BAMAKO – In a bold move, Mali and Burkina Faso announced late Tuesday that they will prohibit entry to U.S. citizens. This decision comes as a direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent travel ban on citizens from these two West African nations.

The declarations were released individually by the foreign ministers of Mali and Burkina Faso, underscoring the increasingly strained ties between the U.S. and these military-led governments in West Africa.

President Trump had expanded existing travel restrictions on December 16 to include 20 additional countries. This list now encompasses Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, countries governed by military juntas that have distanced themselves from the regional alliance known as the Economic Community of West African States.

In a statement, the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed, “Following the principle of reciprocity, the Government of the Republic of Mali will impose identical restrictions on U.S. nationals as those faced by Malian citizens in the United States, effective immediately.”

Echoing this stance, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, issued a similar statement justifying the ban on American visitors to Burkina Faso.

The White House noted persistent attacks by armed groups as one of the reasons for the travel ban. Mali and Burkina Faso have struggled to contain armed groups that have spread rapidly in both countries. The juntas vowed to fight the armed groups after deposing civilian governments over the insecurity that has roiled much of the region.