The businessman and former presidential candidate Carlos Pineda He once again referred on social networks to the cancellation of his US visa, a topic that had already been confirmed by himself since 2023 and addressed in different interviews.
The controversy arose after a letter dated May 23, 2023 was made public, in which United States authorities informed him that he was not eligible to receive a visa, in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Law of that country.
The document states verbatim: “Specifically, we cannot grant any visa to a person whom the United States government has reasonable grounds to believe is has been involved in, has assisted, or has conspired in drug trafficking.”
Sources from the United States consulted indicated that they cannot report on the situation.
Recent reaction on networks
In a video broadcast on his digital platforms, Pineda attributed the questions to a “narrative” promoted by political actors:
“Politics is the dirtiest war I have ever seen. Some political parties (…) have a narrative that the gringos don’t love me (…) they started again with the narrative of the narco, of the visa, of the narco-party”.
During his message, he also made reference to alleged links with activists of a movement identified as “America First”, which he described as an agenda that, according to him, could promote development in Guatemala.
Likewise, he maintained that the accusations are part of a smear campaign against him. “They start with a smear campaign, taking away our reliability (…) don’t think it’s nice to be under attack all the time,” he also said.
What he said in 2023
When the case became public, Pineda himself offered a different version of the denial of his visa. At that time, he assured in interviews—including one with Emisoras Unidas—that the decision was due to the fact that he stayed longer than allowed in the United States on a previous visit.
The businessman indicated that his passport was detained for approximately two months and later returned, although without visa approval, which prevented him from entering that country.
Pineda’s immigration situation was one of the most highlighted issues during the 2023 electoral process, in which he participated as presidential candidate of the Citizen Prosperity (PC) party.
Although he was leading polls at that time, he was finally left out of the race, amid judicial rulings that affected his registration.
During the electoral process, legal challenges arose that were not directed directly against his candidacy, but against the party that nominated him. These actions questioned the validity of the assembly in which the party proclaimed its candidates.
The case escalated to the Constitutional Court, which ruled in favor of the appeals presented. As a result, the party’s participation in the electoral contest was ordered to be suspended.
This decision left Pineda out before the vote. Although he had already been registered, his name did not appear on the ballot, so he could not compete at the polls.