US Imposes Visa Restrictions on 40 Bolivians Over Corruption, Drug Trafficking

October 23, 2026 | By Semahegn Nigatu

The United States has imposed visa restrictions on 40 individuals in Bolivia over alleged corruption and narcotrafficking activities, expanding the Trump administration’s campaign against criminal influence in Latin America.

The US Department of State said the restrictions target 15 named Bolivian nationals and their immediate family members under a policy announced on September 28. The measure applies to foreign nationals whose alleged involvement in corruption or drug trafficking undermines democratically elected governments in the Western Hemisphere, regardless of political affiliation.

The department said the action was intended to support the Bolivian government’s efforts to remove criminal influence from public institutions, including the judiciary, police and legislature.

Those named include Rafael Dario Lopez Mercado and Rolando Santos Pacheco Chavez, both national deputies in Bolivia’s Plurinational Legislative Assembly, as well as former attorney-general Juan Lanchipa Ponce and several current and former judicial, prosecutorial, police and government officials.

The list also includes Freddy Bismarck Pereira Molina, departmental police commander of Tarija and former head of Bolivia’s Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking; Aldo Ismael Quezada Cerruti, president of the Departmental Tribunal of Justice of Santa Cruz; and Julio Nelson Alba Flores, a judge at the same tribunal.

Other individuals named include former officials from the Financial Investigations Unit, the General Personal Identification Service and the migration authority, alongside two private citizens.

The State Department did not provide individual allegations or evidence against each of the 15 named Bolivians in its announcement.

The restrictions are based on Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the secretary of state to deny visas to foreign nationals whose entry or proposed activities are considered to have potentially serious adverse consequences for US foreign policy.

The department said the measures advance commitments made by regional partners at the Doral Summit in March and in a September 22 statement by leaders participating in the Shield of the Americas initiative.

Source: FSX Business News