US withdraws visas from more than 60 Colombian and Bolivian officials over drug trafficking and corruption
Washington cancelled visas for more than sixty officials from Colombia and Bolivia on Thursday over alleged links to drug trafficking and corruption.
State Department sanctions senior Colombian and Bolivian officials
The United States withdrew visas on Thursday from more than sixty officials, former officials and personalities from Colombia and Bolivia, according to nmas.com.mx, over alleged links to drug trafficking or corruption activities.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that his department has expanded its anti-corruption and anti-drug trafficking campaign in the region, as part of the Shield of the Americas alliance led by President Donald Trump.
Colombia: 21 affected, including Petro campaign chief
In Colombia, the State Department affected 21 officials and former officials. Among the most prominent is Ricardo Roa Barragán, former president of state oil company Ecopetrol and former manager of Gustavo Petro's presidential campaign in 2022.
Also appearing on the list are Yahir Acuña, current mayor of Sincelejo; elected senator Wadith Manzur, whose swearing-in never took place because justice ordered his detention in March; and congresswoman Karen Manrique.
Colombia joined the Shield of the Americas following the assumption of power by right-winger Abelardo de la Espriella in August.
Bolivia: judges, prosecutors and legislators among those sanctioned
In Bolivia, visa cancellations affected judge Julio Alba Flores and magistrate Aldo Quezada, both from Santa Cruz, as well as several legislators.
Also included were former attorney general Juan Lanchipa Ponce, the head of the Free Alliance parliamentary bloc, Rafael López Mercado, and the co-ordinating prosecutor of the Controlled Substances Unit in Santa Cruz, Julio César Porras Velarde.
Washington had already withdrawn visas in late September from around twenty senior Bolivian officials, including attorney general Roger Mariaca, who was detained by police shortly after the measure.
Visa restrictions were also extended to citizens of Peru and Ecuador.
Source: Google News BO — Crime