Washington revokes visas of dozens of high-ranking officials from Colombia and Bolivia
Among those affected from Colombia is Ricardo Roa Barragán, former president of the state-owned oil company Ecopetrol and former campaign manager for leftist Gustavo Petro, who led him to the presidency in 2022.
Washington announced Thursday the revocation of visas for more than sixty high-ranking officials, government employees and public figures from Colombia and Bolivia, allegedly linked to drug trafficking or corruption.
Among the 21 affected in Colombia is Ricardo Roa Barragán, former president of the state-owned oil company Ecopetrol and former campaign manager for the leftist Gustavo Petro, who was elected president in 2022.
"Today, the State Department is expanding its campaign against corruption and drug trafficking in our region," said the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in a statement cited by AFP.
The Shield of the Americas and its work in the region
The leaders of the Shield of the Americas alliance—launched by President Donald Trump to combat organized crime on the continent—agreed to ramp up these joint efforts, he noted.
Colombia joined the Shield of the Americas shortly after President Abelardo de la Espriella took office in August, having defeated Petro in the last election.
In addition to Petro's former campaign manager, the list includes the powerful regional politician Yahir Acuña, the current mayor of Sincelejo, the capital of the department of Sucre in the Colombian Caribbean.
Also on the list is Senator-elect Wadith Manzur, who was unable to take office because a court ordered his arrest in March.
Some of the Bolivians without visas
In Bolivia, forty citizens are without visas to enter or transit through the United States, including Judge Julio Alba Flores and Magistrate Aldo Quezada, both from Santa Cruz, as well as several legislators and former Attorney General Juan Lanchipa Ponce.
Also affected were Julio César Porras Velarde, coordinating prosecutor for the Santa Cruz Controlled Substances Unit, and Rony Suárez Milliet, who is under investigation as part of international probes into the Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset.
Washington had already revoked the visas of another twenty or so high-ranking Bolivian officials in late September, including the country's attorney general, Roger Mariaca, who was arrested by police shortly thereafter.
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