Nearly two dozen people in Colombia face new U.S. visa restrictions

Seven current and former Colombian officials and their families were targeted

The United States announced the restrictions Thursday against nearly two dozen people in Colombia. The State Department said the policy bars entry for the targets. Seven current and former officials were among the people named, and the State Department said the restrictions also apply to those officials’ families.

The department said the new policy targets foreign nationals whose actions through corruption or narcotrafficking undermine democratically elected governments in the Western Hemisphere.

Among those identified by UPI were José Ignacio Mesa Betancur, a former congressman and mayor of Envigado; Ricardo Roa Barragán, former president of state-run energy company Ecopetrol; Yahir Fernando Acuña Cardales, mayor of Sincelejo; Wadith Alberto Manzur Imbett, a senator-elect and former member of the House of Representatives; and former senators Julio Elías Chagüí Flórez and Liliana Esther Bitar Castilla.

UPI reported that six of the seven officials had been linked to corruption or criminal investigations in Colombia. The seventh, Mesa Betancur, was convicted and sentenced to 76 months in prison in May 2025 for involvement in a criminal organization. His conviction was upheld in late August.

UPI said the organization financed Mesa Betancur’s political campaigns and helped secure votes going back to at least 1995 in exchange for influence over government decisions.

The action follows President Donald Trump’s March announcement of the Shield of the Americas, an initiative to combat transnational criminal organizations alongside Latin American nations. UPI described the participating governments as “led by either right-leaning governments or those aligned with the U.S. president” and said Colombia and Peru joined the initiative after “right-wing electoral victories.” UPI said the restrictive measures came as the Trump administration sought to expand U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.

At the second leaders’ meeting in New York City last month, 15 governments moved toward coordinated action. The 15 governments issued a declaration stating their intention to impose sanctions and visa restrictions on members, associates and supporters of 24 identified criminal organizations.

About a week later, the State Department unveiled a policy to restrict visas to foreign nationals whose actions through corruption or narcotrafficking undermine democratically elected governments. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the policy targets foreign nationals “regardless of their political affiliation.” Rubio also said the Trump administration stood with Colombia’s government as it worked to remove criminal influence, including from the country’s courts, police forces and legislature.

MSI previously reported the State Department’s earlier action under the visa policy. Thursday’s restrictions on nearly two dozen people in Colombia expand that enforcement.