US revokes Latin American officials’ visas

The Trump administration revoked visas from 27 Latin American officials, including Bolivia’s top prosecutor, former officials and their family members over allegations of corruption and ties to drug trafficking.

The visa revocations targeted officials and their family members from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, the State Department announced Monday.

Earlier this month , Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to combat drug and human trafficking following a visit to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, whose right-wing leaders are notably aligned with President Trump’s tough stance on illicit drug trade.

The administration is also barring Bolivia’s attorney general, Roger Mariaca, and his family from entering the U.S., accusing him of accepting bribes to help drug traffickers and violent criminals avoid prosecution.

The State Department said it is “taking actions to fulfill the commitments to defend democratic governance across our hemisphere against corruption and narco-trafficking.”

“Under the Trump Administration, corrupt foreign officials can no longer freely enter the United States,” the department said in a statement .

Visas were revoked for 12 other Bolivians, including prosecutors, judges, a former justice minister and a police official. Nine Bolivians without current visas were made ineligible to receive them in the future.

Two Colombians, two Ecuadorians and a Peruvian judge were also targeted.

The move comes under a new visa policy aimed at foreign nationals accused of undermining democratically elected governments through corruption or facilitating drug trafficking.

“Undermining a democratically-elected government is a threat to security and rule of law in the Americas and will not be tolerated,” the department said. “This is a durable mechanism that allows the United States to act quickly, in coordination with our partners, as evidence develops.”

The restrictions are part of Trump’s “Shield of the Americas” initiative, which calls for participating countries to work together to combat drug trafficking, organized crime and corruption in the Western Hemisphere.