U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order freezing financial aid to South Africa, escalating tensions between the two nations. The move follows Trump’s earlier threat to cut funding over South Africa’s new land law and its legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of genocide.

In a statement, Trump claimed the South African government’s land reform policy violates property rights, repeating unsubstantiated allegations that the country is “confiscating land” and treating “certain classes of people very badly.”

Elon Musk, a South African-born U.S. billionaire and close Trump adviser, also weighed in, questioning on X (formerly Twitter) why President Cyril Ramaphosa had enacted what Musk called “openly racist ownership laws.”

President Ramaphosa has not yet responded to Trump’s latest action but previously rejected the accusations, insisting that land reform is aimed at correcting historical injustices.

He clarified that no land has been confiscated, and that the policy is designed to ensure equitable access to land for all South Africans.

The new land law, signed last month, allows expropriation without compensation only under strict conditions, such as when:

• The property is unused, with no intention to develop or generate income from it.
• The land poses a risk to public safety.

The issue of land ownership remains highly contentious in South Africa, as 30 years after apartheid, the vast majority of private farmland is still owned by white South Africans. Successive governments have faced mounting pressure to accelerate land reform and address historical racial inequalities.

The executive order states that the U.S. “cannot support the government of South Africa’s commission of rights violations” and will continue the aid freeze “as long as these unjust and immoral practices persist.”

The White House also announced that Washington is formulating a plan to resettle South African farmers and their families as refugees, though details of the initiative remain unclear.

With Trump’s latest move, diplomatic tensions between Washington and Pretoria are set to intensify, particularly as South Africa remains at odds with U.S. policy on Israel and pursues its case against Tel Aviv at the ICJ.