The governor of Baja California, Mexico, said the United States withdrew tourist visas for her and her husband without explanation. Marina del Pilar Ávila, who is a member of Mexico’s ruling Morena party, posted on social media that she didn’t understand why she and her husband, Carlos Torres, had their visas pulled, but said she hoped the situation could be satisfactorily clarified.
The Associated Press reported that on social media, Carlos Torres wrote that the visa revocation “does not represent a formal accusation, investigation or indictment by any authority in Mexico or the United States.” Torres also is a member of the ruling party.
How could a visa revocation affect the Mexican official?
The lack of a visa could prevent Ávila from traveling to the United States for either professional or personal reasons.
The Trump administration has revoked hundreds of visas as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration and as part of an effort to control fentanyl trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Fentanyl trafficking also was one of the reasons President Donald Trump cited for imposing tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada.
“The government of Mexico has afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of dangerous narcotics, which collectively have led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims,” the White House said in announcing the 25% tariffs.
Officials caught up in crackdown
Avila, whose two children were born in California and are U.S. citizens, is not the only official who has been barred from entering the United States.
Columbian President Gustavo Petro said his visa was rescinded a few weeks ago just before scheduled meetings with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, according to Newsweek.
According to the AP, the U.S. Embassy declined to comment on individual cases and said visa records are confidential.
