Countryman: Tesic on U.S. Radar For More Than 20 Years

Thomas Countryman (printscreen/YouTube)

Former U.S. diplomat and chair of the Arms Control Association’s board of directors Thomas Countryman has said for the Voice of America that the U.S. government is well acquainted with the activities of arms trafficker Slobodan Tesic and his dealings on the black and grey arms market, and has been so for over two decades.

Nine Serbian citizens and nine companies, associated either with Tesic or his collaborators, were blacklisted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on Dec. 9.

“What is new in the Treasury Department’s press release is that he [Tesic] hasn’t been sanctioned because of a particular arms deal, but because he fell under the general anti-corruption provisions of the Magnitsky Act. This will further limit his associates’ capacity to act in the U.S. or use U.S. currency,” explained Countryman.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke about the Treasury’s new sanction list during a press conference held at the State Department on Dec. 11, saying that the U.S. government has taken an historical number of actions in order to support the oppressed around the globe and fight those responsible.

“As of Monday [Dec. 9], under the global Magnitsky Act, the American government has blacklisted additional 68 individuals and entities for corruptive activities and abuse of human rights,” Pompeo said.

These comprise individuals as well as companies from Burma, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Latvia, Pakistan, Serbia, Slovakia and South Sudan, Pompeo added.

The U.S. blacklisted Tesic in Dec. 2017, under the Magnitsky Act, which authorizes the U.S. government to sanction those who it sees as human rights offenders.

The Department of the Treasury has yet to respond to the Voice of America’s request to comment on the expansion of its blacklist when it comes to Tesic and his associates.