Mali and Burkina Faso have announced a travel ban targeting U.S. citizens, responding to a similar restriction put in place by the Trump administration earlier this month.

On Tuesday evening, the foreign ministries of both West African nations released separate statements detailing their decisions, citing “reciprocity” as the motive behind their actions. This comes after the White House declared on December 16 that President Donald Trump would be expanding the list of countries under a comprehensive travel ban to include these two nations, among others.

The expanded travel ban, scheduled to be implemented on January 1, was justified by the U.S. government as necessary for safeguarding national security. According to the White House, the impacted countries have shown “persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing” that pose threats to public safety and national security.

Reacting to this decision, Mali expressed its discontent, stating that the U.S. did not consult with them prior to the ban and argued that the reasons given by Washington do not align with the actual situation in the country.

Mali and Burkina Faso join a list of countries that have reacted by imposing similar restrictions on U.S. citizens after being included in President Trump’s travel ban.

On December 25, neighbouring Niger announced it would stop issuing visas to US citizens, the country’s state media agency reported, citing a Nigerien diplomatic source.

In June, Chad announced it was suspending visa issuance to US citizens after it was included on an earlier list of 12 countries affected by a travel ban.