US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted today that the US has blacklisted three individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina who have threatened the rule of law, undermined institutions, obstructed or threatened the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement and contributed for international distribution of drugs, reports BTA.

The Dayton Peace Agreement ended the civil war in Bosnia (1992-1995), but there are still areas in the country that have not been cleared of mines.

Bosnia is divided into two semi-autonomous entities - the Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation.

Each part has its own government, parliament and police, but the two entities are linked through common state-level institutions, including the judiciary, army, security services and tax administration.

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"Ethno-nationalist political parties continue to undermine democratic institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), engage in corruption and violate the Dayton Peace Agreement to undermine the state of BiH for narrow personal and political gains. The leadership of Republika Srpska (RS) is committed to separatist actions to take away powers from the state and give them to the governments and institutions of the region.The political parties based in the Muslim-Croat Federation have used key institutions of the justice and security sectors to misuse resources in support of political goals and to protect criminal organizations with which they are connected, says a statement of the US State Department, quoted by the newspaper "Dnevni Avaz".

The announcement stated that the State Department is imposing sanctions on three individuals who pose a threat to the rule of law, regional stability and the aspirations of those who aspire to a functioning democratic state.

The Ministry of Finance has sanctioned Osman Mehmedagić, former Director General of the Security and Intelligence Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mehmedagić abused a state-owned telecommunications company for the benefit of his Democratic Action Party.

There is also reliable information that Mehmedagić cooperated with criminal networks for personal and party enrichment.

This activity reflects a broader pattern of behavior by Mehmedagić and the Democratic Action Party of using positions of power for personal and party gain, the State Department said.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance sanctioned Dragan Stankovic, director of the Directorate for Geodetic and Property Affairs of Republika Srpska.

Stanković was sanctioned for promoting a law that sought to "usurp" BiH state property in violation of decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH, the Constitution of BiH and the ban on disposal of state property imposed by the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance sanctioned Edin Gačanin, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most notorious drug traffickers in the world.

In addition to attempted drug trafficking in several countries, Gachanin's cartel is involved in money laundering and is linked to the Kinahan organized crime group, previously designated by the US Treasury Department as a significant transnational criminal organization, the US State Department said .

The assets of the three citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are frozen, and Americans are prohibited from doing business with them.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

US Department of State