The US State Department has imposed visa restrictions on “numerous” executives of travel companies from Europe, Africa and the Middle East on Tuesday, September 24, for being related to the migration business of people arriving in the United States through an international migrant trafficking network in which the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo takes part.
In a Press release from the Office of the State Department SpokespersonMatthew Miller, and disclosed on social media by the White House’s deputy assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere, Brian Nichols, the US government indicates that it “is today imposing visa restrictions on several travel agency executives from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.”
The official announcement specifies that the measure has been taken because “these companies take advantage of vulnerable people by operating services designed primarily to facilitate irregular migration to the United States through countries in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.”
This is the second set of visa restrictions applied to foreign companies related to migrant trafficking to Nicaragua. On September 11, the United States applied sanctions to senior executives of a European charter flight company for renting its planes to transport irregular migrants to Nicaragua so that they could then continue their journey to U.S. territory.
Related news: 1,145 charter flights with illegal migrants landed in Nicaragua; it is the “weapon” that Ortega uses against the US
News reports have warned that the Ortega-Murillo regime facilitates the arrival of flights loaded with irregular migrants from various parts of the world to Nicaragua, landing in Managua. They are given the opportunity to transit through the national territory so that they can then continue their journey to the borders between Mexico and the United States, where they enter illegally.
Media investigations have concluded that the Nicaraguan dictatorship is taking advantage of irregular migration to squeeze migrants for money and at the same time wage an “immigration war” against the U.S. government.
US authorities warn that they will continue to work with partner governments and the private sector to “end this exploitative practice, which puts vulnerable people at risk.”
Related news: US cancels visas of European charter flight company officials for transporting illegal immigrants to Nicaragua
They also point out that their visa restriction policy is part of a comprehensive approach to “reduce irregular migration and is aimed at owners, executives and senior officials of companies that provide travel and transportation services by land, sea or charter flights, designed to facilitate irregular migration to the United States.”
Finally, the State Department reports that the sanctions applied to the travel agency executives announced this Tuesday are in accordance with section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
