The US decision to reverse sanctions on Albanian opposition leader Sali Berisha comes at a dangerous moment for Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government, which has been targeted by a wave of mass protests in Tirana.

Berisha declared "America is great" on June 11 after announcing that the US had lifted the sanctions that barred him and his family from entering the country, ending a designation that has affected Albanian politics for more than five years.

The Democratic Party issued an official statement confirming that there had been "official communication regarding the lifting of sanctions by the US" and repeating Berisha's argument that he had never formally been declared persona non grata but had instead been subject to a visa ban.

The move, which had not been confirmed publicly by the US embassy in Tirana at the time of writing, would be a major political victory for the veteran politician, who has long argued that the sanctions were politically motivated and designed to weaken Albania's opposition.

The sanctions were imposed by the US State Department on May 19, 2021, shortly after parliamentary elections won by Rama's Socialist Party. Then secretary of state Antony Blinken announced that Berisha and members of his immediate family would be barred from entering the United States because of what Washington described as "significant corruption".

At the time, Blinken said Berisha had been involved in "corrupt acts" that had "undermined democracy in Albania" and declared that "Berisha and members of his immediate family are ineligible for entry into the United States."

The designation transformed Albania's political landscape. It deepened divisions within the Democratic Party, eventually leading to Berisha's exclusion from its parliamentary group before he regained control of the party after a prolonged internal power struggle. The sanctions also became a key argument used by Rama and the governing Socialists to question the opposition's credibility.

Berisha has consistently denied all allegations against him, describing the US decision as an abuse of power driven by political interests rather than evidence of wrongdoing.

The development follows a wider pattern under the Trump administration of reassessing sanctions imposed on political figures in Southeast Europe. Last year, the United States lifted sanctions against Milorad Dodik, the former president of Bosnia's Serb Republic, reversing measures originally imposed over allegations of corruption and actions viewed by Washington as undermining the 1995 Dayton peace agreement.

Legal troubles remain

Despite the reported lifting of US sanctions, Berisha remains under legal pressure in Albania. In September 2024, the Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK) charged him with corruption over allegations that he helped facilitate a lucrative property development benefiting his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi. Both men deny the accusations.

The politician is also subject to separate sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom in 2022 over alleged links to corruption. His appeal against those measures was rejected by a British court.

It therefore remains unclear whether his reputation will recover fully even if the US sanctions are lifted, or what lasting impact the decision will have on the Albanian political landscape.

The reported reversal comes at a particularly sensitive moment in Albanian politics. The country has seen days of anti-government demonstrations, initially sparked by opposition to a planned luxury tourism development associated with Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, but which have broadened into a wider expression of dissatisfaction with the government.

Demonstrators are now calling not only for the project to be halted but also for Prime Minister Edi Rama to step down, prompting comparisons with the "colour revolutions" that swept parts of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in the 2000s and 2010s.

The movement, dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution” has spread from the coastal village of Zvërnec, near the proposed development site, to the capital Tirana. For days, thousands of people have taken to the streets, making the protests one of the most significant public mobilisations Albania has seen in recent years.

The use of force against protesters in Zvërnec on May 30, combined with allegations of corruption and a lack of transparency surrounding the project approval process, helped transform the local environmental dispute into a broader political cause.

Environmental issues have increasingly become a catalyst for political mobilisation across the Balkans in recent years.

In neighbouring Serbia, repeated protests against pollution, mining projects and urban developments have drawn tens of thousands onto the streets. Demonstrations against Rio Tinto's planned lithium mine in western Serbia became one of the country's largest protest movements in years, eventually forcing the government to suspend the project in 2022, although debate over its future has continued.

The "Don't Drown Belgrade" movement and its symbol of a giant yellow duck also drew thousands of protesters into the streets in opposition to the controversial Belgrade Waterfront project. While the protests became a significant political force, they ultimately failed to halt the development. Another Kushner-linked project, planned on the site of the former Chinese embassy that was bombed by  Nato in 1999, was scrapped following mass protests and a corruption probe.

Rama's long dominance

The Albanian prime minister has become one of the longest-serving leaders in the region. Since first taking office in 2013, he has won four consecutive parliamentary elections, most recently in May 2025.

His victories have been aided in part by the Socialist Party's control of state resources and strong local political networks. However, the party has also won support through its steady progress towards EU accession, from securing candidate status in 2014 to overtaking fellow Western Balkan countries Serbia and North Macedonia to become one of the frontrunners in the process, with ambitions to join the bloc by 2030. Rama's charismatic presence has also helped raise the country's profile on the international stage.

Rama made progress on fighting corruption, especially in his early years in power, though more recently the government's reputation has been tarnished by a succession of scandals. These include the incinerators affair, allegations surrounding former deputy prime minister Belinda Balluku, until recently a key member of Rama's cabinet, and questions over the use of public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects and major investments such as the UAE-backed Porto Romano development.

Meanwhile, Rama's Socialists have benefited from years of infighting within the Democratic Party. The opposition has struggled to recover from internal divisions and leadership disputes following electoral defeats, while Berisha himself remained a polarising figure because of the US sanctions and the corruption allegations he denies.

The protests have also placed Berisha in a somewhat awkward political position. Early on, he publicly backed the Kushner-linked development, as broadcaster Top Channel TV reported earlier in June. However, he has since endorsed calls for Rama's removal, voicing support for protesters mobilising against the prime minister.

The demonstrations themselves have not rallied around the opposition leader. Instead, many protesters have directed their anger at the entire political establishment, with chants calling for both "Rama in prison" and "Berisha in prison”. 

The movement has no obvious political leader, having been driven initially largely by environmental groups rather than established opposition parties.

Whether the lifting of US sanctions strengthens Berisha politically may therefore depend less on Washington's decision than on whether he can successfully align himself with a protest movement that has so far emerged independently of the traditional opposition.