South Africa Summons US Envoy Again Over Remarks, Reports Says

South Africa issued a diplomatic protest against the US ambassador to Pretoria for the second time this year, after he criticized the government in media interviews, News24 reported.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation conveyed the so-called démarche to Leo Brent Bozell III on Tuesday, the Cape Town-based news website said, citing a US government official and other people it didn’t identify.

The move risks further straining relations between South Africa and the US, which have deteriorated sharply since Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. Trump has falsely accused Pretoria of perpetrating a genocide against White farmers and seizing their land, while also criticizing the nation’s ties with Iran and Hamas and its Black economic-empowerment policies.

Bozell has repeatedly said President Cyril Ramaphosa failed to respond meaningfully to five demands on domestic policy that the White House set as conditions for a diplomatic détente between the two countries, News24 said. He threatened further escalation after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions on South African policymakers.

Bozell was also summoned by the department in March.

Read More: South Africa Issues Formal Protest to US Envoy Over Remarks