Mali and Burkina Faso have said they are imposing a travel ban on US citizens in response to an equivalent measure announced by the Trump administration earlier this month.
In separate statements issued by their foreign ministries late on Tuesday, the two West African countries said they were acting in the name of “reciprocity” after the White House announced on December 16 that President Trump was adding them and five other countries to a list of those subject to a full travel ban.
The White House said the expanded ban, set to take effect on January 1, applied to “countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect the Nation from national security and public safety threats.”
Burkina Faso’s President Captain Ibrahim Traoré (second from left) walks alongside Mali’s President General Assimi Goïta during the Alliance of Sahel States’ second summit on security and development in Bamako, Mali, on Dec. 23, 2025. APMali said Tuesday that Washington’s decision to add it to the travel ban list had been made without prior consultation and that the stated rationale was not justified by “actual developments on the ground.”
Mali and Burkina Faso are not the first countries to take such measures affecting US citizens after being targeted by Trump’s travel restrictions.
President Trump added Mali and Burkina Faso alongside five other countries to a list of those subject to a full travel ban. AP
Travelers arriving at the Bobo Dioulasso Airport in Bobo Dioulasso on September 18, 2019. AFP via Getty ImagesOn December 25, neighbouring Niger announced it would stop issuing visas to US citizens, the country’s state media agency reported, citing a Nigerien diplomatic source.
In June, Chad announced it was suspending visa issuance to US citizens after it was included on an earlier list of 12 countries affected by a travel ban.
