The United States has imposed sanctions on the commander of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's bodyguard unit for alleged human rights abuses.
General Hing Bun Hieng, head of the Prime Minister Bodyguard Unit (PMBU), was sanctioned for "being the leader of an entity involved in serious human rights abuse," the US Treasury Department said.
The sanctioning of a Hun Sen loyalist comes amid increasingly strained relations between Washington and Phnom Penh. In March, Hun Sen accused the US of lying when Washington blamed Cambodia's military and other entities for recent political instability and suspended their aid.
An ongoing crackdown by the government and its allies ahead of a July 29 election has targeted some NGOs, independent media and opposition politicians. The government says it is enforcing the law and accuses opponents of conspiring with foreigners to oust it.
The PMBU has been implicated in incidents dating back to 1997, the Treasury Department said, including a 2015 attack on opposition politicians that resulted in three PMBU members going to jail. They were promoted upon their release.
The department also cited an incident where a US citizen received shrapnel wounds.
Hing Bun Hieng "was personally implicated in attacks against a number of individuals, including a US citizen," Sigal Mandelker, under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.
The sanctions, imposed under a 2012 law known as the Magnitsky Act, block any property or interest in property held by the general within US jurisdiction. It also prohibits US persons from engaging in transactions with Hing Bun Hieng.
Cambodia's government did not comment.
A close ally of China, Hun Sen has frequently publicly criticised the United States, particularly for dropping bombs on Cambodia during the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975.
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