The United States has strongly condemned South Africa over the detention of several American officials, marking a new diplomatic escalation between the two countries.
The condemnation followed the arrest by South African authorities of seven Kenyan nationals brought in by Washington to assist with immigration procedures for members of the white Afrikaner minority, whom U.S. President Donald Trump has granted refugee status. The Kenyans were deported on the grounds that they were working illegally while holding tourist visas.
The U.S. State Department also confirmed that American citizens were briefly detained, describing the publication of their personal information as an “unacceptable form of harassment”.
Washington has called on Pretoria to hold those responsible for the incident to account.
For its part, South Africa denied arresting any U.S. officials during the operation, stressing that no diplomatic premises were targeted.
