Kagame’s Rwanda is on the brink of joining the US’s list of designated terrorist sponsors, alongside North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and Syria.

Rwanda stands poised to join a list of countries designated by the United States as sponsors of terrorism, alongside North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and Syria. The process of designating Rwanda as a sponsor of terrorism commenced in the United States Senate on May 23, 2025. At that juncture, the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Jim Risch, issued the following statement in response to recent developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda:

“For too long, armies from the region, their proxy militia – including the Rwanda-backed M23 – terrorist organizations, and malign actors have terrorized communities and plundered resources in Eastern Congo. The escalation of conflict since January 2025 has dramatically heightened regional instability, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and unleashed profound suffering.”

Prior to the United States Senate’s declaration naming M23 a Rwandan proxy terrorist organization on May 23, 2025, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had already imposed sanctions on James Kabarebe. The sanctions imposed by the United States Department of the Treasury on Kabarebe were as follows: 

“James Kabarebe is a former RDF general and the current Minister of State for Regional Integration in the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is a central political and military figure and has played key roles in conflicts in the DRC over the past three decades. Kabarebe is a Rwandan government liaison to M23 and orchestrates RDF support for the armed group. In addition, Kabarebe manages much of Rwanda and M23’s generation of revenue from the DRC’s mineral resources. He has coordinated the export of extracted minerals from mining sites in the DRC for eventual export from Rwanda. 

Kabarebe is being designated pursuant to Executive Order 13413, as amended, for being responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the DRC, in or in relation to the DRC.”

On August 1, 2025, the United States Senate’s formal designation of Rwanda as a sponsor of terrorism gained significant momentum. The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee subsequently directed the US Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General, to ascertain whether M23 satisfies the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization. 

A classified report containing the results of this assessment must be submitted to the relevant congressional committees within 90 days of the enactment of the act. The appropriate congressional committees are: 

— The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

— The US Senate Committee on the Judiciary

— The US Select Committee on Intelligence

— The US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs

Once the Senate and Houde Committees receive the designation of M23 as a terrorist organization from the United States Secretary of State, it will be drafted into legislation and submitted to the United States President for formalization into the law and subsequent reinforcement. 

WHAT HAPPENS THEN?

Once M23 is designated as a terrorist organization, Rwanda, its sponsor, and therefore a country that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, will be subject to four sanctions:

—A ban on defence exports and sales;

—Restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance;

—Controls over exports of dual-use items;

—Miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.  

International and regional organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank, will cease to fund Rwanda. Notably, the United States is the primary contributor to each of these institutions. 

Rwanda will join four countries designated by the US as sponsors of terrorism:

— Cuba, January 12, 2021; 

— North Korea, November 20, 2017; 

— Iran, January 19, 1984; and 

— Syria, December 29, 1979.