Mali and Burkina Faso retaliate to Trump’s action, ban entry for US citizens

Mali and Burkina Faso have announced that they will bar US citizens from entering their countries in response to a similar move by the Trump administration. The two West African nations were recently placed under full entry restrictions under the expanded travel ban ordered by US President Donald Trump. In separate statements, the countries said that they would apply the same measures on US nationals. The foreign ministry of Burkina Faso said in a statement that it was applying “equivalent visa measures” on Americans.

Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, the foreign affairs minister of Burkina Faso, said his government was acting on the “principle of reciprocity,” while Mali’s foreign ministry called for “mutual respect and sovereign equality.”

Mali’s foreign ministry added that it regretted the US’s move and bemoaned that “such an important decision was made without any prior consultation.”

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Mali and Burkina Faso’s decision comes days after neighbouring Niger announced a similar travel ban on US citizens. All three states are ruled by military juntas, which seized power in coups, and have formed their own regional bloc while pivoting towards Russia after relations with other West African states and Western powers became strained.

Earlier this month, the White House announced full-entry restrictions on people from the three countries, as well as South Sudan, Syria, and Palestinian Authority passport holders. The restrictions would come into effect on 1 January and were intended to “protect the security” of the US, it said.

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The Trump administration also moved Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously subject to partial restrictions, to the full ban list and put partial restrictions on 15 other countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

The list included Syrian citizens, as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders, and nationals of some of Africa’s poorest countries, including Niger, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.

After the Trump administration’s move, citizens of nearly 40 countries face restrictions in coming to the United States solely by virtue of their nationality.

The two countries in West Africa’s jihadist-hit Sahelian region are members of a confederation, formed in 2023, that also includes Niger.

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In his December 17 announcement, Trump also imposed partial travel restrictions on citizens of other African countries, including the most populous, Nigeria, as well as Ivory Coast and Senegal, which qualified for the football World Cup to be played next year in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The Trump administration has promised to let in athletes for the football tournament but has made no such promises for fans of blacklisted countries.

Burkina Faso said in October it refused to take in people kicked out of the United States, in a snub to one of Trump’s signature migration policies.