El Salvador Denies Larry Madowo Visa Citing Recent Ebola Cases

The Republic of El Salvador has denied a Special Entry Permit to Kenyan international reporter Larry Madowo, citing a blanket health restriction that bars travellers from eight African nations, according to official migration documents dated October 14, 2026.

The denial was issued by El Salvador’s Directorate General for Migration and is based on a broad health decree that targets citizens of Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Uganda. The decision comes even as health authorities in Nairobi maintain that there is no widespread Ebola outbreak in Kenya.

According to the official application review, the Directorate General consulted the Migration Movements System and confirmed Madowo had a record of migratory movements in the country. However, the permit was ultimately refused based on Article 13 of El Salvador’s Special Law on Migration and Foreigners.

The denial explicitly references Official Letter No. 2026-6000-055, signed by Dr. Francisco José Alabi Montoya, the Honorary Minister of Health of El Salvador. The document establishes with “binding effect” that anyone arriving from or transiting through the eight listed African nations “will be declared inadmissible and will be denied entry to the country.”

In its conclusion, the Directorate stated that because the applicant “is of Kenyan nationality, the health restriction on entry established by the competent authority is applicable,” resulting in the denial of the Special Entry Permit.

The document concludes by stating that the application submitted on behalf of “Kenyan citizen Larry Madowo is denied, as he is subject to the health restriction on entry applicable to persons arriving from the Republic of Kenya.”