Chad has announced a suspension of visa issuance to U.S. citizens, a direct response to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s reinstated travel ban affecting 12 countries, including Chad.
President Mahamat Idriss Deby made the announcement on Thursday, signaling that Chad would respond with “reciprocity” after being included in a list of nations accused by Trump of having “deficient” vetting systems and refusing to repatriate their nationals who overstay in the U.S.
“Chad has no planes to offer, no billions of dollars to give but Chad has his dignity and pride,” Deby said, referencing a recent $400 million luxury plane gift from Qatar. Trump’s revived policy targets Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, with additional restrictions set for several others starting Monday at 12:01 a.m.
The ban has stirred responses across the African continent. In the Republic of Congo, government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla described the move as a result of a “misunderstanding” related to an armed attack wrongly linked to the country.
“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 Sierra Leone, which faces heightened restrictions, Information Minister Chernor Bah expressed readiness to cooperate with Washington. “We will work with U.S. authorities to ensure progress,” he added.
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