Mali, Burkina Faso Impose Travel Ban On US Citizens
Mali and Burkina Faso have announced travel restrictions on American nationals in a tit-for-tat move following the United States’ decision to include both countries on a no-entry list.
The two West African states were recently placed under full entry restrictions under US President Donald Trump’s expanded travel ban.
In response, both countries said they would apply the same measures to US nationals.
According to the BBC, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Affairs Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré explained that his government was acting on the “principle of reciprocity”, while Mali’s foreign ministry emphasized the need for “mutual respect and sovereign equality”.
Mali further expressed regret over the US’s action, noting that “such an important decision was made without any prior consultation”.
The move by Mali and Burkina Faso follows a similar travel ban on US citizens announced by neighbouring Niger earlier this week. All three countries are currently ruled by military juntas that seized power in recent coups.
In recent years, the three states have formed their own regional bloc and shifted towards Russia as relations with other West African nations and Western powers have become strained.
Naija News House in December reported that the United States government has suspended the processing of all immigration applications from 19 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, raising fears of prolonged legal limbo for thousands of prospective immigrants.
President Donald Trump’s administration defended the decision, citing national security concerns following an attack on National Guard members in Washington last week. An Afghan national was arrested as a suspect.
Under the new policy, all applicants from the affected countries must undergo a comprehensive vetting process, AFP reports.
The administration did not specify how long the pause will last or whether additional nations could be added.
Several of the countries on the list were already under partial travel bans. Countries facing the most severe restrictions include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Naija News House had earlier reported that President Donald Trump issued a sharply worded Thanksgiving message calling for an immediate and permanent halt to immigration from what he described as “all Third World Countries,” while criticising current U.S. immigration policies and political leaders.
