Rubio bars South African ambassador from US, citing 'nothing to discuss'
Trump has said that "South Africa is confiscating land" and that "certain classes of people" are being treated "very badly."
By REUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: MARCH 15, 2025 17:11 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacts as he meets with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the State Department in Washington, U.S., February 10, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/Craig Hudson/File Photo)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that South Africa's ambassador to the US is no longer welcomed in the United States.
He accused Ebrahim Rasool of "race-baiting" and claimed he hated both the United States and its president, Donald Trump.
South Africa's Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country.Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS.We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.https://t.co/mnUnwGOQdx
"We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA," Rubio said in a post on X.
Rasool had presented his credentials to former President Joe Biden on January 13, marking the start of the envoy's tenure, according to the South African embassy's website, which 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 Pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a placard, while taking part in a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, in Cape Town, South Africa, February 22, 2025. (credit: ESA ALEXANDER/REUTERS)
Ties between US and South Africa
Ties between the United States and South Africa have deteriorated since 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 that "South Africa is confiscating land" and that "certain classes of people" are being treated "very badly."
South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who is close to Trump, has said white South Africans have been the victims of "racist ownership laws."
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill in January aimed at making it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest, in some cases without compensating the owner. He 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.
