Diplomacy · Puerto Rico
US denies Ada Colau entry to Puerto Rico, her camp links it to Gaza flotilla
The US government refused the entry request of former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, who was due to speak at a municipalism event in Puerto Rico. Her camp says the real reason is her participation in the Gaza flotilla.
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In brief
US authorities refused Colau's ESTA application, the only one of her team's applications rejected, while the rest were approved without problems.
US authorities cited a suspicion that Colau wants to migrate illegally, while her entourage says the real motive is her October 2025 Gaza flotilla participation.
At a meeting with the US embassy in Spain, officials asked whether Colau had been detained or had a criminal record, then whether she had travelled to Israel.
The entry refusal
The US government has refused Ada Colau, the former mayor of Barcelona and a Frente Amplio candidate in the general elections, access to Puerto Rico. She was due to speak at a municipalism event organised by the Liga de Ciudades, a group on the Caribbean island. New York mayor Zohran Mamdani was also expected at the event, but he has delegated his address to a member of his team.
Her circle says the request was rejected through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), the permit required for citizens of countries that do not need a visa to enter the United States. Hers was the only application the authorities refused to issue, while the rest of her team obtained theirs without problems.
Official reason and her camp's response
The reason cited by the Trump administration is a suspicion that she wants to migrate illegally to the country. Her entourage rejects that explanation and says the veto is political, tied to her participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla in October 2025. Israeli forces intercepted that flotilla while it was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, and her circle says the ban is a result of her activism and ideological views.
Embassy questions and her account
After the refusal, Colau asked for a meeting with the US embassy in Spain to seek a reconsideration. In her account to elDiario.es, officials first asked whether she had ever been detained or had a criminal record, and then whether she had travelled to Israel. She said she had gone there on a peaceful humanitarian mission, that the Israeli army detained the group and later returned them to their countries after reaching an agreement, and that no one had formally told her she was under arrest.
“The official asked me several questions beating around the bush.”
Return to X
The news came a few hours after Colau returned to X, five years after announcing she was leaving the platform for an indefinite period, saying it prevented her from doing good politics. Her return post accepted an invitation from influencer Jordi Wild to be interviewed on his podcast The Wild Project ahead of the general elections on 29 November.