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The United States Thursday announced a new visa restriction policy targeting certain Central American nationals accused of “acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and undermining the rule of law.”
The visa restriction policy will allow Washington to restrict US visas for “Central American nationals who, while in Central American countries and intentionally acting on behalf of the CCP, knowingly direct, authorize, fund, provide significant support to, or carry out activities that undermine the rule of law in Central America,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an official notification dated September 4.
The US is taking steps to impose visa restrictions under this new policy on several Central American nationals who have previously engaged in such activities. “As a result, these individuals and their immediate family members will be generally ineligible for entry into the United States. We continue to promote accountability for Central American nationals who intentionally work with the CCP in Central America and destabilise our hemisphere.” Rubio added.
The notification stated that the actions are being taken under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
However, Rubio did not name any individuals or cite specific examples of actions over which they were being targeted.
US-China ties
The US and China have had strained ties for years over issues like trade tariffs, cybersecurity, intellectual property, spying, the origins of COVID-19, the ownership of TikTok and the situations in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In recent years, Beijing has looked to improve its foothold in Latin America, a region historically under the US sphere of influence.
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The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Rubio’s statement.
–With inputs from Reuters
