Bolivia Visa Bans: “20 More Officials” Refers to US List of 28 September
BOLIVIA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The report On 29 September, Opinión and La Patria reported that Washington would restrict visas for “20 other” Bolivian officials.
- —The source Both quoted a post by the State Department’s anti-narcotics bureau on X, published at 3:26 p.m. Bolivia time on 28 September.
- —The record The department’s only release on Bolivia, dated 28 September 2026, named 12 Bolivians and made 9 more ineligible for visas.
- —The prosecutor Santa Cruz prosecutor Alberto Zeballos, one of the 12, asked the Foreign Ministry on 29 September to obtain Washington’s reasons.
- —The Marset file His office asked a court on 29 September to end Tatiana Marset’s house arrest and return her to pre-trial detention.
Bolivia visa bans made headlines again on Tuesday night, but the “20 officials” come from Washington’s announcement of 28 September.
Bolivian newspapers reported late on 29 September that the United States would restrict visas for “20 other” Bolivian officials. The words come from a State Department post of 28 September, and the department has published no new list since.
Where the “20 officials” reports come from
Opinión, a daily based in Cochabamba, ran the story at 11:01 p.m. Bolivia time on Tuesday 29 September. That was 03:01 UTC on Wednesday.
Its text came from ABI, the state news agency, and quoted a State Department post on X. The post accused Attorney General Roger Mariaca of taking bribes from drug traffickers.
It then announced steps to restrict visas “on 20 other corrupt Bolivian officials”.
La Patria, a daily in Oruro, carried the same words. It added that the list of the 20 had not been released by Tuesday night.
Why the post points back to 28 September
The post belongs to the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the State Department’s anti-drug arm. X dates it 28 September, at 3:26 p.m. Bolivia time.
It links to the department’s release of that day, which used two separate legal tools. Our report on the attorney general’s case describes both.
Under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, twelve named Bolivians lost their visas. That clause bars foreigners whose entry could seriously harm US foreign policy.
Eleven of the twelve are current or former officials, and one is a private businessman. Nine more Bolivians without visas were made ineligible for one.
Eleven officials and nine unnamed people make 20, the figure in the post. The department has not said how it counted.
Mariaca was designated separately under Section 7031(c) of the 2026 State Department appropriations act, a clause aimed at significant corruption. Both tools govern entry to the United States, and the release announces no asset freeze.
A prosecutor on the list asks for reasons
Alberto Zeballos is the departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz, the eastern region around Bolivia’s largest city. The US list names him as Santa Cruz head prosecutor.
On Tuesday he said he would formally ask the Foreign Ministry to obtain official information through diplomatic channels. He said he did not know whether the decision was political, economic or administrative.
He wants to know “the basis, the motive, the scope and the legal grounds” of the measure, Opinión reported.
He backed Mariaca’s line that the cases against Fernando Cerimedo will continue without pressure. Cerimedo, an Argentine citizen, is held in Chonchocoro prison near La Paz in a money-laundering case.
“The work of the Public Prosecutor’s Office will continue,” Zeballos said. It would act “caiga quien caiga”, meaning whoever falls.
The same office moves on the Marset case
Zeballos said on Tuesday that prosecutors had asked a court to revoke the house arrest of Tatiana Marset. She is the sister of Sebastián Marset, a Uruguayan drug trafficker whose arrest the government lists among its successes.
Prosecutors want tougher measures, including a return to pre-trial detention. Reports had placed her at Expocruz, the big Santa Cruz trade fair, and at a cattle auction.
Her house arrest, with a police escort, sets a schedule running from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. She left Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz about a month ago.
Prosecutors have formally charged her and three Colombians with illegal arms trafficking and criminal association, among other offences. The charge opens the way to an oral trial.
Marset denies breaking the rules. She says she spent a few minutes at the fair around 7 p.m. and was home by 8 p.m.
No ruling on the request has been announced.
Support for Mariaca, and a reform track that keeps moving
The Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), the national trade union federation, backed Mariaca on Tuesday. It said Bolivia’s internal affairs “must be resolved by Bolivian authorities and institutions”.
President Rodrigo Paz spent the same day on a different file. In La Paz he met the mayors of the nine departmental capitals and El Alto, and the Association of Municipalities of Bolivia.
The subject was his “50-50” model, which would share revenue, powers and duties more evenly between the central state and the regions. Paz said the model “is already a reality” but will advance gradually, La Patria reported.
The signed agreement sets three work streams, Opinión reported: autonomy and efficiency, legal reform, and fiscal deals and financing. It includes an audit of recent years’ shared tax revenue.
The first deals fund paving, street lighting and road works in El Alto. Paz tied the money to savings from the diesel subsidy cut of more than a week ago.
What it changes, and what comes next
For residents, travellers and businesses in Bolivia, nothing changes at any border. The US measures cover named people and their immediate families, not Bolivians in general.
The pressure on the justice system is real, and so far it runs through institutions. Named prosecutors ask for reasons through the Foreign Ministry, while their cases continue in Bolivian courts.
Congress meets on Monday 5 October to consider the US measures and a possible commission of inquiry. Washington has published no evidence and no names beyond those of 28 September.
The next clear signal is whether the State Department answers Bolivia’s requests, and whether it ever names the nine.
More: Bolivia news, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the United States sanction 20 more Bolivian officials on 29 September?
No new list has been published. The “20 other” officials come from a State Department post of 28 September. It linked to that day’s release, which named twelve Bolivians and made nine more ineligible.
Are these financial sanctions?
No. The measures of 28 September concern entry to the United States, under immigration law and the Section 7031(c) corruption clause. The release announces no freezing of assets, and the US Treasury is not named in it.
Who is Alberto Zeballos?
He is the departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz and one of the twelve Bolivians whose US visas were revoked. On 29 September he asked the Foreign Ministry to obtain Washington’s reasons, and his office sought tougher measures against Tatiana Marset.
Sources: Opinión · Opinión · Opinión · Opinión · Opinión · Opinión · La Patria · La Patria · US Department of State · US Department of State, INL bureau (post on X)
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