State Department slams Zimbabwe after U.S. aid workers deported

March 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department on Friday issued a stinging rebuke of Zimbabwe after that country recently deported aid workers.

"We take the safety and security of U.S. citizens seriously and demand accountability from the government of Zimbabwe," the State Department said in a statement.

"The people of Zimbabwe deserve better and we will continue to support them as we work to build a more inclusive, democratic society with accountable political leaders and government institutions."

Zimbabwe authorities last month detained and eventually deported officials from the United States Agency for International Development.

USAID is an independent agency mainly tasked with administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.

The American workers were in the southern African nation monitoring the government's commitment to democratic reform.

"Zimbabwean officials abruptly detained and deported USAID officials and contractors, who were conducting an assessment of the development and governance context in Zimbabwe. Members of the assessment team were subject to aggressive handling, prolonged interrogation and intimidation, unsafe and forced nighttime transportation, overnight detention and confinement, and forced removal from the country," the State Department said in the statement.

"As we have made clear in the strongest possible terms to the Government of Zimbabwe, these actions against a team of development professionals legally admitted to Zimbabwe to support the government of Zimbabwe's expressed commitment to democratic reform are egregious, unjustified and unacceptable."

"The government of Zimbabwe has said it wants to pursue international re-engagement and democratic reforms. Its actions undermine those claims."

Earlier this week, the United States announced a new series of sanctions targeting high-ranking Zimbabwe government officials -- including the country's president and vice president -- in response to what the White House called ongoing "gross abuses of political, economic and human rights."

Opposition leaders in that county have repeatedly alleged fraud during Zimbabwe's elections. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa in August refused to accept the result of the country's election, which was won again by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

In November 2023, an opposition party activist was abducted while campaigning ahead of a special election and later found dead on a roadside.