Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut federal aid to South Africa, opposing land policy.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US is banishing its South African ambassador, saying “we are no longer welcome in our great power.”
“We have nothing to talk to him, so he is considered Persona Non Grata,” Rubio said.
The White House wrote in a summary of the order that the South African government discriminates against the country’s white minorities, namely “descendants of the minority of settler groups.”
South Africa called for regret in a statement from the presidency and the Ministry of International Relations, saying it will continue to engage in advance of mutually beneficial relations in the face of diplomacy.
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In his post, Rubio shared an article with Breitbart, citing that Trump said he was at the forefront of the white supremacist movement. On March 15, a State Department spokesperson said the ambassador must leave by March 21.
Semafor reported earlier this week that Rasool has failed to establish regular meetings with State Department officials since the president took office on January 20th.
According to a State Department spokesman, the US is reviewing its relationship with the country, citing South Africa’s land policy, strengthening relations between Iran and Russia, and “active stances” with America and its allies.
Patrick Gaspard, former US ambassador to South Africa, said US-South African relations “were now reaching its lowest point.”
“Efforts to repair this partnership are at risk,” he said.
Rasool provided then-President Joe Biden for his second term as Washington ambassador on January 13, according to the embassy website.
Trump accused South Africa of confiscating land and treating “a certain class of people,” mostly ethnic minority Africans, as “very bad.”
In January, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the bill, which made it easier for the government to make certain lands easier for the public interest and sometimes without compensation to its owners.
Ramaphosa defended the law by saying the government had not seized the land, suggesting that it would equalize racial disparities in land ownership in Black Majority countries.
Trump has also pledged to resettle white South African farmers and their families and grant them refugee status. Coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department has begun implementing the plan, with the initial interview being underway, a State Department spokesperson said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
