President Donald Trump said that the US authorities will not tolerate human rights violations that he believes are taking place in South Africa, and will take new measures against Pretoria.
The American leader wrote in Truth Social that South Africa “is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly“. “This is a bad situation that the radical left media does not even want to mention. Human rights violations are coming to light. The United States will not tolerate this, we will act. In addition, I will stop all aid to South Africa because of this until further notice!” - warned Trump.
On February 7, the US president signed an executive order to stop aid to South Africa in response to what he considers racial discrimination against the white inhabitants of the republic. Trump also criticized Pretoria for filing a case at the International Court of Justice (UN) in December 2023 accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
In connection with Trump's signing of the decree, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of South Africa expressed extreme concern about the international disinformation campaign aimed at distorting perceptions of the republic. The department stressed that Pretoria remains committed to finding diplomatic solutions to any misunderstandings or disputes.
Trump said on February 2 that Washington would stop all funding to South Africa until an investigation into alleged human rights violations in the country was conducted. According to him, land is being confiscated in the republic and "certain classes of the population" are being treated very badly. The president said he had instructed his administration to encourage white farmers to move from South Africa to the United States.
In response, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he looked forward to engaging with Trump to discuss issues related to the relationship between the two countries. On February 3, Ramaphosa spoke by phone with South African-born Elon Musk to discuss disinformation about his country. Musk leads the U.S. government's efficiency improvement team.
On February 6, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he would not travel to Johannesburg this month for the G20 foreign ministers' meeting because of South Africa's anti-American policies and what he considered a failed agenda for the meeting. It is based on the principles of solidarity, equality and sustainability.
Speaking to the nation in parliament on February 7, Ramaphosa said that no one in the modern world can intimidate or stop South Africa. On January 23, he signed into law a law that allows land to be expropriated in the public interest, but against compensation. Previously, agricultural land in South Africa could only be sold with the consent of its owner and if there was a buyer.