Keypoints:
- Five violent offenders deported from US to Eswatini
- Men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos
- Repatriation timeline unclear as UN not involved
FIVE foreign nationals deported from the United States under President Donald Trump’s controversial third-country deportation programme are being held in solitary confinement in Eswatini, officials have confirmed.
According to a statement from the Eswatini government, the men – from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos – were convicted of violent crimes including murder and child rape in the US. They are now in detention in undisclosed correctional facilities in the southern African kingdom, where they are isolated from other inmates.
Thabile Mdluli, spokesperson for Eswatini’s government, told the Associated Press that the five were considered to be ‘in transit’ and would eventually be repatriated to their respective countries with assistance from a United Nations agency. However, she acknowledged there was no timeline for this process and that their status remained unresolved.
US policy sends criminals to third countries
The deportation of the five men is the latest development in Trump’s resumed third-country deportation policy, which aims to remove migrants convicted of serious offences – even if their home countries refuse to accept them back. Eswatini, a landlocked country of 1.2 million people bordered by South Africa and Mozambique, has now joined a growing list of nations – including South Sudan, Costa Rica, and Panama – receiving deportees under this programme.
The US Department of Homeland Security, which announced the deportations on Tuesday, described the men as ‘uniquely barbaric’ and said they were removed because their home countries refused to cooperate.
‘We are pleased these individuals are off American soil,’ said Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary.
UN agency unaware of deportation
Despite Eswatini’s claims that the men would eventually be returned to their countries of origin with the help of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN agency said it had not been involved and had not been approached for assistance.
‘We are not yet in a position to determine the timelines for the repatriation,’ Mdluli admitted in written responses.
Local media in Eswatini reported that the men were initially held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex near the capital Mbabane, home to the country’s main maximum-security prison, though current details remain unclear due to official silence.
The IOM told AP it would be willing to assist ‘in line with its humanitarian mandate’ if asked.
Secrecy shrouds deportation deal
Eswatini’s government has not disclosed the terms of the agreement under which it accepted the men, citing national security. Mdluli said the arrangement followed months of negotiations with the US government, but declined to elaborate.
The deal echoes a similar one involving South Sudan, where eight men – including citizens of Cuba, Mexico, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos – were deported earlier this month after being held in a converted shipping container at a US military base in Djibouti.
There has been no public disclosure from either South Sudan or Eswatini about what concessions or inducements were offered by Washington in return for accepting the deportees.
Rights groups raise alarm
Rights groups have criticised the practice of offloading violent criminals into countries with limited capacity to hold or process them safely and fairly. Both Eswatini and South Sudan have come under international scrutiny for poor human rights records and opaque prison systems.
Analysts suggest that small African nations may accept deportees in exchange for stronger diplomatic ties or economic incentives from Washington. The Trump administration has previously threatened to withhold foreign aid or impose trade sanctions on governments that refuse to cooperate with US deportation policies.
The fate of the five men – and whether they will ever be returned to their home countries – remains uncertain. It is also unclear whether they have legal representation or access to international monitoring.
