The State Department announced visa restrictions against 21 people in Colombia on October 22, 2026, extending the measures to their families. Existing visas are revoked. New applications from those targeted will be rejected.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the targets were accused of corruption or narcotrafficking that undermines democratically elected governments in the region, regardless of political affiliation. The department’s announcement named seven people. It did not identify all 21 publicly.
The measures target public figures and people involved in national and local politics. Their relatives are covered, too.
- The department publicly named seven Colombian nationals.
- The restrictions apply to immediate family members under the regional policy.
- A separate action announced the same day covered 40 people in Bolivia.
The release names seven people, from a mayor to a former oil-company chief
The named group includes a mayor, current and former legislators, and a former leader of the state oil company. The measures also apply to each person’s family.
| Person | Public role identified in the announcement |
|---|---|
| Ricardo Roa Barragán | Former president of Ecopetrol, the state oil company |
| Yahir Fernando Acuña Cardales | Mayor of Sincelejo |
| Wadith Alberto Manzur Imbett | Senator-elect and former House of Representatives member |
| Karen Astrith Manrique Olarte | Representative-elect for the House of Representatives |
| Julio Elías Chagüí Flórez | Former senator |
| Liliana Esther Bitar Castilla | Former senator |
| José Ignacio Mesa Betancur | Former congressman and former mayor of Envigado |
UPI reported that six of the seven have been linked to corruption or criminal investigations in the country. Mesa Betancur was convicted of involvement in a criminal organization that financed his political campaigns and helped secure votes for him, going back at least to 1995, in exchange for influence over government decisions.
A court sentenced him to 76 months in prison in May 2025. His conviction was upheld in late August. Acuña’s Sincelejo is the capital of Sucre Department on the Caribbean coast. Roa Barragán was described as a campaign manager for former president Gustavo Petro, who left office in August 2026.
A foreign-policy law supplies the authority for the regional policy
The action uses a policy the department announced September 28, 2026, under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That provision gives the secretary of state authority to refuse a visa when reasonable grounds support a belief that a person’s entry or proposed activities could have potentially serious adverse foreign-policy consequences for the United States.
The policy covers foreign nationals, along with their immediate family members, when corruption or narcotrafficking activities undermine a democratically elected government in the region. It places the decision within a foreign-policy framework.
State Department spokesman Thomas Pigott called the policy “a durable mechanism that allows the United States to act quickly, in coordination with our partners, as evidence develops.” The department tied it to commitments made at the Doral Summit in March and reaffirmed in the Shield of the Americas leaders’ statement of September 22.
The first round reached targets in four countries
The department’s initial enforcement round, on September 27–28, included two Colombians and their families. One was Euclides Antonio Torres Romero, a private businessman whose conglomerate operates mainly in energy, traffic-signal and public-lighting sectors.
The other was Senator Martha Isabel Peralta Epieyu, affiliated with Historic Pact (Pacto Histórico) and the Alternative Indigenous and Social Movement (Movimiento Alternativo Indígena y Social, MAIS). The same round covered 12 Bolivian nationals and their families. It also made nine additional Bolivians without visas generally ineligible, and included two nationals in Ecuador and one in Peru.
Peralta said she learned of her revocation through media coverage. She said she had received neither official notice nor an explanation, and described accusations from various sectors and attacks online. She urged that unproven claims not be treated as fact and asked the Colombian Foreign Ministry to seek clarification.
“I will continue to carry out my work with tranquility, facing the country and with respect for the institutions.”
The parallel Bolivia action brings the announced total above 60
The announcement also imposed restrictions on 40 people in Bolivia, including judges, legislators and former attorney general Juan Lanchipa Ponce. The department said the two actions covered more than 60 public officials and prominent figures.
Rubio said the administration supports the Colombian government’s efforts to remove criminal influence from its courts, police forces and legislature. The department described the policy as a regional response to that influence.
As of October 23, 2026, the measures announced the previous day were in effect.
