Removal of 'Non Grata', Berisha to 'The Daily Signal': I plan to travel to the US immediately after the elections

An outspoken opponent of Hungarian-American megadonor George Soros may finally visit the United States after the Biden administration banned him in 2021, accusing him of corruption.

Sali Berisha, the former prime minister of Albania and the leader of the Albanian opposition party in Sunday’s elections, accused Soros and current Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama of conspiring with Secretary of State Antony Blinken to prevent him from visiting the U.S. When then-Representative Lee Zeldin, a Republican from New York, asked Blinken for evidence of Berisha’s alleged corruption, the State Department blocked him, Zeldin said.

Berisha, who served as president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as prime minister from 2005 to 2013, initially welcomed Soros' investments in Albania, but has opposed Soros' efforts for decades.

This week, a State Department official said Berisha could come to the U.S. “We routinely grant exemptions to facilitate travel for certain individuals to the U.S. consistent with our international obligations and our national interests,” the official told Axios reporter Marc Caputo. “As such, we will not allow our foreign policy interests or our relationship with Albania to be held hostage by the politicized decisions of the Biden era.

A State Department official independently confirmed this news to The Daily Signal.

“I plan to travel immediately after the election,” Berisha told The Daily Signal in a text message Friday. He called the State Department’s latest decision “helpful.”

"Blinken's decision was based on the corrupt lobbying of Edi Rama and George Soros with the deep involvement of the famous McGonigal."

Former FBI agent Charles McGonigal was sentenced to two years in prison in 2024 for taking about $225,000 from the Albanian government. According to an analysis by Berisha’s Democratic Party of the indictment against McGonigal, the FBI agent conspired with Rama’s government to target Berisha’s Democratic Party. McGonigal’s lawyer declined to comment for this story.

“The U.S. State Department made a wise choice in granting Berisha a visa, just as the U.S. granted [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi a visa years ago before he ran for prime minister of India,” James Carafano, a senior advisor at the Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in a statement Friday.

“Washington should not play the legal game of other countries where regimes deliberately try to silence political opposition by manipulating the legal system,” Carafano added. “Albania has been the example of judicial and legal abuse.”

Upcoming Elections
The political upheaval comes just before the May 11 elections in which Berisha is leading the Democratic Party (unaffiliated with the US Democratic Party and, in fact, affiliated with the US Republican Party) against Rama’s Socialist Party. Rama has served as prime minister since 2013. His Socialist Party, the successor to the Communist Party of Labor, has an outright majority of 76 seats in the 140-seat legislature.

According to the Associated Press, Berisha hired Chris LaCivita, co-manager of US President Donald Trump's 2024 election campaign, to help him get elected.

Berisha has presented himself as a Trump-like figure, using the slogan "Make Albania Great Again."

Rama also has ties to the Trump family. In December, his cabinet approved entering into negotiations with Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, owned by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to develop a $1.6 billion luxury resort on Suzanne Island. The Strategic Investment Company granted Kushner’s company strategic investor status for 10 years.

Albania was previously under the influence of the Soviet Union, with Enver Hoxha ruling the country through his Party of Labor. The Socialist Party changed its image after the fall of communism in the country, and now Rama has built his reputation by trying to join the European Union.

Rama's government launched judicial reforms in 2013 to address corruption in the country, reforms that the EU considers necessary to admit Albania.

“Albania remains vulnerable to money laundering due to corruption, growing organized crime networks, and weak legal and governmental institutions,” according to a 2019 State Department report. “Albania serves as a base of operations for organized crime organizations operating in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and South America.”

That report noted that justice reforms “have set a positive trajectory for Albania to address money laundering and financial crimes.” However, the report notes that efforts “are still challenged by widespread corruption.” Translated by The Daily Signal