Colombian Senator Martha Peralta Epieyú, who represents the northern region of La Guajira, says she found out from news reports—not from any official channel—that the United States had revoked her visa. The US State Department announced the move as part of a broader crackdown targeting officials from Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia accused of undermining democratically elected governments in the Western Hemisphere.
Peralta, who belongs to the Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement (MAIS) party, said she has received no formal communication explaining the decision. She also pushed back against months of public criticism and what she called “constant attacks” on social media, expressing hope that unproven claims won’t be mistaken for established facts. She said she has asked Colombia’s Foreign Ministry to seek clarity through diplomatic channels and vowed to keep doing her job in Congress “calmly, transparently, and with respect for the institutions.”
The senator is under investigation by Colombia’s Supreme Court in connection with a corruption scandal at the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD), where she is accused of improperly helping push through social reforms backed by former President Gustavo Petro in 2023.
Also stripped of his US visa was businessman Euclides Torres, another figure close to Petro, who himself remains on a separate US sanctions list. Washington cited a legal provision allowing entry bans on people whose actions could seriously harm US foreign policy interests.
Read the full original report at El Tiempo for more details.
Source: Martha Peralta reaccionó tras retiro de su visa estadounidense: 'No he recibido una comunicación oficial ni conozco los motivos de esa decisión' (eltiempo.com).
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