The United States has suspended issuing visas in Burkina Faso after the country’s military government refused to accept deportees.
Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré questioned the US embassy’s decision, calling it “blackmail”. The US had proposed that Burkina Faso accept migrants from third countries expelled from the US, but Traoré rejected the offer, citing dignity and sovereignty concerns.
The US embassy in Ouagadougou announced that it would temporarily pause issuing immigrant, tourist, student, and business traveler visas, requiring Burkinabé residents to travel to the US embassy in neighboring Togo’s capital instead.
This move is part of Donald Trump’s administration’s crackdown on immigration, with several African countries, including Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan, accepting deportees in recent months.
Burkina Faso’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has styled himself as a pan-African champion, standing up to Western imperialism.
The country’s military government seized power in a coup three years ago and has had a frosty relationship with Western nations since then.
