US ambassador to Jamaica insulted Twitter critics by saying they smoked ‘too much ganja’, report says

Envoy became embroiled in social media spat after criticism of his Huawei stance

The US ambassador to Jamaica insulted Twitter critics by saying they smoked “too much ganja”, say reports.

Ambassador Donald Tapia traded insults online after he was accused of interfering in the Caribbean country’s internal affairs, according to Reuters.

The envoy also took shots at other users and told them they “drink that cheap stuff.”

Mr Tapia, a Donald Trump donor, got himself into trouble when he posted links online to interviews he gave warning the Jamaican government against installing mobile technology made by Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE.

The Trump administration has claimed that Huawei’s technology could be used to spy for China, which the company has denied.

The controversy began when one Twitter user reminded the ambassador that, according to reporting by the New York Times, Mr Trump has a secret Chinese bank account, reported Reuters.

Mr Tapia replied with “Too much Ganga”,  a misspelling of “ganja”, a common nickname for marijuana.

When another user told Tapia he had been “drinking rum or Red Bull” the ambassador replied “I don’t drink and you are a joke.”

And when a different user told Mr Tapia he did not drink “American made vodka” he tweeted: “You can’t afford it, you drink that cheap stuff.”

The US embassy in Kingston has not commented.