The US State Department on Monday announced it had revoked visas from various judges, prosecutors, lawmakers and businessmen in four South American nations run by right-wing allies of President Donald Trump.
“This policy restricts visas for foreign nationals — and their immediate family members — who undermine a democratically-elected government through corruption or narcotrafficking activities in our region,” State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott said.
The countries concerned are Ecuador and three nations which have recently inaugurated right-wing leaders: Bolivia, Peru and Colombia.
All four are members of Trump’s Shield of the Americas initiative to combat drug cartels in Latin America.
The State Department, in announcing the visa revocations, cited a recent joint statement issued by the initiative’s members that commits “to coordination of sanctions, designations, and financial actions against terrorists and criminals who undermine security, rule of law, and democracy.”
Those listed for visa revocation included 12 Bolivians, two Colombians, two Ecuadorans and one Peruvian.
Among the people targeted in Bolivia were several senior prosecutors, an anti-corruption and violence against women investigating judge, and a police colonel.
Nine additional Bolivians who did not have US visas have been “rendered generally ineligible to receive visas.”
The statement did not provide details on why the specific individuals were targeted.
It additionally said that the State Department was placing Bolivia’s current attorney general, Roger Mariaca, on a blacklist of individuals involved in “significant corruption.”
It accused Mariaca, who was elected in 2024, of having “abused his public positions by soliciting and accepting bribes to facilitate narcotrafficking and helped violent criminals evade justice.”
The designation makes Mariaca and his immediate family generally ineligible for entry into the US.
Since returning to power, Trump has sought to reassert US dominance across Latin America while cracking down on drug trafficking in the region with a controversial and lethal military campaign.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American who has long been a vocal critic of leftist governments in Latin America, has played a key role in leading the Trump administration’s push.
AFP
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