The U.S. has revoked all visas held by South Sudan citizens in response to the refusal by South Sudan to accept South Sudanese citizens who are deported from the U.S.
U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced the decision in a statement on Saturday accusing Jubba of “taking advantage of the U.S.”
Aside from revoking previously issued visas, the U.S. will also stop issuing new visas to South Sudanese citizens to prevent their entry into the United States. Rubio would go on to state that he will review this decision once South Sudan is in “full cooperation”.
South Sudan has seen an uptick in violence recently between the Government and rebel groups. Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders to help prevent the situation in the country from escalating. African Union mediators have also arrived in the country to hold talks to try and prevent another war from breaking out.
The South Sudanese government arrested First Vice President Riek Machar last month and placed him under house arrest accusing him of trying to stir up rebellion in the country again.
Machar, led the South Sudanese rebel forces in the country's civil war that lasted from 2013 until 2020 until he returned to the government when a peace agreement was signed that ended the war.
The current fight the Trump Administration is having with South Sudan mirrors one that the U.S. had with Colombia shortly after Trump’s inauguration when Trump threatened Colombian officials with visa revocations and tariffs in response to Colombia’s refusal to accept deported Colombian citizens.