28 October 2026 · Washington, D.C.
U.S. lawmakers ask Rubio to review corruption concerns in Albania
Representatives Joe Wilson and Keith Self have urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider visa restrictions against Albanian officials implicated in significant corruption and to report on U.S. support for justice reform.
In their letter dated 22 October 2026, the two members of the U.S. House of Representatives request answers by 5 November and a staff briefing. They call for a review under Section 7031(c) and consideration of Global Magnitsky sanctions where evidence supports them—not sanctions without supporting evidence.
The lawmakers ask how Washington is protecting SPAK and other justice institutions from political pressure, whether it has raised parliament’s handling of the request to arrest former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, and how the U.S. Embassy is addressing protest policing and journalists’ safety. They also ask whether the Department supports independent investigations into reported incidents. The letter notes that Prime Minister Edi Rama denies corruption allegations against him.
At the Alliance’s Washington, D.C. protest on 6 June 2026, AACA President FATMIR BARDHOCI called for a congressional hearing and visa restrictions against officials implicated in corruption. This protest preceded the congressional developments listed below and forms part of AACA’s appeal to Congress and the Senate for an international investigation into alleged corruption, organized crime and human-rights violations in Albania. The linked Facebook reel documents the Alliance’s protest. The lawmakers’ letter does not mention President Bardhoci or AACA, so a direct causal link is not independently established.
Chronology of events
6 June 2026
AACA protest in Washington, D.C.
At the Washington protest, AACA President FATMIR BARDHOCI demanded a congressional hearing and visa restrictions against officials implicated in corruption. This event preceded the developments below and is documented in the linked Facebook reel; the letter’s authors do not mention AACA or its President, so a causal connection to later congressional actions is not independently established.
Watch AACA’s Washington protest on Facebook9 June 2026
Senator Sanders speaks
In a post on X dated 9 June 2026, Senator Bernie Sanders says over 100,000 Albanians are protesting a Kushner-linked resort, calling it ‘global oligarchy’; Prime Minister Edi Rama answers him publicly. Some American reports place the post on Monday, 8 June in local time.
10–15 June 2026
AACA President writes to U.S. leaders
AACA President FATMIR BARDHOCI sent official letters to President Donald Trump, U.S. national-security agencies and members of Congress and the Senate, including Representative Joe Wilson (House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees), Representative Keith Self (Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe), Senator Bernie Sanders (U.S. Senator for Vermont) and Representative Ken Calvert (Chairman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense). The White House replied that the President is following the situation.
25 June 2026
Meeting in Representative Calvert's office
AACA President FATMIR BARDHOCI met in the office of Representative Ken Calvert, who oversees defense funding, to brief on national-security risks posed by organized crime in Albania — which works closely with, and has direct ties to, the Albanian government — and on threats against American citizens. He denounced the political persecution of his family by the Edi Rama government and requested a congressional hearing to present concrete evidence of crimes committed against him, his family and his businesses in Albania.
Photo: AACA President FATMIR BARDHOCI in the office of Representative Ken Calvert, 25 June 2026. 29 June 2026
Wilson amendment filed
Representative Joe Wilson files an amendment requiring the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence to report to Congress within 180 days on the Albanian government's role in facilitating cocaine trafficking. It clears two committees and awaits a House vote.
15 September 2026
Congressional hearing
At the House Foreign Affairs Europe subcommittee, the State Department’s written statement gives Albania a paragraph on dismantling criminal organisations, while Mr Wilson asks about a ‘narco-trafficking cabal’ and the official replies that SPAK has been relatively effective.
22 October 2026
Letter dated
Representatives Joe Wilson and Keith Self date their letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
28 October 2026
Status of the request
The letter is publicly on record and the request is awaiting the Department's answer. No investigation, sanctions or State Department decision has been announced.
By 5 November 2026
Response deadline
The lawmakers ask the Department of State to answer in writing and to hold a staff briefing by this date.
