On December 19, 2019, a major mafia crackdown involving more than 3,000 Italian police officers resulted in 334 arrests across Germany, Bulgaria, Switzerland, and 12 provinces in Italy. Out of the 334 arrests, 260 suspects were jailed and 70 were placed under house arrest. In addition to the arrests, authorities seized or froze property with a value of approximately $16.7 million.[1]

 As the ratifications of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) continue, professionals are focusing on the enforcement cooperation improvements in intellectual property and environmental law.  On January 16, 2020, the U.S. Senate approved the agreement by a vote of 89 to 10.  The month before, the House approved the agreement by a similarly wide margin, after months of negotiations between Democrats and the White House, which produced pro-labor revisions and jettisoned drug-exclusivity provisions the pharmaceutical industry sought.[1]

In a historic step on December 11, 2019, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) along with its partner organizations – Mwatana for Human Rights from Yemen, the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) based in the United Kingdom, Centre d’Estudis per la Pau J.M. Delàs (Centre Delàs) from Spain, and Osservatorio Permanente sulle Armi Leggere e le Politiche di Sicurezza e Difesa (O.P.A.L.) – submitted a communication (“the Communication”) to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the situation in Yemen.[1]

In late December, Sudan announced it opened an investigation into the crimes committed in Darfur by the former president Omar al-Bashir, 75, and his regime.[1] This move aims to end years of impunity and bring perpetrators to justice during a fragile political transition. A member of al-Bashir’s regime who is also being investigated is former intelligence chief Salah Gosh, who faces four cases against him.

On January 6, 2020, the same day the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed it plans to send some Mexican asylum seekers to Guatemala to slow or block migration to the United States, Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Relations issued a statement saying it disagreed with the U.S.’s proposal to send as many as 900 Mexican nationals to Guatemala within the next month. [1]

On December 15, 2019, the French government extradited Mario Sandoval to Argentina, where he is suspected of participating in around 500 crimes against humanity in the Clandestine Center of Detention, which functioned as the Navy Mechanics School (ESMA) during the dictatorship.[1] Sandoval, 66, resided in France since 1985 and fought extradition to Argentina since 2012 for the disappearance of a university student Beatriz Cantarini de Abriata.[2]

The IELR sends everyone best wishes for 2020.  2019 proved to be yet another important year for the international enforcement community.

On January 6, 2020, the same day the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed it plans to send some Mexican asylum seekers to Guatemala to slow or block migration to the United States, Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Relations issued a statement saying it disagreed with the U.S.’s proposal to send as many as 900 Mexican nationals to Guatemala within the next month. [1]

On December 23, 2019, a court in Luanda, Angola ordered an asset freeze of the personal bank accounts of Isabel dos Santos, her husband, Sindika Dokolo, and Mario da Silva in Angola, and the stakes they have in nine Angolan firms as a result of the alleged losses they caused to the Angolan government of over $1 billion.[1]  Dos Santos is the wealthiest woman in Africa and is the daughter of former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos.

On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) into law. Title 75 of the NDAA contains the “Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019,” (“PEESA” or the “Act”) which authorizes the President to impose sanctions on foreign persons who knowingly sell, lease, or provide vessels for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 or TurkStream pipeline projects, or any successor to either project. The policies advanced by PEESA are consistent with prior U.S. policy and legislation, particularly the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of August 2017. This MassPoint publication discusses PEESA’s policies, sanctions mechanics, the relationship between PEESA and CAATSA, and key takeaways.