Miami
U.S. announces visa restrictions on South African officials over alleged racial discrimination
The Trump administration said it will block entry for officials it holds responsible for policies targeting White people and other minority groups. South Africa rejected the accusations and said they are based on distorted claims.
The United States has announced new sanctions on South Africa through visa restrictions targeting officials it says are responsible for, or complicit in, enforcing laws and policies that allow uncompensated land expropriation, race-based discrimination and the incitement of violence against minority ethnic and racial groups.
As reported by CBS News Miami, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Washington will revoke visas or deny applications from foreign nationals covered by the measure. He argued that such actions undermine peace, economic stability and the rule of law.
Rubio did not name any South African officials who would be affected. CBS News Miami reported that a lobby group representing a White minority in South Africa had previously called for sanctions against figures from the African National Congress, the party of President Cyril Ramaphosa and the largest force in Parliament.
The South African government strongly rejected the allegations of discrimination against White people and described the claims pushed by the U.S. administration since Trump returned to office as baseless. According to Reuters, South Africa’s foreign ministry said Wednesday it had noted the new restrictions with concern and argued that the U.S. move aligns with fringe-group mischaracterizations of the country’s domestic policies.
The step adds to other Trump administration measures against South Africa over what Washington describes as anti-White and anti-American policies. CBS News Miami listed the exclusion of South African officials from G20 meetings in the United States this year, the phaseout of aid for South Africa’s HIV treatment program, and the launch of a refugee program for Afrikaners and other White people.
Washington has pointed to a disputed South African law allowing the expropriation of unused private land without compensation in some cases, affirmative action policies aimed at expanding opportunities for Black people and others, and a small number of violent crimes against White farmers as evidence of a broader anti-White stance, CBS News Miami reported.
The Trump administration has also sharply criticized South Africa over its genocide case against Israel at the United Nations’ top court concerning Palestinians in Gaza. Israel strongly denies that accusation.
The official U.S. ambassador account in South Africa said Wednesday on X that the visa policy is only the first step in a broader series of escalating measures. Rubio also said on social media that South Africa’s government is failing its people and damaging the economy through what he described as a fixation on racial grievance against the Afrikaner minority.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
