Venezuela warns US is dangerous anyway in Trump travel ban retort
Venezuela has hit back over the Trump administration's travel ban by warning that the US itself is a dangerous place, while Somalia immediately pledged to work with Washington on security issues.
The mixed responses came after Donald Trump signed a ban targeting 12 countries also including Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen in a revival of one of the most controversial measures from his first term.
'Being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans,' Diosdado Cabello, the interior minister in Caracas, said after the announcement, warning citizens against travel there and describing the US government as fascist. 'They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.'
Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the US, said in a statement: 'Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised.'
Calls early on Thursday to the spokesperson of Myanmar's military government were not answered. The foreign ministry of Laos did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
There was no immediate response from Iran, but Jamal Abdi, the president of the National Iranian American Council, said: 'The impact of the ban will once again be felt by Americans who were denied the ability to see their loved ones at weddings, funerals, or the birth of a child.'
The move bans all travel to the US by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Trump imposed a partial ban on travellers from seven more countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from these countries would be allowed, his administration said. The bans would go into effect on Monday 9 June, the White House said.
Trump said the bans were spurred by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this story
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