White House Removes Four Bosnian Serb Nationals from U.S. Sanctions List

The Trump administration has quietly removed four Bosnian Serb individuals from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, reversing sanctions imposed under Executive Order 14033, which targets actors undermining democratic institutions and the Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The delistings affect the following individuals:

• Jelena Pajic Bastinac – sanctioned for enabling patronage networks linked to Republika Srpska leadership and assisting political figures accused of destabilizing state institutions.

• Danijel Dragicevic – originally designated for activities supporting secessionist agendas and obstructing reforms backed by the international community.

• Goran Rakovic – sanctioned for facilitating financial channels used by nationalist political actors to evade sanctions and undermine the Bosnian central government.

• Dijana Milankovic – targeted for providing material support to sanctioned officials and participating in efforts that challenged Bosnia’s territorial integrity.

All four were sanctioned under E.O. 14033, issued in 2021 to counter corruption, ethno-nationalist obstruction, and anti-democratic actions in the Western Balkans. Their removal marks the first major rollback of these measures since the order’s issuance.

Context

The delistings come amid renewed diplomatic engagement with Serbia and Bosnian Serb leaders and reflect a recalibration of U.S. strategy in the region.

State Department officials have long been split over how aggressively to police Bosnian Serb elites, some of whom maintain significant influence in Washington through nationalist-aligned lobbyists, including disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Serb nationalist sympathizers within U.S. policy circles—particularly those advocating for stronger bilateral ties with Belgrade—have argued that sanctions have proven ineffective and risk driving Republika Srpska further toward Russia. Critics counter that these removals undermine U.S. leverage and send the wrong message as Milorad Dodik, the sanctioned Republika Srpska president, pursues deeper institutional separation from the Bosnian state.