Visa y Mastercard suspenden todas sus operaciones en Rusia por la invasión de Ucrania | Internacional

Dos azafatas saludan a los ganadores de un concurso organizado por Visa en la Copa del Mundo de fútbol, en julio de 2018 en Moscú.Rebecca Blackwell (AP)

Las compañías estadounidenses de tarjetas y medios de pago Visa y Mastercard han decidido este sábado suspender todas sus operaciones en Rusia por la invasión de Ucrania y la incertidumbre económica que plantean las sanciones impuestas por la comunidad internacional contra Moscú.

El anuncio de ambas compañías se produce horas después de que el presidente ucranio, Volodímir Zelenski, instara a un grupo de legisladores de EE UU a excluir a Rusia del sistema internacional de pagos. Las suspensiones anunciadas impedirán que las tarjetas Mastercard y Visa emitidas por bancos rusos funcionen en otros países y bloquearán las tarjetas emitidas en el exterior para comprar bienes y servicios rusos. En cambio, las tarjetas emitidas por bancos rusos con el logotipo Visa o Mastercard podrán seguir funcionando dentro del país porque esas transacciones están en manos de un operador local.

“Nos vemos obligados a actuar tras la invasión no provocada de Ucrania por parte de Rusia y los acontecimientos inaceptables que estamos presenciando”, ha dicho Al Kelly, presidente y director ejecutivo de Visa, en declaraciones recogidas por la agencia Reuters. “Esta guerra y la amenaza constante a la paz y la estabilidad exigen que respondamos de acuerdo con nuestros valores”.

Por su parte, Mastercard ha apelado a “la naturaleza sin precedentes del actual conflicto y el incierto entorno económico” para justificar su decisión de suspender los servicios de su red en Rusia. “Este anuncio se deriva de nuestra reciente decisión de bloquear a múltiples instituciones financieras de la red de pagos de Mastercard, tal y como exigen los reguladores a nivel mundial”, explica el comunicado de la compañía.

Los bancos más importantes de Rusia, incluido Sberbank, el mayor prestamista del país, y el banco central de Rusia, desestiman los efectos de las medidas. “Todas las tarjetas bancarias emitidas por bancos rusos seguirán funcionando hasta la fecha de expiración”, aseguró el Banco de Rusia. Sberbank añadió que podrán utilizarse “para retiradas en efectivo, hacer, transferencias usando el número de la tarjeta y para pagos en tiendas rusas, tanto online como offline”.

La retirada de Visa y Mastercard es la última medida de una amplia batería de represalias contra el Kremlin, en la que se incluyen las sanciones, pero también cancelaciones y suspensiones de actividad comercial y otros servicios, como la plataforma internacional de pagos interbancarios SWIFT, que excluyó a Rusia hace tres días. La marca de lujo Prada ha anunciado este sábado que dejará de vender en Rusia, así como la firma de equipamiento deportivo Puma. El grupo español Inditex, propietario de Zara, suspenderá temporalmente la actividad en las 502 tiendas que tiene en Rusia, igual que la cadena española de joyería Tous. El gigante IBM ha anunciado también este la suspensión temporal de actividades.

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Al boicot económico se suma una campaña de cancelaciones en el mundo de la cultura, con el veto a ilustres artistas como la soprano Anna Netrebko o el director de orquesta Valeri Gergiev, entre otros, por no retractarse de su conocido apoyo al líder del Kremlin.

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Mastercard, Visa Suspend Operations in Russia After Invasion

NEW YORK — 

Mastercard and Visa are suspending their operations in Russia, the companies said Saturday, in the latest blow to the country’s financial system after its invasion of Ukraine.

Mastercard said cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network and any Mastercard issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs.

“We don’t take this decision lightly,” Mastercard said in a statement, adding that it made the move after discussions with customers, partners and governments.

Visa said it’s working with clients and partners in Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days.

“We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” Visa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Al Kelly said in a statement.

The twin suspensions were announced within 16 minutes of each other, and they followed a private video call earlier in the day between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and U.S. lawmakers. During that conversation, Zelenskyy “asked us to turn off MasterCard and Visa for Russia,” Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California, tweeted. “I agree,” he added, before Mastercard and Visa made their announcements.

