The United States has announced visa restrictions targeting South African officials and others it accuses of discriminating against the country's white minority, deepening a rift between Washington and Pretoria. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said South Africa had failed to adequately address US concerns, and that the restrictions would apply to those who promote "race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation." South Africa has consistently rejected such claims, and its own crime statistics do not show white people being disproportionately targeted by violent crime.

Tensions have escalated since Donald Trump returned to office, with the US cutting aid, expelling South Africa's ambassador and offering refugee status to Afrikaners, descendants mainly of Dutch and French settlers who make up just over 7% of the population but own most private farmland. The dispute centres partly on a South African law allowing land expropriation without compensation in limited cases, which the government says addresses apartheid-era inequalities and insists does not permit arbitrary seizures. Rubio did not name specific individuals affected, and the US embassy in Pretoria warned the visa curbs were merely the "first step" in further escalatory measures. South Africa's government had previously tried to ease tensions, including a May visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa to the White House, but has yet to respond to the latest restrictions.