US President Donald Trump has redesignated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a move that cuts off third-party resources for the insurgent group.
In January 2021, almost at the end of his first term (2017-2021), Trump had already designated the Ansar Allah group, known as the Houthis, as terrorists, but his successor, Democratic President Joe Biden, lifted the order upon arriving at the White House so that sanctions would not aggravate Yemen's severe humanitarian crisis.
"As a result of the Biden administration's weak policy, the Houthis have fired on U.S. Navy warships dozens of times, launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure in partner countries, and attacked commercial vessels transiting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait more than 100 times," the White House said in a statement.
Designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization cuts off their resource flow and carries sanctions and travel bans for those who provide material support to the group.
In the executive order, Trump directs the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to end its relationship with “entities that have made payments to the Houthis or opposed international efforts to counter the Houthis.”
It also directs the federal agency and the Secretary of State to jointly review United Nations partners, non-governmental organizations, and contractors operating in Yemen.
“It is now the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate Houthi capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and thereby end their attacks against American personnel and civilians, American partners, and shipping in the Red Sea,” the note emphasizes. EFE
Trump designates Houthis as a terrorist organization
