The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting certain South African foreign nationals over policies that Washington says involve uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination and the incitement of violence against minority groups.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the policy on Tuesday, saying the affected individuals would include people responsible for or involved in implementing policies that fall within those categories.
Rubio said the South African government had not sufficiently addressed concerns previously raised by Washington.
“The South African government has not adequately addressed the previously laid out concerns,” he said in a statement.
The US government did not identify any specific individuals who would be affected by the restrictions when the policy was announced.
The latest measure adds to growing tensions between Washington and Pretoria under US President Donald Trump’s administration. The dispute has centred partly on South Africa’s land reform programme and other policies aimed at addressing racial inequalities that developed during the apartheid era.
The Trump administration has argued that some of these policies unfairly affect white South Africans, including Afrikaners. South African authorities have rejected claims that white citizens are being systematically persecuted and maintain that the country’s policies are intended to address the legacy of apartheid and racial inequality.
South Africa has also defended its land reform policies as part of its domestic policymaking and has criticised Washington for what it considers inaccurate portrayals of the country’s situation.
The disagreement between the two countries extends beyond land policy. Washington has also criticised South Africa over its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, in which Pretoria accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention in its military campaign in Gaza.
Since returning to office, Trump’s administration has taken several measures affecting South Africa, including cutting some US aid, offering refugee status to certain white Afrikaners and expelling South Africa’s ambassador. Trump has also repeatedly made claims about the alleged persecution of white South Africans, claims the South African government has strongly rejected.
South Africa remains one of the world’s most unequal countries more than three decades after the end of apartheid. The country also continues to record high levels of violent crime, although official crime data show that Black South Africans make up the majority of victims.
The latest visa restrictions are therefore another development in the increasingly strained relationship between the United States and South Africa. South African officials have called for Washington to respect the country’s sovereignty and domestic laws while urging continued diplomatic engagement.
