--- title: President Obama Imposes Sanctions on Burundi Officials description: The White House says all have overseen or engaged in activities that have contributed to the turmoil in the region canonical: https://time.com/4124403/burundi-sanctions/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-23T17:18:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:51:06.508Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Imposes Sanctions on Burundi Officials og:description: After politically motivated violence. og:url: https://time.com/4124403/burundi-sanctions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7057b17e4fb54c18/69887272cf40a809c9c40c9f/barack-obama-burundi.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: U.S. President Barack Obama speak to media during news conference on November 22, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Imposes Sanctions on Burundi Officials twitter:description: After politically motivated violence. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7057b17e4fb54c18/69887272cf40a809c9c40c9f/barack-obama-burundi.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Imposes Sanctions on Burundi Officials > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 23, 2015 5:18 PM UTC  U.S. President Barack Obama speak to media during news conference on November 22, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. U.S. President Barack Obama speak to media during news conference on November 22, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mohd Samsul Mohd Said—2015 Mohd Samsul Mohd Said by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 23, 2015 5:18 PM UTC President Obama imposed sanctions on several key officials in Burundi after violence has become commonplace in the wake of its president’s disputed third term. The White House said Monday it is not targeting the people of the East African nation, but rather government officials and armed groups that have contributed to the violence and engaged in “ threats to peace and security, actions that undermine democratic institutions, and human rights abuses.” The administration has frozen assets and property and blocked engagement with four Burundian officials, including the current minister of public security, the deputy-director general of national police, the former chief of Burundi Intelligence and the former minister of defense. The administrations says all have overseen or engaged in actions that threaten peace in the country. “We have received multiple, credible, and ongoing reports of targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, and political repression by security forces, as well as violence and abuses by youth militia affiliated with the ruling party,” said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price. ” Recent dangerous rhetoric by government officials has further contributed to the climate of fear and risks inciting further violence.” The Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza’s third term sparked clashes in the country, which the Obama administration has labeled a “humanitarian, economic, and security crisis.” Some 217,000 have fled the country since last spring, when the president declared he would seek a third term. He survived a coup and won that election in July. President Obama denounced the election as “[not credible](http://www.voanews.com/content/us-calls-burundi-election-deeply-flawed/2878185.html)” during a visit to Kenya over the summer and has been speaking [directly to the Burundian people](https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2015/11/14/message-president-obama-people-burundi) urging peace. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4124403/burundi-sanctions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4124403/burundi-sanctions/"},"headline":"President Obama Imposes Sanctions on Burundi Officials","datePublished":"2015-11-23T17:18:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:51:06.508Z","description":"The White House says all have overseen or engaged in activities that have contributed to the turmoil in the region","url":"https://time.com/4124403/burundi-sanctions/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama","Foreign Policy","Obama","Burundi"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7057b17e4fb54c18/69887272cf40a809c9c40c9f/barack-obama-burundi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7057b17e4fb54c18/69887272cf40a809c9c40c9f/barack-obama-burundi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. President Barack Obama speak to media during news conference on November 22, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.","caption":"U.S. President Barack Obama speak to media during news conference on November 22, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.","creditText":"Mohd Samsul Mohd Said—2015 Mohd Samsul Mohd Said","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4124403/burundi-sanctions/","name":"President Obama Imposes Sanctions on Burundi Officials"}}]}] ```