US to lift Eritrea sanctions

Eritrea is a small, closed-off country. But on a map, it sits in a very loud place — right on the Red Sea, near the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint that links the Indian Ocean to the Suez route. That is why a sanctions story suddenly matters far beyond Eritrea itself. Washington is now preparing to lift sanctions imposed in 2021, and the reason looks less like forgiveness than geography. ### What changed? The immediate news is that the US is set to remove sanctions on Eritrea, based on an internal government document seen by Reuters and picked up widely on May 5 and May 6, 2026. Those sanctions had targeted Eritrea’s ruling party, the Eritrean military, affiliated companies, and senior officials over atrocities committed during the Tigray war in Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch said this week that Washington is considering a broader reset in ties, including sanctions relief. ### Why was Eritrea sanctioned in the first place? The 2021 measures were tied to Eritrea’s role in the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Treasury sanctioned the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, the Eritrean Defense Forces, Hidri Trust, Red Sea Trading Corporation, and two senior Eritrean officials under Executive Order 14046. The basic US argument then was that Eritrean forces were helping drive a humanitarian disaster and destabilizing Ethiopia. ### So why reverse course now? Because the Red Sea got more dangerous, and Eritrea suddenly looks useful again. Eritrea has a long coastline opposite Saudi Arabia and sits beside the African side of the Bab al-Mandeb. That waterway is one of the world’s key shipping chokepoints. The US Energy Information Administration says the Suez-SUMED-Bab al-Mandeb corridor handled about 12% of global seaborne oil trade and 8% of LNG trade in the first half of 2023. In plain English — if that corridor is shaky, energy and shipping markets feel it fast. ### Why does Eritrea matter so much on that map? Location. Eritrea’s southern port of Assab sits close to the mouth of the Bab al-Mandeb. That makes the country strategically valuable for surveillance, logistics, naval access, and influence over traffic entering and leaving the Red Sea. You do not need Eritrea to be rich or democratic for that to matter. You just need it to be there. That is the whole logic of this pivot. ### Is this really about shipping? Basically, yes — but shipping in the broadest sense. Since late 2023, attacks and threats in and around the Red Sea have pushed many carriers to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope. UNCTAD warned that the disruption put the free movement of goods and tightly linked supply chains at risk. Other shipping trackers have shown transit volumes through Bab al-Mandeb and Suez staying well below normal as operators price in danger, delay, and insurance costs. ### Is Ethiopia part of this too? Yes. Reuters’ reporting says the move is also being read as a signal to neighboring Ethiopia. Ethiopia has no coastline and has been increasingly vocal about wanting secure sea access. A warmer US-Eritrea relationship could strengthen Asmara’s hand in that regional balance and complicate Ethiopian pressure. So this is not only a maritime story — it is also a Horn of Africa power story. ### What is the catch? The catch is human rights. Eritrea has one of the most repressive political systems in the world, and the sanctions were not symbolic — they were imposed over mass abuses. Human Rights Watch is openly warning that lifting them without accountability would send a terrible signal. So Washington seems to be making a hard tradeoff: strategic access now versus pressure over abuses later. ### Bottom line? This is a Red Sea story disguised as a sanctions story. The US is not rediscovering Eritrea because Eritrea changed. It is rediscovering Eritrea because the map changed around it — and because when a chokepoint starts to wobble, every coastline near it gets more valuable.