Tillerson visits Chad and gets an earful about U.S. travel ban

N’DJAMENA, Chad — On a visit to Chad, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday told the African nation’s citizens they’re welcome in the U.S. It wasn’t enough to overcome a Trump administration travel ban that Chad’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Mahamat Zene Cherif, declared an “injustice.”

Tillerson’s message of growing U.S. cooperation with Chad, a key counterterrorism partner, was overshadowed by palpable hurt and resentment over Chad’s position on an inglorious list that includes North Korea, Iran and Venezuela. Tillerson expressed hope the restrictions will be lifted.

Chad landed on the visa ban list primarily because of an office supply glitch that prevented the country from supplying U.S. officials with samples of its passports,.