[REVISION HISTORY]

Sali Berisha US diplomatic travel and Albanian unrest

Updated 8 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-08 14:45 UTC → 2026-09-10 19:52 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Sali Berisha, leader of the Democratic Party of Albania, has been granted a United States visa following the removal of his ‘non grata’ status. The status had been imposed by the U.S. Department of State in May 2021 due to allegations of corruption and interference in public processes. Berisha traveled to the United States to attend a Republican conference in Dallas as part of an International Democratic Union delegation. He described the journey as a “trip of the years for Albania,” intending to meet with allies to discuss the nation's political landscape. During his visit, Berisha criticized the administration of Edi Rama, labeling it an “authoritarian dictatorship” and alleging involvement in crime and corruption. ~~Marking~~ During his ~~first trip to the country in five years,~~ ongoing U.S. visit, Berisha ~~arrived to be met~~ has expanded his engagement with American political figures. In Texas, accompanied by ~~members~~ Fatmir Mediu, he met with several high-profile individuals, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, RNC Chairman Joe Gruters, Senator James Lankford, and Congressmen Kevin Hern and Pete Sessions. He also met with Ed Martin, a Department of ~~the Albanian diaspora. During meetings in New Jersey,~~ Justice representative appointed by Donald Trump. Berisha ~~characterized the diaspora as the ‘white fate’ of~~ was honored with the ~~Albanian nation and~~ ‘Key to the ~~‘unshakeable voice’~~ City’ of ~~Albanians in freedom.~~ Mesquite, Texas, by Mayor Daniel Aleman. He ~~expressed his intention to use his political return to strengthen the partnership between Albania and the United States. In recent gatherings, Berisha characterized~~ has maintained that his ~~return to~~ previous ‘non-grata’ status was the ~~U.S. as a “correction~~ result of ~~past injustices”~~ “corrupt lobbying by Edi Rama and ~~called upon the diaspora to support efforts to change the current leadership through the formation of a technical government.~~ George Soros.” Concurrently, political tensions in Albania have escalated into the country’s longest continuous protest in history. Reaching the 100-day mark in Tirana, the demonstrations—dubbed the ‘Flamingo Revolution’—were initially sparked by opposition to a luxury construction project in the Zvërnec and Nartë lagoon areas linked to interests involving Jared Kushner. The movement has since evolved into a broader revolt against Prime Minister Edi Rama, with protesters demanding his resignation. Amidst the unrest, former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj praised the protests as a “national awakening.”

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.