Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, “is no longer welcome” in the country.
Rubio made the declaration in a post on X, accusing Rasool of being a “race-baiting politician” who opposes former President Donald Trump and labeling him “persona non grata.”
The State Department did not provide further details on the decision.
It is highly unusual for the U.S. to expel a foreign ambassador, though lower-ranking diplomats have been targeted more frequently in past diplomatic disputes.
Meanwhile, Trump has signed an executive order cutting aid and assistance to South Africa’s Black-led government. The former president cited concerns over a new law that allows the expropriation of private land, claiming it disproportionately affects Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch colonial settlers.
