U.S. Treasury sanctions FDLR and M23 commanders over DRC conflict

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US sanctions FDLR and M23

Highlights

OFAC sanctioned FDLR commander Gustave Kubwayo and M23 commander John Imani Nzenze for destabilizing eastern DRC, freezing their U.S.-linked assets effective immediately.
Treasury reports M23 seized Rubaya in April 2024 and continues to control Goma and Bukavu after offensives in January and February 2025, impacting key coltan mining and regional trade.
Sanctions bar U.S. persons from transactions involving designated individuals’ property, carry penalties for violations, and incentivize whistleblowers with awards for enforcement actions over $1,000,000.

Sanctions target armed group leadership

As reported by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, imposed sanctions on Gustave Kubwayo, an FDLR commander who leads an intelligence and special operations unit, and John Imani Nzenze, an M23 commander and the group’s chief of intelligence. Treasury says both men lead armed groups that are undermining stability in eastern DRC.

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent says the United States sees an urgent need to resolve the conflict in eastern DRC and views persistent violence by armed groups as a driver of the humanitarian crisis and a threat to U.S. interests in the region. Treasury says the action supports a peaceful resolution and aligns with U.S. expectations that the DRC neutralize FDLR and affiliated groups, while Rwanda withdraws troops and military equipment from the DRC and stops supporting M23 under the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity of December 4, 2025.

FDLR, formed in 2000 from remnants of forces tied to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, finances its activities through looting, illegal taxation, kidnappings for ransom and illegal logging, according to Treasury. OFAC says Kubwayo, also known as Colonel Sirkoof, leads the Commando de Recherche et d’Action en Profondeur and previously led an FDLR operational structure in North Kivu’s Nyiragongo territory after M23 attacks forced the group to disperse in 2022.

M23, which Treasury describes as Rwanda-backed, occupies large areas of North and South Kivu and has remained central to the region’s humanitarian crisis. Treasury says Nzenze is one of the closest collaborators of Sultani Makenga and has held a leadership role since M23’s first rebellion in 2012 to 2013.

Regional and financial implications

M23’s operations have also carried economic implications beyond the battlefield. Treasury notes the group seized Rubaya in April 2024, placing it at the center of a major coltan mining area, and the U.S. State Department later raised concerns about mineral supply chains linked to instability in eastern DRC.

The department says M23 signed a peace framework agreement with the DRC government in Qatar on November 15, 2025, but then seized the strategic port city of Uvira, although it later withdrew. Treasury adds that the group still controls Goma and Bukavu, provincial capitals captured in January and February 2025, after campaigns that killed thousands of civilians and deepened mass displacement.

Under the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated individuals that are in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. The restrictions also extend to entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons, while U.S. persons are generally barred from transactions involving their property unless authorized or exempt.

Treasury says civil or criminal penalties can apply for sanctions violations, including on a strict liability basis in some civil cases, and financial institutions may face exposure for certain dealings involving blocked persons. The agency adds that sanctions are intended to change behavior rather than punish indefinitely, while individuals who provide actionable information through FinCEN’s whistleblower program may qualify for awards if enforcement penalties exceed $1,000,000.

In our earlier article on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s FY27 State Department budget hearing, we covered Democrats’ concerns about delayed administration responses to congressional oversight requests. Lawmakers argued that unanswered briefings on sanctions and major security issues are limiting transparency and accountability, while also linking foreign-policy decisions to rising domestic costs such as fuel prices and pressure on military stockpiles.

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U.S. Treasury sanctions FDLR and M23 commanders over DRC conflict

Highlights

Sanctions target armed group leadership

Regional and financial implications

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