Two West African nations have issued a simultaneous ban on American citizens in a diplomatic tit-for-tat move, amidst heightened tensions with both the United States and Europe, and as Russia seeks to increase its economic and geopolitical influence in the region.

Mali and Burkina Faso made the move in response to the Trump administration’s Dec. 16 expansion of travel restrictions to more than 20 countries. The policy particularly affected the African continent, with Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan also being subject to travel restrictions.

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The Trump administration cited the persistence of armed attacks in both nations as part of the rationale for its decision:

«According to the Department of State, terrorist organizations continue to plan and conduct terrorist activities throughout Burkina Faso. According to the Fiscal Year 2024, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Entry/Exit Overstay Report (‘Overstay Report’), Burkina Faso had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 9.16 percent and a student (F), vocational (M), and exchange visitor (J) visa overstay rate of 22.95 percent. Additionally, Burkina Faso has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals.»

Regarding its decision to include Mali on the list, it stated:

«According to the Department of State, armed conflict between the Malian government and armed groups is common throughout the country.  Terrorist organizations operate freely in certain areas of Mali.»

Burkina Faso and Mali are both currently ruled by military juntas that came to power amidst rising violence and instability, as both nations came under attack from Islamist terrorist groups.

A mural is seen, March 1, 2023, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Military forces in Burkina Faso killed 223 civilians, including babies and many children, in attacks on two villages accused of cooperating with militants, Human Rights Watch said in a report published Thursday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

Both nations have also seen a rise in anti-French sentiment, in conjunction with deepening relationships with Russia, which has pledged to offer assistance in fighting back the Islamist rebels battling the central governments for territorial control.

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«In accordance with the principle of reciprocity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation informs the national and international community that, with immediate effect, the Government of the Republic of Mali will apply the same conditions and requirements to US nationals as those imposed on Malian citizens,» the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

Malian soldiers check a vehicle in the garrison town of Kati, Mali, on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Malian soldiers took up arms and began detaining senior military officers in an apparent mutiny, raising fears of a potential coup after several months of anti-government demonstrations calling for the president’s resignation. (AP Photo/Mohamed Salaha)

Burkina Faso’s government cited a similar rationale for issuing its ban on American travelers.

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Both nations, as well as neighboring Niger and Nigeria, have seen skyrocketing violence in recent years, as chronically underfunded governments struggle to retain control of rural, sparsely-populated desert regions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Un recuerdo todavía presente en los uruguayos es el déficit hídrico de 2023: las reservas de agua dulce eran escasas en el país y la que salía de los grifos en Montevideo y sus alrededores era salada. El gobierno de Luis Lacalle Pou advertía que el país estaba a pocos días de quedarse sin agua potable y apuraba medidas paliativas para atravesar la peor etapa. Para el agro, la sequía dejó pérdidas de cerca del 3% del PIB.

Aunque todavía lejos de esa crisis –que fue la peor en 70 años en Uruguay– la falta de lluvias que se registra en el sur del país en los últimos meses enciende las alarmas en el agro. También ha generado que OSE, la empresa estatal encargada del suministro de agua, haya definido tomar medidas paliativas y emitir recomendaciones a la población.

“OSE comenzó a implementar medidas preventivas de preparación del sistema, ante un escenario caracterizado por precipitaciones escasas y caudales circulantes por debajo de los valores medios en la zona sur”, dice el comunicado que la empresa estatal emitió este martes.

Estas medidas preventivas se dan en el marco de un protocolo de sequías, que define indicadores, umbrales y acciones a aplicar en los distintos estados del sistema. Tiene un “enfoque preventivo y de gestión anticipada”.

Esta advertencia ha motivado reuniones entre OSE, el Instituto Uruguayo de Meteorología (Inumet) y la Dirección Nacional de Agua del Ministerio de Ambiente, que en conjunto resolvieron activar medidas de preparación del sistema de abastecimiento de agua potable, además de emitir recomendaciones a la población sobre este caso.

“Las acciones que se vienen desarrollando de forma progresiva incluyen el fortalecimiento del monitoreo de los recursos hídricos y las reservas, la evaluación permanente del estado del sistema, la adecuación de la gestión operativa y la preparación de infraestructuras de emergencia, entre otras medidas”, dice el comunicado.

1. No utilizar agua de manguera para el lavado de fachadas, patios, calles y veredas
2. Utilizar el agua de forma racional en el lavado de vehículos
3. Realizar riegos de jardines de manera eficiente y moderada
4. Uso moderado de lavarropas y lavavajillas
5. Minimizar el llenado de piscinas

“Lo que vemos ahora es un país partido en dos”, dijo Guadalupe Tiscornia, investigadora del Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), al hablar sobre esta situación en canal 12. El norte del país está con un nivel bueno de agua en el suelo, pero la región sur tiene “valores bastante bajos”, describió. Este escenario se registra desde octubre.

