“The
disappointment
just
keeps
getting
worse
and
worse,
unfortunately,”
said
the
official,
speaking
on
background
to
reporters.
“The
government
seems
to
be
getting
even
more
violent
in
their
response
to
any
form
of
opposition.”
The
official
said
Washington
had
made
clear
to
the
government
of
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
what
it
would
take
to
improve
relations
between
Zimbabwe
and
the
United
States.
U.S.
officials
have
previously
called
on
Mnangagwa
to
change
Zimbabwe’s
laws
restricting
media
freedom
and
allowing
protests.
Mnangagwa’s
government
last
week
banned
anti-government
protests
by
the
opposition
Movement
for
Democratic
Change,
which
accuses
the
authorities
of
political
repression
and
mismanaging
the
economy.
Police
fired
tear
gas
to
disperse
crowds
and
barred
access
to
the
MDC’s
Harare
offices.
Anger
among
the
population
has
mounted
over
triple-digit
inflation,
rolling
power
cuts
and
shortages
of
U.S.
dollars,
fuel
and
bread.
In
March,
President
Donald
Trump
extended
by
one
year
U.S.
sanctions
against
100
entities
and
individuals
in
Zimbabwe,
including
Mnangagwa,
saying
his
government
had
failed
to
bring
about
political
and
economic
changes.