The U.S. State Department announced the measures on Friday, saying the targeted officials were helping sustain instability in the mineral-rich region by backing the M23 rebel movement.
The restrictions come days after Washington imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s military and four senior officers for allegedly supporting the group.
The U.S. government did not name the officials affected by the visa restrictions.
In a statement attributed to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Washington said the officials were undermining a peace agreement signed late last year between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“By continuing to support M23 and violating the Washington Accords, these individuals are driving violence and undermining the stability” in the region, the statement said.
The United States added that it expected both countries to respect the terms of the peace agreement brokered with Washington’s support.
The State Department said it “expects all parties to the Washington Accords to fully honor their commitments,” which include expectations for Congo to immediately neutralize armed groups that threaten Rwanda as well as the withdrawal from Congo of Rwandan troops.
Rising pressure on Rwanda
The new restrictions deepen pressure on Rwanda after the United States earlier sanctioned Rwanda’s military and four senior officers over their alleged links to the M23 group.
According to Washington, the rebellion has displaced thousands of people and has been linked to human rights abuses in eastern Congo.
Rwanda has rejected the accusations.
Officials in Kigali described the sanctions as unfair and argued that Congo’s government had violated the peace agreement first.
The agreement was signed in December under U.S. mediation in Washington. At the time, U.S. President Donald Trump praised both governments for reaching the deal and said it could open opportunities for American investment in the region’s vast mineral resources.
Eastern Congo holds large deposits of critical minerals used in electronics and renewable energy technologies.
Despite the agreement, clashes between armed groups and government forces have continued in several areas of eastern Congo.
Eastern Congo has faced conflict for decades, with numerous armed groups competing for territory and access to valuable minerals.
The M23 movement is currently the most powerful of nearly 100 armed groups operating in the region.
The fighting has contributed to one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. According to the United Nations refugee agency, more than seven million people have been displaced inside Congo.
Congo’s government, the United States and United Nations experts have repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 fighters.
U.N. estimates suggest the group has expanded significantly in recent years, growing from a few hundred fighters in 2021 to around 6,500 today.
The M23 group first emerged in 2012. Its members, largely from the Tutsi ethnic group, said a 2009 peace deal meant to protect their interests, including integration into Congo’s national army and the return of refugees, had not been respected by the Congolese government.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has defended the group’s grievances, saying its struggle reflects the need to protect the rights of Congolese Tutsis, many of whom have fled to neighbouring countries over the years.
The conflict escalated sharply in January 2025 when M23 fighters advanced into the strategic eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu, expanding their control over several towns and raising fears of a wider regional crisis.
