Mahad Isse Aden (Aden) is an arms smuggler in the Dhofaye-Laboballe-Buruj Farah partnership and the Puntland-based arms smuggling and illegal fishing agent Qandala-Hafun network, alongside Omar. Aden has sold weapons to both ISIS-Somalia and al-Shabaab. Aden has been a partner of Omar in the arms trade and has similarly transferred nearly $800,000 to arms suppliers in Yemen between 2015 and 2020.
As of early 2016, Aden had worked with Iranian weapons smugglers and received his weapons from both Yemen and Iran. As of 2017, Aden had facilitated weapons into Somalia from Yemen for ISIS-Somalia. Aden has collected money from businesspeople in Bosaso, Somalia, and used it to purchase weapons and ammunition for ISIS-Somalia. Aden also purchased approximately 100 pistols, a dozen BKM machine guns, and several RPD rockets from Yemen, which he facilitated transferring to Somalia.
As of late 2020, Aden was one of the most prolific arms traffickers operating between Yemen and Puntland, Somalia. Aden serves as a key node linking Yemen- and Somalia-based arms trafficking networks, and has additionally shipped AK-47s, PKMs, DShK machine guns, ZU-23 light antiaircraft guns, and small caliber ammunition to Somalia.
Aden is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, ISIS-Somalia.
On June 6, 2003, OFAC issued the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594 (68 FR 34196, June 6, 2003 (“the Regulations”), to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 of September 23, 2001, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism” (66 FR 49079, September 25, 2001). OFAC has amended the Regulations on several occasions.
On September 9, 2019, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–1706) (IEEPA) and the United Nations Participation Act (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), issued E.O. 13886, “Modernizing Sanctions To Combat Terrorism” (84 FR 48041, September 12, 2019), effective September 10, 2019. In E.O. 13886, the President, finding it necessary to consolidate and enhance sanctions to combat acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism by foreign terrorists, terminated the national emergency declared in E.O. 12947 of January 23, 1995, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (60 FR 5079, January 25, 1995), and revoked E.O. 12947, as amended by E.O. 13099 of August 20, 1998, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (63 FR 45167, August 25, 1998). In addition, the President amended E.O. 13224, in order to build upon initial steps taken in E.O. 12947, to further strengthen and consolidate sanctions to combat the continuing threat posed by international terrorism, and in order to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency declared in E.O. 13224, with respect to the continuing and immediate threat of grave acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism committed by foreign terrorists, which include acts of terrorism that threaten the Middle East peace process.
Section 1 of E.O. 13886 replaces in its entirety section 1 of E.O. 13224, which had been amended by a number of prior Executive orders (E.O. 13224, as amended by all such authorities, is referred to herein as “amended E.O. 13224”), but does not amend the Annex to E.O. 13224, which was previously amended by E.O. 13268 of July 2, 2002, “Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Taliban and Amendment of Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001” (67 FR 44751, July 3, 2002) (“amended Annex to E.O. 13224”).
