June 17, 2020
The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, named for the Syrian military defector who smuggled out 53,275 photographs of tortured detainees from Assad's prisons, entered into force on June 17, 2020, imposing the most sweeping US sanctions yet on the Assad regime and anyone doing business with it. The act targeted not only Syrian government officials and entities but also foreign companies — including Russian and Iranian firms — that provided construction, engineering, or infrastructure services to Assad, effectively blocking any reconstruction funding. The sanctions represented a bipartisan US determination that Assad should face economic consequences for his atrocities even after his military victory; they also frustrated Gulf Arab states and European countries that had quietly explored normalization with Damascus. The Caesar Act has been called the 'economic death sentence' of the Assad government, ensuring Syria remained an economic pariah.