N’DJAMENA: Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby has announced that his country will suspend the issuing of visas to US citizens in response to the Trump administration’s decision to ban Chadians from visiting the United States.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term when he announced the visa ban on 12 countries including Chad, accusing them of having “deficient” screening and vetting, and historically refusing to take back their own citizens who overstay in the United States.
The new ban targets Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
There will also be heightened restrictions on visitors from seven others in the new travel policy, which takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m.
In a Facebook post, Chad’s president on Thursday said he is directing his government to suspend visas to US citizens “in accordance with the principles of reciprocity.”
“Chad has no planes to offer, no billions of dollars to give but Chad has his dignity and pride,” Deby said, referring to the $400 million luxury plane offered to his administration as a gift by the ruling family of Qatar.
Republic of Congo calls the ban a mistake
The new travel policy has triggered varied reactions from Africa, whose countries make up seven of the 12 countries affected by Trump’s outright visa ban with some exemptions.
In the Republic of Congo, government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla said he believes the country was among those affected because of a “misunderstanding” over an armed attack in the US with the perpetrators “mistaken” to be from the Republic of Congo.
“Obviously, Congo is not a terrorist country, is not home to any terrorist, is not known to have a terrorist vocation. So we think that this is a misunderstanding and I believe that in the coming hours, the competent diplomatic services of the government will contact the American authorities here,” he said in the capital of Brazzaville.
In Sierra Leone, among countries with heightened travel restrictions, Information Minister Chernor Bah said the country is committed to addressing the concerns that prompted the ban.
“We will work with US authorities to ensure progress,” he added.
Chad announces suspension of visas to US citizens in response to Trump travel ban
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Chad announces suspension of visas to US citizens in response to Trump travel ban
- Chad’s president on Thursday said he is directing his government to suspend visas to US citizens “in accordance with the principles of reciprocity"
Spanish PM announces $710 million in military aid for Ukraine
- Sanchez says, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “neo-imperialism” aims to “weaken the European project and everything it stands for”
MADRID: Spain will give Ukraine a fresh military aid package worth 615 million euros ($710 million) to help it fight Russia’s invasion, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday.
Speaking at a Madrid press conference alongside visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Sanchez said around 300 million euros will go toward “new defense equipment.”
“Your fight is ours,” Sanchez said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “neo-imperialism” aims to “weaken the European project and everything it stands for.”
The announcement came after the leaders signed several bilateral agreements, including measures to combat Russian disinformation.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, tens of thousands of people — both civilians and soldiers — have died, and millions have been displaced, leaving large swathes of the country devastated.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sanchez and Zelensky visited Madrid’s Reina Sofía Museum to view Pablo Picasso’s anti-war masterpiece “Guernica.”
In April 2022, just weeks after Russia’s invasion, Zelensky compared it to the 1937 bombing of Guernica, a small Basque town attacked by Nazi warplanes in support of Franco’s troops during the Spanish Civil War.
Zelensky, who visited Paris on Monday, is scheduled to travel to Turkiye on Wednesday for renewed peace talks involving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