“Lo que está pasando es que los suelos no están con buena cantidad de agua. Entonces, la vegetación no tiene agua de dónde sacar. A esto se le suman las altas temperaturas. En la región sur, particularmente, hubo eventos de vientos. Esta es la peor combinación: altas temperaturas, bajo contenido de agua y viento hacen que la vegetación evapotranspira más”, explicó la técnica.

Si bien la situación es crítica, está lejos de reeditar lo que sucedió en 2023. Ese año el país afrontó el mayor déficit hídrico de los últimos 76 años.

“Puede ser que en enero llueva menos de lo esperado, pero que esa poca lluvia caiga en momentos clave de los cultivos o de las pasturas. Si es así, el impacto no es tan grande”, señaló Tiscornia.

Esta crisis también tiene repercusiones políticas. El senador Sebastián Da Silva, del opositor Partido Nacional, se comunicó días atrás con el viceministro de Ganadería, Matías Carámbula para pedirle que declare la emergencia agropecuaria para el este del país. En particular, para Canelones, Maldonado y Rocha.

“Entrar a enero con esta falta de pasto era inesperado, pero no hay nada de comida”, escribió el senador en la red social X.

Lawmakers fought over Obamacare subsidies tooth and nail for the latter part of the year, and ultimately, neither side won.

Senate Democrats thrust the government into the longest shutdown in history in an effort to refocus the narrative in Congress on healthcare, and Republicans agreed to talk about it in the open. And both Republicans and Democrats got a shot to advance their own, partisan plans. Both failed.

Now, the subsidies are set to expire on Wednesday, sending price hikes across the desks of tens of millions of Americans that relied on the credits. 

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When lawmakers return on the first week of January, healthcare will be front of mind for many in the Senate. But any push to either revive, or completely replace, the subsidies may, for a time, take a backseat to the government funding fight brewing ahead of the Jan. 30 deadline.

When asked if he was disappointed that lawmakers were unable to, at least in the short term, solve the subsidies issue, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., was more concerned about people that would experience higher costs. 

«I think who it’s most disappointing for are the people whose premiums are going to go up by two, three times,» Hawley said. «So, it’s not good.»

Price hikes on premium costs will be variable for the roughly 20 million Americans that rely on them, depending on age, income and other factors. Broadly, a person’s out-of-pocket cost is expected to double with the credit’s lapse, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The nonpartisan healthcare think tank painted a broader picture of the disparate impact on premium cost increases in a report released late last month that, based on myriad factors, including where a person lives, their age range and where they sit above the poverty line, some could see price hikes as high as 361%.

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Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, introduced the bipartisan bill during a news conference Tuesday. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

While Senate Republicans’ and Democrats’ separate plans failed to advance — despite four Republicans crossing the aisle to support Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., plan — lawmakers are working together for a solution.

There are two plans with traction in the House. The GOP’s plan advanced on the floor earlier this month but doesn’t address the issue of the expiring tax credits. Then there is a bipartisan plan that calls for a three-year extension of the subsidies, similar to Senate Democrats’ plan, that is teed up for a vote.

The latter option, and its bipartisan momentum, has some Democrats hopeful that a three-year extension could get a shot in the upper chamber.

«I’ll also say that the glimmer of hope is if we’re searching for a bipartisan deal that can pass the Congress, we don’t need to search any further than the three-year extension of the subsidies that’s going to pass the House of Representatives,» Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told Fox News Digital. «We don’t need a negotiation any further. That bill can pass, if it can provide relief to the taxpayers, and it can pass, then that’s our vehicle.»

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Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and many Senate Democrats are hopeful that the bipartisan momentum brewing in the House for a three-year extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies will translate in the Senate, where a similar plan has already failed. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., however, has maintained a deeply-rooted position against just a simple extension of the credits.

He argued that a straight-up extension for three years would be «a waste of $83 billion,» and lacks any of the reforms that Republicans desire, like reinstalling an income cap, adding anti-fraud measures, and reaffirming language that would prevent taxpayer dollars from funding abortions.

«I mean, I think if nothing else, depending on if the House sends something over here, there would be a new vehicle available,» Thune said. «And if there is some bipartisan agreement on a plan, then you know, it’s possible that we could — obviously it’d have to be something that we think the House could pass, and the president would sign.»

«But I’m not ruling anything out, I guess is what I’m saying,» he continued. «But you know, a three-year extension of a failed program that’s rife with fraud, waste and abuse is not happening.»

Senate Democrats are open to negotiating on a bipartisan plan, something that is already ongoing after Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, held a meeting with lawmakers before leaving Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

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But Democrats are also making clear that they don’t want to budge on some of the Republicans’ demands.

«Let’s put it this way, Republicans are asking to meet with me, and I’m telling them, I’ll listen, you know, I made it clear what I think is the only practical approach, and I’m certainly not going to go along with selling junk insurance,» Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said.