US lifts sanctions on Eritrea amid Red Sea strategic focus

The US Treasury Department on September 18 formally lifted sanctions on several major Eritrean entities, including the country’s military, its ruling political party, and its dominant trade corporation. The move signals a significant pivot in Washington’s approach to the Horn of Africa nation, driven largely by Eritrea’s strategic position along one of the world’s most contested waterways. The delisted entities include the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), which has governed Eritrea for decades, the Eritrean Defense Forces, the Red Sea Trading Corporation, and the Hidri Trust. Several high-profile individuals, including Hagos Ghebrehiwet Woldekidan and Abraha Kassa, were also removed from the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Why Eritrea, why now The sanctions were originally imposed in September 2021 under Executive Order 14046, largely in response to Eritrea’s military involvement in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict. Eritrean forces backed Ethiopian federal troops during the brutal two-year war that ran from 2020 to 2022, drawing widespread international condemnation for alleged human rights abuses. Eritr...