This Thursday, the United States announced the tightening of its visa policy for Latin America and the Caribbean, which so far affects 26 people, of whom they did not reveal their nationalities or names.
“This Administration will deny adversary powers the ability to own or control vital assets or threaten the security and prosperity of the United States in our region,” he initially explains in a press release.
You may also be interested in: Cuba, in the Pentagon’s sights but with Chinese backing
And they added: “In support of this fundamental objective, the Department of State announces a significant expansion of an existing visa restriction policy,” it indicated.
The prerogative of giving or withdrawing visas is a strategy commonly used by Donald Trump’s government. The most notorious case was that of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, after his presence at a demonstration in the streets of New York in September on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly.
In the midst of a verbal struggle between Trump and Petro, the State Department withdrew his visa the following month and also announced sanctions against him and members of his family for alleged links to drug trafficking.
These sanctions were later withdrawn, as part of the process of normalization of relations between both presidents that led to an invitation to Petro to the White House.
No names will be revealed
In the case of the Colombian president, the US government provided public information; However, the State Department stressed that it is not obliged to give names, for confidentiality reasons.
“We will not disclose the names of individuals affected by this visa restriction policy,” a State Department source explained to AFP on condition of anonymity.
You may also be interested: Trump rules out extending the truce with Iran
“This expanded policy allows us to restrict US visas for nationals of countries in our region that (…) finance, provide significant support or carry out activities that are adverse to and undermine the interests of the United States in our hemisphere,” the text explains.
He also added that “to demonstrate our commitment to this expanded policy, we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on 26 people throughout our hemisphere who have participated in these activities,” he added, without further details.
Leave a Reply