US expels South African ambassador
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 5,200 contracts, worth tens of billions of dollars, had been cancelled, with some of these programs even causing harm to the U.S.'s national interests. PHOTO: AP
The United States is expelling South Africa's ambassador to Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday, accusing the envoy of hating the country and President Donald Trump.
"South Africa's Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country," Rubio posted on X.
Ebrahim Rasool is "a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates POTUS", he said, referring to Trump by his White House X account handle. "We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered persona non grata."
The expulsion of the ambassador - a very rare move by the United States - is the latest development in rising tensions between Washington and Pretoria.
Trump in February froze US aid to South Africa, citing a law in the country that he alleges allows land to be seized from white farmers.