US revokes visa of Bolivian Attorney General Roger Mariaca over drug trafficking
Washington accuses Roger Mariaca of accepting bribes to facilitate drug trafficking and helping criminals evade justice. His visa was revoked along with those of 26 other Latin American officials.
Mariaca among 27 officials with visas revoked for corruption and drug trafficking
The Government of Donald Trump revoked the visas of 27 officials and former officials from Latin America due to accusations of corruption, according to oxigeno.bo. Among those affected is Bolivia's attorney general, Roger Mariaca, along with more than 20 Bolivian prosecutors and judges.
Of that Bolivian group, 12 are current visa holders and nine others will see their application denied if they submit one. Also on the list are two Colombians — a business magnate and a legislator — two Ecuadorians and a Peruvian judge.
Mariaca, chosen for a six-year term in 2024, is accused of soliciting and accepting bribes to facilitate drug trafficking, as well as helping violent criminals evade justice. The State Department statement warns that "his actions endanger President Trump's efforts to combat narcoterrorism, whilst undermining the very democratic institutions that Bolivia, as a Shield participant, is working to strengthen".
The State Department announced the revocations last Monday and framed them within Washington's commitment to defending democratic governance in the hemisphere against corruption and drug trafficking. The Trump administration also presents them as part of a broader pressure strategy linked to the "Shield of the Americas", an initiative created this same year.
The four affected countries — Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru — are governed by leaders with friendly relations with Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Colombia, Ecuador and Peru this month and committed Washington's support to their efforts against drug trafficking and human trafficking.
The revocation of visas as an instrument of diplomatic pressure is not new for the Trump administration. The State Department has applied similar measures to curb immigration or pressure foreign governments, from restrictions on South African officials accused of discriminating against white people to the refusal to issue visas to the Palestinian delegation for the United Nations General Assembly.
Source: Google News BO — Crime