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The US "eased" sanctions, but is Sali Berisha really back?

2026-06-18 21:30:55Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

The US "eased" sanctions, but is Sali Berisha really back?

Five years after the US declared him persona non grata, Donald Trump has granted Sali Berisha “sanctions relief.” But what does this really change for the opposition party led by Berisha?

The 81-year-old opposition leader, a fixture of Albanian political life for more than three decades, had never left. But now he had reason to claim a new beginning.

About a year and a half after Berisha announced he would run for Donald Trump, the United States this month lifted sanctions imposed on him in 2021 by Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, over corruption charges.

Berisha's declaration of non grata had led to his expulsion from the parliamentary group of the opposition Democratic Party, the party he himself founded, triggering a bitter leadership clash between him and Lulzim Basha. A court ruling gave Berisha the leadership of the party in 2024, but this did little to improve the party's electoral chances against Prime Minister Edi Rama's Socialists, in power since 2013.

Berisha was applauded in parliament after the news of the US's change of stance on sanctions, which Democratic MP and Berisha supporter Belind Këlliçi said had "burdened the party for years."

According to him, this was a positive development, considering how much it had affected "the public perception of the party" due to "intense media propaganda."

However, political analysts said it would take more than a "sanctions relief" from Trump to revive the Democratic Party's prospects for returning to power.

For many Albanians, Berisha remains a burden, which was also evidenced in the calls against him during the massive protests of the last two weeks, caused by a project to build a tourist resort linked to Trump and promoted by Rama.

Berisha also remains in court in Albania.

“In legal terms, he continues to be under investigation by SPAK and there is no change in this status, while in terms of citizen protests, he is an object of criticism just as much as Rama,” said Rigels Xhemollari of Qëndresa Qytetare, an NGO in Tirana.

"So even in public perception, this easing of sanctions did not bring any political credibility."

Berisha is seen as part of an old, unwanted class

The ongoing protests in Albania were sparked by a David versus Goliath clash over the rule of law on a small, largely untouched stretch of Albanian coastline, where authorities are accused of skirting the law to favor a luxury resort development linked to Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

While this may have been the spark, what is driving ordinary citizens to protest every day are long-standing grievances: the state's failure to fight corruption, guarantee equality before the law, and media freedom.

For this they blame both Edi Rama and Sali Berisha, who was previously prime minister and also the country's first democratically elected president from 1992 to 1997. His presidency ended in turmoil, following the collapse of fraudulent pyramid schemes and the looting of army weapons depots.

One of the main slogans of the protests is: "Rama in prison, Berisha in prison."

Of course, Washington did not listen to these calls.

On June 12, the U.S. State Department said it had made “exceptions to certain non grata designations under section 7031(c), imposed by the previous administration, because granting these exemptions serves an important national interest.” Berisha, his wife, and two children were among them.

The Biden administration had declared Berisha persona non grata for "involvement in corrupt acts," a major blow to the then-opposition MP, given the great respect many Albanians have for the US, NATO ally and savior of Kosovo Albanians in 1999.

Berisha had pinned his hopes on Donald Trump, calling his return to the presidency in January 2025 a “miracle.” He immediately hired Trump’s electoral advisor, Chris LaCivita, to lead his party’s campaign in the May 2025 elections, which Rama’s Socialists again won. He even sued former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for defamation.

Berisha is still under sanctions by the United Kingdom and is still being tried in Albania on corruption charges.

Albanian analyst and journalist Enton Abilekaj said the protesters' anger is directed against "the entire political class" that stands behind an "endless transition" since the fall of communism.

They want, he said, “the removal of both” – Rama and Berisha. (BIRN)


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