MALI and Burkina Faso have hit back at Donald Trump with a tit-for-tat travel ban on American citizens by shutting their borders to US travellers after Trump placed the two West African states on a full entry ban.
The retaliatory move comes days after the Trump administration barred citizens from Mali and Burkina Faso from entering the US.
Announcing the decision in a statement, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Affairs minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré said the measure was anchored on the ‘principle of reciprocity.’
He said his country would not accept being singled out.
“Invoking the principle of reciprocity, Burkina Faso will immediately apply to US citizens the same entry conditions imposed on its citizens,” said the minister.
Mali, in its own statement, said the ban was guided by ‘mutual respect and sovereign equality,’ while expressing regret that the Trump administration made an impulsive decision without prior consultation.
Last month, Trump imposed full entry restrictions on citizens from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, alongside South Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Sierra Leone and Laos, effective today, January 1, 2026.
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Nigeria and 15 other countries were placed under a partial travel ban.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, January 1, 2026
