The United States has blacklisted two Yemeni nationals and five companies on accusations of laundering money and importing petroleum products for the Houthi rebels.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, 38, and three companies his connected to, as well as Yahya Mohammed Al Wazir, 44, and two of his companies, for facilitating those petroleum product transactions.
," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender said in a statement: "The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group's access to the international financial system”.
He added:”These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis' terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."
The United States, under both the Biden and Trump administrations, has been hammering the Houthis with sanctions, seeking to corrode their ability to make war, with President Donald Trump re-designating the Iran-proxy militia as a foreign terrorist organization in January.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement: "The United States is committed to disrupting the Houthis' illicit revenue generation by maintaining pressure on the financial facilitators that fuel the Houthi enterprise," adding "Today's action builds on a series of measures targeting Houthi revenue generation and weapons procurement, reaffirming our resolve to counter terrorism, promote regional security and uphold freedom of navigation."