Palmetto State News

Washington - A group of U.S. Senators, including Tim Scott, Jim Risch, Marco Rubio, Bill Hagerty, James Lankford, Mike Lee, John Cornyn, and Rick Scott, have raised concerns over the misuse of sanctions authorities by the Biden administration in Latin America and the Caribbean. In a letter to President Biden, the senators expressed their worries about the administration's approach to combating corruption at the expense of U.S. national security interests.

The senators highlighted that the administration has been targeting officials in Latin American and Caribbean governments that have historically cooperated with the United States on strategic diplomatic and national security matters. They pointed out that while these actions have been taken, cases of significant corruption by foreign government officials who undermine U.S. national security interests have been overlooked.

"We are deeply troubled by why your administration appears to have politicized the sanctions process to target certain U.S. partners and undermine U.S. national and regional security while refusing to sanction egregious actions in the region by others," the senators stated in their letter.

The group called on the administration to provide clarity on the process and criteria used for designating individuals in Latin America and the Caribbean under Section 7031(c) since January 2021. The full text of the letter can be found on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's website.

The concerns raised by Senator Tim Scott and his colleagues underscore the importance of ensuring that sanctions are applied judiciously and in alignment with U.S. national security objectives.