The United States has identified many Saudi officials responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and is taking action, including revoking visas or imposing sanctions, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
“We are taking appropriate actions,” Pompeo said Tuesday, adding that some of those identified work for ministries and the royal court.
Members of Congress have repeatedly demanded that sanctions be imposed on Saudi Arabia over the killing of Khashoggi.
“These penalties will not be the last word on the matter from the United States,” Pompeo told reporters. “We’re making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence.”
Washington is still awaiting all the facts, he said, adding that the killing “will not go without an American response.”
Calling the killing a “horrific act,” Pompeo vowed to work with Congress and allies abroad on a response.
Visa records are confidential and Pompeo was not more specific about who the revocations would affect, but the State Department later said 21 “Saudi suspects” would have visas revoked or would be declared ineligible to enter the U.S.
Saudi authorities have so far detained 18 people in connection with Khashoggi’s death, which officials say was accidental despite Turkish allegations that Khashoggi was intentionally killed.
The visa revocations are the first punitive measures taken by the administration against the Saudis since Khashoggi disappeared after entering the consulate on Oct. 2.
Khashoggi, who was a columnist for the Washington Post, disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Saudi officials initially said they did not know what had happened to him, but later said he died in a “fistfight” in the building.
