US imposes new sanctions against Bosnia and Herzegovina officials

MADRID, 7 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United States has imposed this Monday new sanctions against the president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of the Republika Srpska, for threatening the democratic institutions of the Baltic country.

"This action is directed at Marinko Cavara, President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Alen Seranic, Minister of Health and Welfare of the Republika Srpska, who have threatened the stability of the region by undermining the Dayton Peace Accords and democratic processes or institutions," the US Treasury Department reported in a statement.

Thus, the Treasury Department explained that Monday's action reinforces "the commitment of the United States to promote accountability in the Western Balkans."

"Marinko Cavara and Alen Seranic have sought to pursue ethnonationalist and political agendas at the expense of the democratic institutions and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.

These new sanctions block the assets of Cavara and Seranic under US jurisdiction and prohibit Americans from conducting any transactions with them.

The United States already announced on January 5 economic sanctions against the Serbian nationalist leader Milorad Dodik for alleged crimes of corruption and attempts to destabilize the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

These sanctions not only blocked Dodik's financial assets in the United States and prohibited American citizens and companies from doing business with him, but also made it difficult for other companies and entities abroad to do so for fear of violating these restrictions.

In the sanctions at the beginning of the year, the Treasury also included the television channel Alternativna Televizija, owned by a company closely linked to the Dodik family.

Dodik, a supporter of secession from the Serb-majority Republika Srpska, is a key deputy in the region and a Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose head of state is made up of three representatives of the different identities that make up the country, Bosnians, Serbs and Croats.

Dodik has repeatedly rejected Washington's sanctions and has denied that he is behind any attempt to break the Constitution and the 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the Bosnian war.