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By Humeyra Pamuk and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo
WASHINGTON/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The U.S. has is expelling South Africa’s ambassador, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, calling the envoy a "race-baiting politician" who hates President Donald Trump.
Ties have slumped since Trump cut U.S. financial aid to South Africa, citing disapproval of its land policy and its genocide case against Washington’s ally Israel at the International Court of Justice.
"South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country," Rubio said on Friday in a post on X about the rare barring of a nation’s top diplomat.
"Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @Potus (Trump)."
In statements from its presidency and international relations department, South Africa called the move regrettable but said it remained committed to building mutually beneficial relations and would address the matter via diplomatic channels.
Rubio reposted an article from right-wing website Breitbart that quoted the envoy as saying that Trump was leading a white supremacist movement. He must depart by March 21, a State Department spokesperson said on Saturday.
Reuters was unable to contact Rasool or confirm his whereabouts.
News website Semafor reported this week that Rasool has failed to secure routine meetings with State Department officials and key Republican party figures since Trump, a Republican, took office in January,
The U.S. is reviewing its South Africa policy, the State Department spokesperson added, citing the land policy, South Africa’s growing ties with countries like Russia and Iran and "aggressive positions" toward the U.S. and allies.
TIES AT ’LOWEST POINT’
"The US / South Africa relationship has now reached its lowest point," said Patrick Gaspard, a former U.S. ambassador to South Africa. "There’s too much at stake to not work towards the repair of this partnership."
Rasool presented his credentials to then-President Joe Biden on January 13, a week before Trump took office, according to the embassy’s website, for a second stint in Washington.
Trump has said, without citing evidence, that "South Africa is confiscating land" and that "certain classes of people" are being treated "very badly."
South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who is close to Trump, has said white South Africans have been the victims of "racist ownership laws."
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill in January aimed at making it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest, in some cases without compensating the owner.
Ramaphosa has defended the policy as evening out racial disparities in ownership in the Black-majority nation and said the government had not confiscated any land.
Trump has offered to resettle white South African farmers and their families as refugees. The State Department is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security and has begun implementing the plan, the State Department spokesperson said, adding that initial interviews were underway.