Africa hardest hit by Trump’s expanded travel ban but reactions are muted

Africa It has been hit hardest by the Trump administration’s decision to add 20 countries to the list of travel restrictions, but reactions on the continent of about 1.5 billion people remained largely muted on Wednesday as affected countries considered the implications of the measure and their next steps.

The new sanctions expand the list from June and are broader and more punitive than those imposed during Trump’s first presidency, which largely targeted Muslim-majority countries and were reversed in 2021.

African Union urged United States of America The bloc’s spokesman Nuur Mohamu said its borders must be defended in a “balanced, evidence-based manner that reflects the long-standing relationship and partnership between the US and Africa”.

The stance was a repeat of a statement made by the bloc in June, when US President donald trump Revived travel restrictions from his first term in office.

extended ban

Of the five countries whose citizens were added to the list of restrictions on entry to the United States on Tuesday, four are in Africa – Burkina Faso, gardenerNiger and South SudanWhich was already facing significant travel restrictions. Also on the list are people with travel documents issued by Syria and the Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank.

Some other countries – including Sierra Leone in Africa and Laos in Asia – were also subject to partial sanctions during Trump’s first presidency and in June, and have now been moved to the full sanctions list.

Of the 15 countries facing partial sanctions, 12 are also in Africa. These include Angola, Benin, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The remaining two are Caribbean nations – Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica – and Tonga in the South Pacific.

Trump’s expanded measures also link entry limits to security, documentation and visa-overstay concerns.

The 55-nation African Union warned of the “potential negative impact of such measures on people-to-people ties, educational exchanges, commercial engagement and broader diplomatic ties” built over decades.

Sierra Leone, which has now been placed on the full sanctions list, said in a statement on Wednesday that it hoped to engage Washington and get it to review the decision. The impoverished West African country said it would “remain committed to strengthening international cooperation and addressing immigration concerns raised by the U.S. government,” adding that officials are “actively engaged in ongoing, constructive dialogue with U.S. officials.”

In Mali, which was added to the full sanctions list on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry press officer Samuel Saye said it was “too early for us to comment” – echoed by several other officials across Africa.

Many people say, this is an unfair solution

Many analysts and activists described these measures as unfair, a sign of inconsistency in US-Africa relations and an opportunity for Washington’s rivals such as Russia and China to further strengthen ties with Africa.

Some ordinary citizens expressed their uneasiness and concern.

“I believe this situation is unfair because it treats all Nigerians from the same perspective,” said Ramlah Ibrahim Nok, a business lawyer in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. Nigeria is on the partial sanctions list.

He said many Nigerians travel for “education, business and tourism” and said authorities in their own country should also play their part in combating issues such as overstaying visas by Nigerians traveling to the US.

Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at Control Risks Group in the Senegalese capital Dakar, predicted that Trump’s sanctions would make relations between the US and various African countries “inconsistent, unpredictable and challenging”.

The measure also reduces the possibilities for cooperation and may lead some governments to look elsewhere to build stronger partnerships.

“It is very unfortunate,” said Mohamed Keita, a 45-year-old Malian resident, saying Washington’s “decision could penalize Malians who do business with the United States.”

Also in Mali, Abdoulaye Fofana, 31, said he feared that if Malian authorities “implemented the principle of reciprocity, it would affect bi-national Malians.”

bad times

Sports fans are also concerned, especially those hoping to travel to 2026 soccer World Cup matches in the U.S., which is co-hosting the competition with Canada and Mexico.

Pep Seye, a taxi driver in Dakar, said he had heard about “Fifa exemptions for players and staff of eligible teams”, but he worried whether “fans will also be able to go” under the new measure.

In South Sudan, which was added to the full sanctions list, human rights activist Rajab Mohandis said the measure “is an open expression of the Trump administration’s growing frustration with the government” in the African country.

He said the sanctions were “a way to impose diplomatic consequences” following US concerns over the slow implementation of a peace deal signed in 2018 to end the five-year conflict in South Sudan that left more than 400,000 people dead.

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Associated Press writers across Africa contributed to this report.