The central African nation of Chad says it is suspending all visas to US citizens as a matter of “reciprocity”, after learning that it is one of a dozen countries whose nationals are banned from travelling to the US.
“Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and pride,” continued President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno in a Facebook post (in French) on Thursday.
Africa is the continent worst affected by the travel ban announced by US President Donald Trump, with seven of the 12 countries on the list.
It is set to come into effect on Monday.
The order prohibits people from Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan – as well as Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Iran and Yemen – from entering the US.
In addition, there will be travel restrictions on nationals of Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cuba, Laos, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – they will no longer be able to travel to the US on certain visas.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Trump said in a video posted on X.
The US president said the list could be revised if “material improvements” were made and additional countries could be added as “threats emerge around the world”.
The White House said these “common-sense restrictions” would “protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors”.
NKONKONSA.com
