US to expel South Africa ambassador as relations deteriorate

Voice of America
15 Mar 2025, 07:35 GMT+10

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that South Africa's ambassador to Washington had been declared persona non grata, signaling worsening relations between the two countries.

In a post on X, Rubio said South Africa's ambassador to the U.S., Ebrahim Rasool, was "no longer welcome in our great country."

"Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS [President of the United States]."

There has been no immediate response from South Africa's embassy in Washington.

Rubio's move came amid tense relations between the U.S. and South Africa. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order suspending aid to South Africa over a controversial land expropriation act that Trump said would lead to the takeover of white-owned farms. Trump also said that South African farmers were welcome to settle in the United States.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a post on X, defended his government's measure.

"We are guided by the Constitution, which places a responsibility on the state to take measures to redress the effects of past racial discrimination," he said.

"We have expressed concern about the mischaracterisation of the situation in South Africa and certain of our laws and our foreign policy positions," Ramaphosa said after Trump signed the executive order in early February.

VOA News

The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Baton Rouge Post.

More Information

null in null

Business

Section

U.S. stocks rally hard despite drop in consumer sentiment

Dow Jones jumps 675 points as Wall Street rebounds

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rallied hard on Friday, boosted by strong rises around the world. Investors shrugged off a decline...

Maserati cancels electric MC20 plans over low demand

MILAN, Italy: Maserati has scrapped plans for an electric version of its MC20 sports car, citing low expected demand for the high-performance...

Volkswagen to slash 1,600 jobs at Cariad by year-end

Volkswagen to lay off 1,600 staff at Cariad software unit

BERLIN, Germany: Volkswagen is set to cut 1,600 jobs at its Cariad software division by the end of the year, affecting nearly 30 percent...

Travel to and from Israel to be boosted by terminal reopening

israel's Ben Gurion International Airport to resume full operations

The principal terminal, Terminal 1, at Israel's largest airport will reopen at the end of this month, having largely been closed since...

Tech stocks lead renewed selling on Wall Street

Dow Jones drops for fourth day in row, loses 537 points

NEW YORK, New York - The knee-jerk introduction of trade tariffs by President Donald Trump continues to rattle markets with all the...

Ford to invest up to $4.8 billion to revive struggling German unit

Ford to inject $4.8 billion to shore up cash-strapped German unit

FRANKFURT, Germany: Ford announced this week that it will inject up to $4.8 billion into its struggling German unit to stabilize its...

World

Section