The US Treasury said on Wednesday it had blacklisted the chief of Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation and a nephew of Robert Mugabe, the African state's president.

The Treasury identified Zimbabwe's spy chief as Happyton Bonyongwe in a statement, which also announced that Leo Mugabe, a nephew of the country's president, would also be subjected to targeted US financial sanctions.

"The US financial system is closed to Robert Mugabe, his cohorts and their businesses," said Treasury official Adam Szubin, who runs the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Officials said Leo Mugabe is a member of Zimbabwe's parliament.

"Today's designations are part of an increased effort to pressure those who are aiding Mugabe's efforts to cripple Zimbabwe, including through violence and intimidation," Szubin said.

The sanctions were announced after the US government on Friday expressed regret over President Mugabe's decision to schedule a general election without an agreement on conditions with the opposition.

Opposition leaders have accused Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe to independence almost 28 years ago, of running a dictatorship.

The Treasury said it had also blacklisted two Zimbabwean companies, Zidco Holdings and Jongwe Printing and Publishing Company, which it said are owned or controlled by the Mugabe "regime."

Washington's sanctions freeze any assets Bonyongwe, Leo Mugabe or the two companies hold in the United States, effectively locking them out of the US financial system.

The sanctions also bar any US citizen from conducting financial deals with the two men and the two companies.

The Treasury said Zidco Holdings is a financial holding company operated by Mugabe's government and that the Jongwe Printing and Publishing Company is the ruling party's publishing arm.

AFP

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