Earlier in the week, Visa and Mastercard had announced more limited moves to block financial institutions from the networks that serve as arteries for the payments system. Russian people have already been hit hard by heavy sanctions and financial penalties imposed by the U.S. government and others.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, the value of the Russian currency, the ruble, has plunged by more than a third to a record low. That’s pushing up inflation for Russian households, and all the fear has helped cause long lines at ATMs.

Many other companies around the world have also made moves to increase the financial pressure on Russia and its people because of its attack on Ukraine. Some are selling their stakes in Russian companies, such as energy giant BP, while others like Harley-Davidson halted product shipments to the country.

“This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values,” Visa’s Kelly said.

The moves by Mastercard and Visa could make real differences to their bottom lines. Russia accounted for 4% of all of Visa’s net revenue in its last fiscal year, including money made from domestic and cross-border activities. Ukraine accounted for about 1%, Visa said in a filing with U.S. securities regulators this week.

Mastercard said in its own filing that about 4% of its net revenues during 2021 came from business conducted within, into and out of Russia. Another roughly 2% was related to Ukraine.

EE UU retira la visa al expresidente hondureño Juan Orlando Hernández | Internacional

El expresidente de Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, en Tegucigalpa, el pasado 24 de marzo de 2021.ELMER MARTINEZ (AP)

Estados Unidos ha informado este lunes de la inclusión de Juan Orlando Hernández, expresidente de Honduras (2014-2022), cuando todavía estaba en el cargo, en el listado de “actores corruptos y antidemocráticos” por su presunta vinculación con el narcotráfico. De esta forma, al exmandatario le han retirado su visa y, por lo tanto, no podrá entrar al territorio de EE UU. El expresidente hondureño, que fue sucedido a finales de enero pasado por Xiomara Castro, juró recientemente como diputado de pleno derecho del Parlamento Centroamericano (Parlacen) en representación de su país.

“Estados Unidos está promoviendo la transparencia y la rendición de cuentas en Centroamérica al hacer públicas las restricciones de visa contra el expresidente de Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, debido a actos corruptos”, tuiteó el jefe de la diplomacia estadounidense, Antony Blinken, al anunciar la decisión. “Nadie está por encima de la ley”, dictaminó Blinken. En un comunicado, Blinken explicó que la inclusión de Hernández se produjo ante las informaciones periodísticas “múltiples y creíbles” que señalaban que estuvo supuestamente implicado en actos significativos de “corrupción y narcotráfico”.

The United States is advancing transparency and accountability in Central America by making public visa restrictions against Honduras’ former president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, on account of corrupt actions. No one is above the law.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 7, 2022

Hernández ha sido ligado al cartel que en la última década ha controlado el negocio de la droga en Honduras: Los Cachiros. Dos de sus líderes, Geovanny Fuentes y Devis Leonel Rivera Madariaga, están siendo juzgados en una corte de Nueva York y sus declaraciones han puesto al mandatario contra las cuerdas. Los narcotraficantes han asegurado que Hernández les dio protección a cambio de sobres con miles de dólares. Además, Juan Antonio Hernández, hermano del expresidente de Honduras, fue declarado culpable por el Departamento de Justicia de los Estados Unidos por narcotráfico, en 2019.

En julio de 2021, el Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos publicó una lista de 55 funcionarios y exfuncionarios centroamericanos a los que señala por corrupción, entre los que destaca el también expresidente hondureño José “Pepe” Lobo y su esposa, la ex primera dama Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo. Asimismo, figuran en ella congresistas y altos cargos de los gobiernos de El Salvador y Guatemala.

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Este mismo lunes, Hernández contestó al anuncio público de Estados Unidos con una carta abierta divulgada en sus redes sociales en la que se dice sorprendido de que Washington haya tomado esta decisión “basado en reportes de medos de comunicación y en declaraciones de narcotraficantes y asesinos confesos extraditados” por su Gobierno o que huyeron “por temor a ser extraditados”. El expresidente dedica buena parte de su misiva a enumerar lo que él considera que fueron logros de su Gobierno para la reducción del narcotráfico y la violencia en su país.

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Significant Nonimmigrant Visa Fee Increase Expected by September

The Biden administration has proposed raising the fees on almost all nonimmigrant visas. While U.S. officials say the move is needed to better align visa prices with what it costs to provide them, critics worry that if the administration does not address visa wait times, the cost increase could mean even fewer travelers and students coming to the United States.

