Overview
- The U.S. State Department in September tightened rules to bar Central American nationals it says act on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, making those individuals and their immediate family members generally ineligible for entry.
- Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing lodged solemn representations and condemned the move as politically motivated, illegal under international norms, and disrespectful to Central American nations.
- Guo warned that “weaponizing visas” would not deter cooperation between China and Central American countries, rejecting U.S. accusations as malicious and baseless.
- Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino said the U.S. embassy threatened to cancel visas for officials, and U.S. Ambassador Kevin Marino Cabrera replied that a visa is a privilege and cited the tightened rules.
- The State Department framed the policy as protecting U.S. economic and national security interests under President Trump, with Panama’s canal and related port concessions underscoring the policy’s strategic backdrop.