US Secretary of State says South Africa's ambassador 'is no longer welcome'

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio stated that the South African Ambassador to the United States is "no longer welcome" in America. Rubio posted on social media platform X, accusing Ibrahim Rasool of being a "racist demagogue" who hates former U.S. President Donald Trump, and declaring him "persona non grata." This declaration highlights the deep divide in political views.

The U.S. State Department has not provided further details, and it is currently unclear whether the ambassador was in the United States when this decision was made. Rubio posted the message while returning to Washington from the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Quebec. Expelling a foreign ambassador is a very rare move in the United States, although lower-level diplomats are more commonly declared "persona non grata." Such actions often reflect serious diplomatic tensions.

During the Cold War, as well as after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. election, and the Skripal poisoning case in the UK, the US and Russia both carried out large-scale expulsions of diplomats, but neither Washington nor Moscow expelled the other's ambassador. These historical events serve as a backdrop for understanding the gravity of Rubio's statement.

Previously, Trump signed an executive order cutting aid to the black-led South African government. In the order, Trump stated that Afrikaners (primarily descendants of Dutch colonists) in South Africa were being targeted by a new law allowing the government to expropriate private land. The South African government denied that its new law was race-related and stated that Trump's claims about the country and the law were full of misinformation and distortion. This dispute reveals underlying tensions regarding land reform and racial dynamics in South Africa.

Rasool previously served as South Africa's ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2015 and returned to the position again this year. As a child, he and his family were evicted from a community in Cape Town designated for whites. Rasool became an active anti-apartheid activist, served time in prison, and proudly proclaimed himself a comrade of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first post-apartheid president. Later, he became a politician in Mandela's African National Congress party. Trump also announced a plan to offer refugee status in the United States to Afrikaners, who are only a part of South Africa's white minority population. These details offer a deeper understanding of Rasool's background and political affiliations.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill into law earlier this year, which allows the government to expropriate land in specific circumstances, such as when land is unused or when land redistribution is in the public interest. The bill aims to address the wrongs of South Africa's apartheid era, when black people were dispossessed of their land and forced to live in areas designated for non-whites. Trump ally Elon Musk highlighted the law on social media and portrayed it as a threat to South Africa's white minority. Musk grew up in South Africa. The Expropriation Bill continues to be a controversial topic, sparking concerns about its potential impact.