According to a Federal Register notice, the State Department expects the new prices to go into effect by September, and it is accepting comments on the proposed increases until February 28.

“All of the fee increases are happening at a time when tourism and travel to the United States is already at an all-time low, and the State Department is imposing waits of six months to a year in many places for a tourist- or business-travel visa,” David Bier, an immigration policy expert at the Cato Institute, told VOA.

State Department figures show the visas with the highest numbers of applications are tourism, business, and study.

A nonimmigrant visa allows the holder to travel as a tourist or live, work or study temporarily in the U.S. under certain conditions. Visa applications for tourism, B1 and B2, and student visas, F, M, J, will increase from $160 to $245, a 54% increase. While employment-based visas, H, L, O, P, Q and R, are going from $190 to $310, a 63% increase.

Proposed Prices for Popular US Visas

“The most important thing is whether visas are issued promptly. If the administration increases costs, but there’s not a vast improvement in service from the State Department, then the result will be far fewer travelers,” Bier added.

U.S. airport traffic has fallen in recent years, counting both domestic and international travelers. According to the Transportation Security Administration, it screened a total of 1.1 million people on January 26. On the same date in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, that number was more than 2 million.

Promises

Addressing America’s immigration system was one of President Joe Biden’s key campaign promises. On his first day in office, he unveiled the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, sweeping immigration reform legislation that included an eight-year path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., a plan to clear employment-based visa backlogs, and a plan to prevent dependents of employment-based visa holders from “aging out” of the system, among other changes.

But the legislation stalled in Congress and is largely viewed as all but dead.

“Immigrants have done so much for America during the pandemic — as they have throughout our history. The country supports immigration reform. Congress should act,” Biden said.

Immigration experts say that while Biden reversed many of his predecessor’s policies often described as anti-immigration, a Trump administration executive order that limited legal immigration and the issuance of temporary work visas contributed to longer wait times for nonimmigrant visas.

Also, the State Department temporarily suspended routine visa services at all U.S. embassies and consulates in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions. They are reopening under a phased resumption of visa services, but about a fourth are partly or fully closed, according to the Cato Institute.

U.S. consulates around the world are a major component of the immigration system, processing visas “that authorize travel to the United States, but many consulates remain closed, and the open ones are reporting record wait times — [more than one year] in dozens of locations,” Bier wrote in a recent analysis.

A State Department official told VOA that U.S. embassies and consulates have online information on operating status and which services are currently offered.

According to Bier, in January most consulates reported waits of 202 days for a visa appointment for business travelers and tourists, up from 95 days in April 2021. For students and exchange visitors, the wait was about 38 days, up from 25 days about a year ago, and 62 days for everyone else, including skilled temporary workers, up from 40 days in April 2021.

FILE – Students make their way through the University of Chicago campus, in Chicago, May 6, 2021.

Effect on students, workers

A State spokesperson explained that the department’s consular operations are largely funded by fees for services and the proposed fee increase is to ensure the agency is fully recovering the costs of providing these services.

“Visa fees charged by the Department are generally based on the cost of providing visa services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of such service,” the spokesperson told VOA by email. “The assessment of the actual cost of service in combination with demand projections over many years determined the fees published in the proposed fee schedule.”

Increased fees need to translate into better service, especially shorter wait times, which is particularly important for students, said Jill Welch, senior policy adviser to the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.

“We’re still evaluating the potential impact of the proposed rule on international student flows to the United States. … It’s important for [the State Department] to have adequate resources to process visa applications, particularly for those students and scholars who are on tight timelines for obtaining their visas in order to arrive on time for the academic term,” Welch said.

International students at U.S. colleges and universities contributed nearly $41 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 458,290 jobs in the 2018-19 academic year, according to a study by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. In the 2020-21 academic year, international students contributed $28.4 billion to the U.S. economy, a decline of nearly 27%, or $10.3 billion, largely because of the pandemic.

But not everyone believes higher visa costs will have a big impact.

Marcelo Barros, an international student career expert in Washington, told VOA that although the fee increase was “unfortunate,” it wouldn’t stop people from coming to the U.S.

“This is not going to have any meaningful impact on [student] enrollment or on [employment-based visas]. This will not have any meaningful impact on the desire of companies to hire talent outside the U.S.,” he said, adding that if travelers, students or high-skill workers want to come to the United States, they will pay the new fee.