International • • • 🌿 Progressive

Banderas de Colombia y Estados Unidos junto a un pasaporte con un visado cancelado
Imagen alusiva a la cancelación de visas por Estados Unidos y la respuesta del presidente colombiano. · Imagen generada para EPM

US cancels visas of Roa, Acuña and Manzur as De La Espriella replies

The United States cancelled the visas of Ricardo Roa, Yahir Acuña and Wadith Manzur.

The United States government cancelled the visas of Ricardo Roa, Yahir Acuña and Wadith Manzur, and Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella reacted on X with a message welcoming them to the Patria Milagro. The response turned a Washington migration decision into a domestic political gesture, without changing the course of investigations or the role of judges. --- The context --- The measure was adopted by the government of United States President Donald Trump through the Department of State. Roa was president of Ecopetrol during the administration of former President Gustavo Petro, Acuña is the mayor of Sincelejo and Manzur is under investigation in the UNGRD corruption scandal. --- The facts --- The Department of State cancelled the visas of the three figures. Faced with that decision, De La Espriella published a forceful message on X welcoming them to the Patria Milagro and, as attributed in his text, calling for firmness for the homeland and closing with an exclamation of faith. The source recalls a precedent involving Acuña. During a past regional agenda, De La Espriella confronted him and argued, in attributed summary, that Colombians' money is sacred, that he would not look the other way while the state is turned into a business, and that he would defend, down to the last peso, what belongs to the people. --- The positions --- The presidential position combines two planes. Politically, De La Espriella embraces the United States decision as support for his firmness. Institutionally, his precedent with Acuña left a key clarification: his duty is to protect the nation's resources, he cannot ignore backgrounds and investigations, and he does not condemn or replace judges, although he does not close his eyes either. --- What remains unknown --- It remains unknown what reasons the Department of State communicated to each man, whether any of them has responded publicly and whether the measure will have effects on their duties or proceedings. The source contains no reaction from Roa, Acuña or Manzur to the presidential message. --- Unanswered questions --- What specific reasons did the Department of State apply to Roa, Acuña and Manzur when cancelling their visas? Will the three men respond publicly to the measure and to the presidential message? Will the cancellation have any effect on the investigations already moving through Colombian justice? --- EPM analysis --- The episode shows how a sovereign United States decision on visas acquires a domestic reading in Colombia. The president interprets it as political backing, but that reading does not replace due process and does not turn a migration cancellation into a conviction. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the visa cancellations should be read with two cautions at once: this is a sovereign United States decision that the Colombian president has turned into a political gesture of welcome to the Patria Milagro, and it is not, by itself, a judgment on Roa, Acuña or Manzur. Firmness against corruption gains legitimacy when it respects due process, keeps cooperation between both countries open and lets investigations advance before judges, without shortcuts or celebrations that replace evidence.
📤 Share on Telegram

¿Te gustó este artículo? Recibe cobertura global en tu correo.

Suscríbete gratis / Subscribe free