Mali and Burkina Faso have restricted United States citizens from entering their countries following President Donald Trump’s visa restrictions.

The two countries, I’ separate statements by their foreign ministers made the announcements.

With these, the number of African countries reciprocating the US travel ban has climbed to four.

On June 6, 2025, Chad suspended the issuance of visas to American citizens as a reciprocal move to earlier US visa restrictions affecting Chadians.

Chadian President Mahamat Deby in a statement via social media said the suspension was effected in “accordance with the principles of reciprocity.”

Deby emphasised that the action was about national pride and dignity.

Also, on December 25, 2025, Niger halted the issuance of visas to US citizens and barred nationals from entering the country.

An official statement from Niger said it had “completely and indefinitely suspended the issuance of all visas to citizens of the United States of America and has prohibited the entry of US nationals into the territory of Niger.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister, Karamoko Traore, said, “In response to the recent measures taken by the United States restricting entry for Burkinabe citizens, the Government of Burkina Faso is applying equivalent visa measures on United States nationals.”

Mali’s official statement affirmed that the measure matched the US decision.

It stated, “In accordance with the principle of reciprocity and with immediate effect, the Government of the Republic of Mali will apply the same conditions and requirements to American nationals as those imposed by the American authorities on Malian citizens entering the United States of America.”

Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger are the four landlocked countries colonised by France.

In the Proclamation 10998 of June 4, 2025, effective from June 9, 2025, entry had been suspended for immigrants and non-immigrants from 12 countries, which are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

On December 16, 2025, Trump expanded the full travel ban and restrictions to 19 countries.

Also, travel documents from the Palestinian Authority were affected by the restrictions.

The nationals of the affected countries were suspended from entering the US, unless they were already in the US with a valid visa or qualified for exemptions such as diplomats, students, athletes, and lawful permanent residents.

Trump’s decision was part of the ongoing efforts to tighten the US entry standards for travel and immigration.

However, in the Proclamation of December 16, 2025, effective from January 1, 2026, eight more countries were added to include Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Syria.

Also, 20 countries, including Nigeria, were placed under a partial ban that restricted the entry of immigrants and non-immigrants from January 1, 2026.

The countries affected were Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Nigeria not Sahelian nations – Experts

Some diplomatic experts described the decision of the African countries as their sovereign rights.

A former Nigerian Consul to Cameroon, Ambassador Rasheed Akinkuolie, said, “Mali and Burkina Faso have the sovereign rights to take reciprocal action against the United States of America, by banning American citizens from entering their countries.

“Moreover, the relationship between the USA and the two countries is not cordial. I doubt if US citizens would risk travelling to hostile and unsafe countries that are facing a major insurgency.”

He noted that the US was helping Nigeria in fighting terrorism, which would make it difficult for the country to strain its relationship with the Trump administration.

“Nigeria cannot ban US citizens from entering the country because the stakes are higher for Nigeria; it wants investors from all over the world. Moreover, the US is supporting Nigeria in fighting the Boko Haram insurgency, which is escalating, and there is a need to call for help,” Akinkuolie added.

Speaking on the same development, the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Prof Eghosa Osaghae, said Mali and Burkina Faso only responded to the situations as best for them.

He said, “The good thing, though, is that the international system has its own rules, its own laws, its own conventions, its own protocols, and how countries respond bilaterally and multilaterally are determined by what the core interests of those countries are. Those countries have acted within their rights to do so.”

Osaghae stated that Nigeria’s issues could not be compared to those of its African counterparts.

He said, “Nigeria is not Niger, it’s not Burkina Faso, it’s not Mali, and Nigeria’s relations with the US in this particular instance are not the same as those of those countries.

“So, it’s not a question of whether what they are doing is commendable or not, it must be that they are responding the way that they can fit, how they see their interests as their countries are affected. And for Nigeria, we are also a national interest-driven country, and we have made our options very clear.”

The NIIA boss added, “We have pursued friendliness and partnership with all countries in the world, and Nigeria is not an adversarial country. Nigeria has never pursued adversarial relations with any country. We’ve always sought a peaceful resolution to whatever problems.

“That’s because the moral foundation of our foreign policy and national interest says reciprocity, yes, but reciprocity should be used to have win-win outcomes.” (Sunday PUNCH)

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