WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday barred U.S. citizens from any financial dealings with Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and said he should step down.
"Today's designation will isolate him and his inner circle from the world's financial system and underscore the desire of the international community that he step down," said Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Treasury said its action applied to both Gbagbo and his wife, Simone. It also targeted three of Gbagbo's senior advisers -- Desire Tagro, Pascal Affi N'Guessan and Alcide Ilahiri Djedje -- for acting on Gbagbo's behalf.
Szubin said Gbagbo shows "wanton disregard for the will and well-being" of Ivorians and said that not only are U.S. citizens barred from dealing with him but also that any of his assets found within U.S. jurisdiction will be seized. Ivory Coast has been in turmoil since a November 28 presidential election that Western powers and African states say was won by Alassane Ouattara, who now claims the right to the presidency.
(Reporting by Glenn Somerville, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
