Algeria sacks Lebanon ambassador after he called Trump a 'deranged cowboy'

Algeria has terminated the mission of its ambassador to Lebanon, Kamel Bouchama, days after he made remarks insulting US President Donald Trump, less than 10 months after his appointment in Beirut.

According to the news site Tout sur l’Algérie, which is close to authorities, Bouchama was ordered to return home because his comments were seen as a breach of diplomatic conduct.

The incident occurred during the cultural conference 'Lebanon and Algeria: Radiant History and Bright Present', held in Beirut on 23 September, where the ambassador praised Algeria's revolutionary past but veered off-script to call Trump a "madman", "imbecile", and "cowboy who belongs in a psychiatric hospital".

The remarks, which circulated widely online, were widely deemed as undiplomatic, reportedly causing embarrassment in Beirut and Algiers and concern in Washington.

Sources close to Lebanon's foreign ministry told The New Arab's Arabic edition that the envoy's language was "unprecedented and deeply troubling".

The New Arab contacted the Algerian embassy in Beirut for comment.

The statements come at a time of improving US-Algerian relations. Algerian political activist Oualid Kebir highlighted in a post on X that it came a day after US presidential advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner had met Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf in Washington, in a sign of growing political ties.

Bouchama had already faced criticism earlier in the year after photographs posted by the embassy of him hosting a Lebanese actress were withdrawn following complaints about inappropriate attire at a diplomatic venue.

Appointed in January 2025 to replace ambassador Rachid Belbaki, Bouchama is now the second Algerian envoy in Beirut to be removed over political statements.

Belbaki was recalled after declaring, during the arrival of an Algerian fuel tanker, that "Algeria stands with the resistance", in reference to the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, deemed a "terror group" by the US.