Sen. Cruz Criticizes Administration’s Use of Anti-Corruption Sanctions
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said March 21 he’s “deeply concerned” the Biden administration has “politicized” anti-corruption sanctions by using them against foreign officials it perceives as “conservative,” such as former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, and not using them against “leftist" ones.
“You have used corruption sanctions to bludgeon countries and international figures whom Democrats simply don’t like while ignoring much more significant violations by those embraced by the global populist Left,” Cruz said during a March 21 hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Cruz said he’s repeatedly asked the State Department why it hasn't sanctioned former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who was convicted for fraudulent government contracts for public infrastructure. “I still haven’t gotten a satisfactory answer,” Cruz said. He also cited a lack of sanctions against Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who he said allowed two U.S.-sanctioned Iranian warships to dock in the Port of Rio de Janeiro.
“You guys are doing the same thing in Israel where you sanction Jews and you don’t sanction Hamas,” Cruz added. The lawmaker was referring to recent U.S. sanctions against Israeli nationals for violence, or threats of violence, against Palestinians in the West Bank (see 2403140019 and 2402010053). The administration has also levied several rounds of sanctions against Hamas members, affiliates and financiers since the group's terror attacks against Israel in October (see 2310270012, 2311140008 and 2401220024).
Richard Nephew, the State Department’s global anti-corruption coordinator, testified that he couldn't comment on specific corruption allegations or any potential investigation. But he insisted that “political affiliations play no part” in how the administration uses sanctions.
Eight other Republican senators raised concerns similar to Cruz’s in a Feb. 20 letter to President Joe Biden (see 2402260068).