Trump re-designates Houthis as foreign terrorist organization

Anadolu, Philippine News Agency

FILE: Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona in 2016. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump re-designated Yemen’s Houthi group as a foreign terrorist organization Wednesday, according to the White House.

The Biden administration revoked the designation of the Houthis, or Ansar Allah, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on Feb. 16, 2021.

The White House said in a statement that the order was issued by the president, adding the Yemeni group has fired at US Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform.

It also said the group’s activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of the US’ regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade.

“It is the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate Ansar Allah’s capabilities and operations, deprive it of resources, and thereby end its attacks on U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners, and maritime shipping in the Red Sea,” said the statement.

“Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State shall, after consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of the Treasury, submit a report to the President, through the National Security Council, concerning the designation of Ansar Allah as a foreign terrorist organization consistent with 8 U.S.C. 1189,” it said.

It also said the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) shall jointly conduct a review of the UN partners, nongovernmental organizations and contractors through which USAID works in Yemen and identify any entities with a relationship with USAID that have made payments to members of, or governmental entities controlled by the Houthis.

“The Administrator of USAID shall take all appropriate action to terminate the projects, grants, or contracts identified under subsection (c) of this section as appropriate,” the statement added.

The Houthis have targeted Israeli cargo ships or ones linked with Tel Aviv in the Red Sea with missiles and drones in a show of support for the Gaza Strip, where nearly 47,000 people have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023.

Since early 2024, a coalition led by the US has been carrying out airstrikes that it said target Houthi locations in Yemen in response to the group’s Red Sea attacks, with occasional retaliation from the Houthis. (Anadolu)