Washington: The Trump administration has announced new travel restrictions on South African officials it accuses of supporting discrimination against white people and other minority groups. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States would revoke visas or reject visa applications from foreign nationals involved in enforcing laws that permit uncompensated land seizures, racial discrimination, or incitement of violence against minority ethnic and racial groups in South Africa.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the South African government has strongly rejected the US allegations, describing claims of discrimination against whites as baseless and attributing them to misinformation since US President Donald Trump returned to office last year. Rubio did not specify which officials might face restrictions. However, a South African lobby group representing white minorities has previously urged the US to sanction officials from the African National Congress (ANC), the party of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The announcement marks the latest action by the Trump administration against South Africa over its claims that white South Africans, particularly Afrikaners, face discrimination under the Black-led government. Afrikaners, descended from Dutch and French settlers, were central to the apartheid system of racial segregation. South Africa, with a population of about 62 million, includes roughly 4.5 million white people of Afrikaner, British, and other backgrounds.
The United States has criticized a South African law allowing expropriation of unused private land without compensation under certain conditions, as well as affirmative action policies aimed at expanding opportunities for Black South Africans. The Trump administration has also expressed concern over South Africa's decision to accuse Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza before the International Court of Justice.
During Trump's second term, the US has taken several measures against South Africa over what it describes as anti-white and anti-American policies. These include excluding South African officials from G20 meetings in the US and reducing aid to the country's HIV treatment program. Additionally, the US has introduced a refugee program for Afrikaners and other white South Africans, claiming they face a humanitarian emergency, a characterization South Africa rejects.
Washington asserts that these measures are necessary due to South Africa's unchanged policies. The official US ambassador to South Africa account on X indicated that the visa restriction policy is just the first step in a series of measures demonstrating America's resolve on this issue.