On May 20, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari, a key senior military official of Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, for orchestrating attacks by the Houthi forces that are impacting Yemeni civilians. This large-scale Houthi offensive is creating a humanitarian crisis in Yemen by potentially overwhelming an already stretched humanitarian response to address acute food shortages and suffering affecting almost one million vulnerable internally displaced people. This designation is imposed pursuant to Executive Order 13611, that targets those who threaten the peace, security, or stability of Yemen. As a result of this designation, all US property is blocked, and any transactions with this person is generally prohibited. In addition, any entity in the US that is owned fifty percent or more by a sanctioned person is also blocked.
In a separate action, the State Department designated Yusuf al-Madani, another prominent Houthi military leader for violating the Hudaydah ceasefire agreement and affecting humanitarian aid to the Al Hudaydah region of Yemen. Al-Madani was designated pursuant to EO 13224, a counterterrorism authority, for posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten the national security, foreign policy or economy of the US.