The US’s top diplomat in South Africa resigned with immediate effect amid heightened diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
The US government informed South Africa in writing about Chargé d’Affaires Dana Brown’s departure in writing on Thursday. She will be replaced by a diplomat who is expected to arrive in the country on March 14, according to the communication seen by Bloomberg.
US Embassy spokesperson Siphokazi Mdidimba didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Brown represented Washington at last week’s Group of 20 foreign ministers’ meeting in South Africa. Secretary of State Marco Rubio snubbed the gathering after deriding Pretoria’s G-20 goals and attacking its domestic land policy.
Relations between the South Africa and the US, its second-biggest trading partner, have been strained after President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the country is confiscating land.
The South African authorities haven’t seized any private land since the end of White-minority rule in 1994.
BLOOMBERG
