State Secretary Marco Rubio and the Department of State (DoS) announced on Mar. 6, 2026, that it will impose visa restrictions on several senior Rwandan officials who have taken part in driving increased instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“By continuing to support M23 and violating the Washington Accords, these individuals are driving violence and undermining the stability of the entire Great Lakes Region,” Secretary Rubio wrote in a press release published on the DoS website.
Secretary Rubio emphasized that all parties to the Washington Accords adhere to their commitments, including the DRC.
“The United States expects all parties to the Washington Accords to fully implement their commitments, including by the DRC immediately neutralizing the FDLR armed group and its associated groups and Rwanda withdrawing its troops and military equipment from the DRC,” Secretary Rubio proclaimed.
He asserted that only then can the DRC experience economic prosperity within the Great Lakes region.
“Individuals believed to be responsible for, complicit in, or directly or indirectly engaged in undermining or impeding a sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region will face consequences,” the statement assured.
In February, DoS also imposed visa restrictions under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act on Chilean officials who sought to undermine regional security in the Western Hemisphere; Palau Senate President Hokkons Baules for his involvement in corruption linked to Chinese actors; Marshall Islands’ former mayor Anderson Jibas for misappropriation of funds, Nicaraguan Maximum-Prison Director Roberto Clemente Guevara Gomez; and on Hizballah operatives accused of exploiting “Lebanon’s informal financial sector” to produce earnings for the Iran-backed terrorist group.
