US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that South Africas ambassador to the United States was no longer welcome in the country, accusing Ebrahim Rasool of being a race-baiting politician who hates America and its president. The rare step marked the latest Trump administration move targeting the African nation.
US Secretary of StateMarcoRubioon Friday declared Ebrahim Rasool,South Africa's ambassador to the U.S., persona non grata, calling the envoy a "race-baiting politician" who hates America and PresidentDonald Trump.
"South Africa's Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,"Rubiosaid in a post on social media platform X. "We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA,"Rubiosaid.
Rasool presented his credentials to then-PresidentJoe Bidenon January 13, a week before Trump took office, marking the start of the envoy's tenure, according to the South African embassy's website. It said this was Rasool's second stint in Washington.
The US State Department and South Africa's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A statement from the office of South African PresidentCyril Ramaphosasaid it had "noted the regrettable expulsion" of Rasool and called on its diplomatic officials to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter.
South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America, the statement said.
Ties between the United States and South Africa havedeterioratedsince Trump cut US financial aid to the country, citing disapproval of its land policy and of its genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Washington's ally Israel.
Trump has said, without citing evidence, that "South Africa is confiscating land" and that "certain classes of people" are being treated "very badly."
South African-born billionaireElon Musk, who is close to Trump, has said white South Africans have been the victims of "racist ownership laws."
President Ramaphosa signed into law abillin January aimed at making it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest, in some cases without compensating the owner.
Ramaphosa has defended the policy and said the government had not confiscated any land. The policy was aimed at evening out racial disparities in land ownership in the Black-majority nation, he said.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
Originally published on France24
