The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on former Congolese President Joseph Kabila, accusing him of financing and providing political support to rebel groups that have destabilized the mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Treasury Department froze any assets Kabila may hold in the United States or that pass through U.S. financial institutions, while Secretary Scott Bessent cast the sanctions as a direct enforcement of the U.S.-brokered Washington Accords.
“President Trump is paving the way for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he has been clear that those who continue to sow instability will be held accountable,” Bessent said in a statement. “Treasury will continue to use its full range of tools to support the integrity of the Washington Accords.”
Kabila, who stepped down in 2019 after 18 years in power, is alleged by the U.S. to have supported the Rwanda-backed M23 and Congo River Alliance rebel groups, which are seeking to topple the current government in Kinshasa. The State Department, in its own announcement, said the United States “stands with the Congolese people and calls on all regional leaders to reject those who perpetuate violence and instability.” A spokesperson added, “Today’s action sends a clear message: we will hold accountable anyone who obstructs peace efforts in the DRC.”
The sanctions arrive as the Washington Accords, a U.S.-mediated peace deal signed by Congo and Rwanda last year, teeters on the edge of collapse. President Trump has repeatedly pointed to the agreement as a foreign-policy achievement, but the cease-fire has been repeatedly broken by rebel advances and cross-border attacks despite international monitors. The Treasury Department did not specify what assets, if any, Kabila holds in U.S. jurisdictions. The sanctions also apply to any entities that transact with him through American financial networks.