"The Department of State has designated Salah Abdeslam as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions and penalties on foreign persons that have committed, or pose a serious risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States," the statement said.
On March 18, Abdeslam was captured during a police raid in Molenbeek, Belgium and was later charged for his role in the Paris attacks that left 130 people dead and injured hundreds of others. Witnesses identified Abdeslam as the driver of gunmen in the Paris attacks and authorities later found his DNA on the suicide belt used in the attacks and on explosives in an apartment in Brussels.
Abdeslam later confessed that he had planned on being a suicide bomber outside of the soccer stadium on Paris but decided to back out.
As a result of the State Department’s designation, any property Abdeslam may have interest in the United States will be blocked, while US person will be prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him.
Less than a week after Abdeslam’s arrest, on March 22, two suicide bomb blasts hit Brussels international airport and an another explosion shook Maelbeek metro station in the city, which killed over 3o people and injured more than 300.
