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US kicks out S-African ambassador
(MENAFN) In a rare diplomatic move, South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, has been declared persona non grata and expelled from the country, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday.
Rubio accused Rasool of being a "race-baiting politician" who harbors hostility toward Americans and President Donald Trump. While he did not specify the exact reasons for the expulsion, he linked to a Breitbart article highlighting Rasool’s recent critical remarks about Trump's administration during a webinar hosted by a South African think tank.
At the event, Rasool claimed that Trump’s policies and the MAGA movement were driven by a supremacist reaction to shifting demographics in the US. He also suggested that Trump’s influence was extending abroad, citing Elon Musk’s involvement in UK politics and Vice President J.D. Vance’s engagement with Germany’s AfD party.
The expulsion comes amid escalating US-South Africa tensions, following Trump’s executive order cutting aid to Pretoria over a controversial land expropriation law. The US has criticized the policy, claiming it discriminates against white South Africans, while South Africa insists it is meant to correct historical inequalities, with a goal of redistributing 30% of farmland to black farmers by 2030.
The move marks one of the few instances in recent history where the US has expelled an ambassador. The last such case occurred in 2008, when the US and Bolivia expelled each other’s envoys over allegations of political interference.
Rubio accused Rasool of being a "race-baiting politician" who harbors hostility toward Americans and President Donald Trump. While he did not specify the exact reasons for the expulsion, he linked to a Breitbart article highlighting Rasool’s recent critical remarks about Trump's administration during a webinar hosted by a South African think tank.
At the event, Rasool claimed that Trump’s policies and the MAGA movement were driven by a supremacist reaction to shifting demographics in the US. He also suggested that Trump’s influence was extending abroad, citing Elon Musk’s involvement in UK politics and Vice President J.D. Vance’s engagement with Germany’s AfD party.
The expulsion comes amid escalating US-South Africa tensions, following Trump’s executive order cutting aid to Pretoria over a controversial land expropriation law. The US has criticized the policy, claiming it discriminates against white South Africans, while South Africa insists it is meant to correct historical inequalities, with a goal of redistributing 30% of farmland to black farmers by 2030.
The move marks one of the few instances in recent history where the US has expelled an ambassador. The last such case occurred in 2008, when the US and Bolivia expelled each other’s envoys over allegations of political interference.
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