South Sudan on Monday denounced the United States’ decision to revoke all visas for its nationals, calling the move unfair and based on a case of mistaken identity involving a Congolese citizen.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Saturday that visas for South Sudanese citizens were being canceled because the government had failed to promptly accept the return of its nationals ordered removed from the U.S.
In a statement, South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said the individual recently denied U.S. entry and returned was not a South Sudanese citizen but a Congolese national. The ministry said the man’s identity was verified, and the evidence was shared with U.S. authorities.
“The government deeply regrets that despite a history of collaboration and partnership, South Sudan now faces a broad revocation of visas based on an isolated incident involving misrepresentation by an individual who is not a South Sudanese national,” the statement said.
Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told The Associated Press that the U.S. appeared to be “attempting to find faults with the tense situation” in the country, adding that “no sovereign nation would accept foreign deportees.”
The visa dispute comes as South Sudan faces growing instability. The United Nations warned in March that the country was on the brink of renewed civil war. Vice President Riek Machar, also a prominent opposition leader, remains under house arrest after an armed group linked to him attacked a military camp and a U.N. helicopter.
It remains unclear how many South Sudanese currently hold U.S. visas. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on social media that the dispute centers on a single individual, certified by South Sudan’s embassy in Washington, whom the government has since refused to accept. The individual’s name was not disclosed.
The U.S. said it will not issue new visas to South Sudanese nationals until the country fully cooperates, but added that the restrictions could be reviewed if compliance is restored.