New rules affect travelers from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and dozens of African and Asian nations following U.S. concerns over irregular migration.

The government of Nicaragua has reinstated visa requirements for citizens of 128 countries, a decision announced Friday as pressure mounts from the administration of Donald Trump over irregular migration routes toward the United States.

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The new measure, signed by Interior Minister María Amelia Coronel and Migration and Foreign Affairs Director Juan Emilio Rivas, establishes that nationals from the listed countries must obtain a “consulted visa,” classified under migratory category C, to enter Nicaragua.

The affected group includes citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, China, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Libya and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. For China, Iran, Syria, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Serbia, Vietnam, Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates, the requirement applies only to holders of ordinary passports.

Text Reads: Nicaragua impone visado a 128 países en medio de la presión de Estados Unidos por la migración irregular.

The decision follows sustained criticism from Washington over Nicaragua’s previous open-entry policy. U.S. authorities had described that approach as “concerning,” arguing it facilitated irregular migration to the United States through Managua, where charter flights arrived from Africa, Asia and Europe. From there, migrants reportedly continued overland toward Mexico and the U.S. border.

The administration led by co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo moved to reinstate visa controls amid growing diplomatic pressure. The previous U.S. government under Joe Biden had also raised alerts about Cuban, Haitian and African migrants using Nicaragua as a transit corridor.

Over the past four years, Nicaragua had signed visa-free agreements with Cuba and several African nations. The new disposition orders the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to notify accredited and concurrent consular missions in Managua of the policy change.

The regulation maintains exemptions for holders of diplomatic, official, service, public affairs and special passports from countries with which Nicaragua has bilateral agreements.

According to Provision No. 002-2026, the consulted visa requirement applies to nationals of 128 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and Oceania, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe, among many others. Colombia is included under a partial reciprocity arrangement affecting specific Caribbean-born nationals from both countries.

Nicaraguan authorities presented the move as an administrative migration measure, while U.S. officials continue to link Managua’s entry policies to broader regional migration dynamics shaping Central America and the Caribbean.

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