In the 1980s he was known for his defense of apartheid and his criticism of the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party in Pretoria, which he accused of terrorism. In 2013, five days after the death of Nelson Mandela, the great South African anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, he said that the media idealized his figure.
In a statement, Rubio alleged that US nationals had also been briefly detained in the imbroglio, a move Washington condemns in the strongest terms. He added that officials' passport information had been leaked, in what he called an unacceptable form of harassment that risked putting the individuals in harm's way. Failure by the South African Government to hold those responsible accountable will result in severe consequences, he said.
