Day: April 17, 2024

It seems that the current frontrunner in the Panama Presidential elections, José Raul Mulino (who took the place of convicted ex-President Martinelli, and inherited much of his lead in the polls) has apparently vowed to block US-bound migrants from crossing the lawless Dariénjungle straddling the country’s border with Colombia and to begin deportations..

17 APRIL 2024

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On 17 April, OFAC advised that it had issued General License 44 (Authorizing the Wind Down of Transactions Related to Oil or Gas Sector Operations in Venezuela) as well as an updated version of FAQ related to the suspension of certain US sanctions with respect to Venezuela on 18 October 2023.

https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/932826/download?inline

https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/932821/download?inline

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On 17 April, the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade published this report which identifies the scale of trade of illicit pesticides on e-commerce platforms and the vulnerabilities that expose platforms to illicit traders.  The primary objective of the report is to examine the structural vulnerabilities in the operations of e-commerce platforms that can be exploited by criminals to sell illicit pesticides online.  It goes on to present examples of listings of illicit pesticides found on major ecommerce platforms worldwide.  It found that major  e-commerce platforms worldwide sell illicit pesticides, in circumvention of national regulatory controls. 

https://www.tracit.org/tackling-the-sale-of-illicit-pesticides-on-e-commerce-platforms.html

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On 17 April, ICIJ released information about the tiny southern African kingdom of Eswatini — once known as Swaziland.  It says that a leak from inside the Eswatini FIU reveals how the king’s broken promises and his inner circle have enabled suspicious money to flow through the landlocked country and beyond.  One thing highlighted is how a “special economic zone” — touted as a way to repair the country’s tattered economy — became a ghost town home to 2 “phantom” gold refineries channelling millions of dollars to Dubai.

https://www.icij.org/investigations/swazi-secrets

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