $100 million in property, often using extortion.

This starts an effort by the US to track down any property or financial interests in the US by Alshaer, with an eye toward freezing them under the Office of Foreign Asset Control.

It’s not clear what this will amount to, as the $100 million in property seems to be generous estimations of what property in Yemen is worth, and it’s not clear how much, if any, would be kept in US jurisdictions.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.