The United States Department of the Treasury imposed new sanctions today against six people, four Syrians and two Lebanese, for their role in the production or export of captagon, a dangerous amphetamine. The four Syrians include Assad’s cousins Samer Kamal Al-Assad and Wassim Badi al-Assad as well as Walid Qaddour a Syrian businessman and a former commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army. The two Lebanese sanctioned are Noah Zaaiter and Hassan Daqqou who work closely with Hezbollah and the Assad regime.

Both Zaaiter and Daqqou are wanted by the Lebanese authorities form multiple charges. I am not sure if this has anything to do with the latest Saudi-Iranian talks, but I hope this is the start of a serious crackdown on all Captagon activities.

You can read the official press release [here].