Karim al-Yemani is the pseudonym for a researcher and reporter from Yemen, whose real name is not being used given the security situation in Yemen.
Over five months have passed since U.S. President Donald Trump re-labelled Yemen's Houthi Movement (Ansar Allah) a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The designation triggered American aid funding cuts in Yemen and a wave of sanctions against individuals and companies accused of aiding or financing the group. Yet, with the latest wave of sanctions declared late last month, targeting petroleum companies within Iran's broader so-called "Axis of Resistance" exporting oil to the Houthis in Yemen, it is not clear if the sanctions are having any discernible impact on the Houthis, as opposed to regular Yemenis.
On the surface, the terror designation and wave of sanctions aim to weaken, penalize and isolate Ansar Allah. This may be partly true. However, it has also placed millions of civilians at risk of even greater suffering and deprivation.
Um Murad, a 32-year-old widow in Sana'a, feels the impact of the U.S. sanctions on the group.
"I used to receive in-kind aid and monetary assistance from some organizations and charities in Sana'a. Today, they've vanished. No one calls or knocks on the door with help anymore," she told Democracy in Exile, her voice heavy with sadness and marked by a deep sigh.
In 2024, the United States contributed $768 million in aid to Yemen, making up half of the country's humanitarian response. But in recent months, numerous humanitarian projects have stopped across Yemen, particularly in the North, where the Houthi group dominates. Humanitarian organizations halted operations due to the U.S. sanctions against the Houthis, funding cuts and access impediments.
This shift has opened the door to misery for countless Yemeni families.
Um Murad describes the aid she once received as a "lifeline," but says her life has now become far more challenging. "For the past three months, I've been selling homemade bread in a popular city market, earning 1,000 Yemeni rials a day [about USD $1]. It's just enough to cover the bare essentials for my children," she says.
When Um Murad previously received aid, including commodities such as cooking oil, flour and rice, she and her three children would not worry about daily meals. However, buying these items is a massive financial burden for her family today.
"It is painful when my children ask for meals I cannot buy or cook for them. I don't feel sad for myself; I can often endure hunger or illness. But seeing their tears and their pain breaks my heart. It leaves me feeling helpless," she explains.
When Um Murad previously received aid, including commodities such as cooking oil, flour and rice, she and her three children would not worry about daily meals. However, buying these items is a massive financial burden for her family today.
- Karim al-Yemani
Um Murad says she is not "happy" to rely on support for a lifetime, but the war and the country's destabilized status have made her and millions of households reliant on aid.
Out of 34.9 million people in Yemen, more than 19 million require humanitarian assistance, according to U.N. reports. Funding cuts, including American financing, have forced aid agencies to scale back critical programs, leaving millions of people without life-saving support.
Ahmed Mohammed, a humanitarian worker in North Yemen, where the Houthis are in power, says listing the group as a terror organization and sanctioning them will not condemn them to collapse. Speaking to Democracy in Exile, he said, "I cannot see a fraction of weakness or a sign of capitulation the Houthis have shown since the resolution of U.S. funding cuts to Yemen and subsequent sanctions."
"What I have seen is the doubling suffering of countless families who lost access to aid," he says.
For seven years, Mohammed has worked as a field humanitarian coordinator, helping organizations reach needy families in rural areas. According to him, the collapse of donor funding because of the U.S. halt and sanctions has initiated tremendous misery for Yemen's poorest communities.
"Many families live in rural areas, where the media know nothing about them. Humanitarian organizations played a critical role in mitigating their misery. Regrettably, the support has remarkably dropped, and today millions suffer silently," Mohammed said.
He also sees himself as a victim. With a calm yet weary expression, he explained: "When aid organizations suspended their programs, I lost my humanitarian work. Life became much harder for my family and me."
Mohammed also holds the Houthis responsible for the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, but he strongly rejects cutting off aid as a strategy to remove them, even if indirect. "Anyone aiming to topple the Houthis should confront them directly—not punish innocent civilians by starving them through an aid halt," he declared.
Mustafa Nasr, Head of the Center for Economic Studies and Media, said the United States must realize that the impact of sanctions on the Houthi group and its funding sources is "limited." As he told Democracy in Exile, "The group has its own financial networks and a parallel economy built over ten years, and it is capable of bypassing these sanctions."
Indeed, the Houthis did just that when Washington designated the group as an FTO at the end of the first Trump administration. Former U.S. President Joe Biden rescinded that decision in early 2021, citing serious humanitarian concerns.
Nasr warns that imposing further sanctions on Yemeni companies and banks will strike not only the Houthi group but the entire Yemeni population. He indicated that the Houthis have contributed to obstructing the work of humanitarian organizations through interfering in their operations and by threatening and kidnapping humanitarian workers.
The United Nations said in June 2025 that the Houthis detained dozens of personnel from the international body, alongside civil society organizations and diplomatic missions last year, emphasizing, "Nothing can justify their ordeal."
But piling on aid cuts and sanctions only worsens the situation in Yemen across the board, even if the actions aim to check harmful Houthi actions.
For a decade, the Houthis have had a tight grip on power in North Yemen. Neither military force nor diplomacy has led them to a change in their behavior. American sanctions fail to weaken them, but unquestionably harm millions of Yemeni civilians.
"The Houthis' carelessness and Trump's impulsive sanctions converge in Yemen," Mohammed said, "creating an even greater humanitarian ordeal. The Houthis don't feel it, and Trump doesn't see it."
"For many, it's a death sentence."
