The United States on Thursday imposed additional sanctions against Russian private military company the Wagner Group, which U.S. officials say has been helping Russia's military in its war in Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury Department said it designated Wagner Group as a "significant transnational criminal organization" as part of action targeting dozens of people and entities in an effort to degrade Russia's ability to wage the war.
The U.S. license, issued at the Trinidad government's request, means the Caribbean island nation will be allowed to resume doing business with Venezuelan heavily sanctioned state-run oil company PDVSA, related to the Dragon gas field. Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the senior official said that "the Maduro regime will not be permitted to receive any cash payments from this project" and that all remaining U.S. sanctions would remain unchanged and still be enforced.
Those that engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions. The United States has previously imposed sanctions on companies and people it accused of producing or transferring Iranian drones that Russia has used to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The importance of Mir cards for Russians rose significantly this year, amid sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and after U.S. payments firms Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc suspended operations in Russia and their cards that were issued in Russia stopped working abroad. "The American agency clarified that it has no objection to the use of Mir bank cards by private individuals, namely citizens who have migrated from Russia to Kazakhstan, to make life-sustaining transactions," Kazakhstan's financial market regulator said in a statement, referring to the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.