US restricts visas for more than 60 Colombian, Bolivian officials

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WASHINGTON - The US State Department said Thursday it was restricting the visas of more than 60 public officials and prominent figures from Colombia and Bolivia, citing alleged connections to corruption and narcotrafficking.

"The Department is imposing visa restrictions on 21 individuals in Colombia... who, through corruption or narcotrafficking activities, undermine democratically elected governments in our hemisphere -- regardless of their political affiliation," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Among those facing visa restrictions were Ricardo Roa Barragan, the former president of Colombia's state oil company Ecopetrol and a campaign manager of ex-president Gustavo Petro, who left office this August.

Other visa restrictions include Yahir Acuna, the mayor of Sincelejo, capital of Colombia's Sucre Department on the Caribbean coast.

In practical terms, the restrictions mean that those who had visas would get them revoked, while those applying for new visas would be rejected.

In Bolivia, 40 people faced visa restrictions, including judges, members of the legislature and former attorney general Juan Lanchipa Ponce.

Washington had previously revoked the visas of around 20 Bolivian senior officials last month, including Attorney General Roger Mariaca, who was arrested shortly after.

Both Colombia and Bolivia are members of US President Donald Trump's Shield of the Americas initiative to combat drug cartels in Latin America.

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. — Agence France-Presse