US Expands Third-Country Deportation to Eswatini With Five Cases

Cape Town, July 16 (AP) – In a move to expand its third-country deportation program, the United States has dispatched five men to the small African nation of Eswatini. This was confirmed by the US Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday.

Previously, the US deported eight individuals to South Sudan following the Supreme Court's decision to lift restrictions on deportations to countries where deportees lack any personal ties.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a late-night post on X, announced that these men, hailing from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos, landed in Eswatini via plane. She described them as convicted criminals and labeled them as “individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to accept them back.”

Eswatini authorities have yet to comment on any agreements concerning the acceptance of third-country deportees or the anticipated actions regarding these individuals.

The Trump administration has been actively seeking agreements with other African nations for such deportee arrangements. However, not all nations are receptive; Nigeria, for example, has openly rejected US pressure to accept deportees who are not their citizens.

Additionally, the United States has relocated hundreds of Venezuelans and other individuals to countries like Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama.

Eswatini, a nation of approximately 1.2 million people situated between South Africa and Mozambique, is one of the last absolute monarchies globally. King Mswati III has ruled the country, formerly known as Swaziland, by decree since 1986. Political parties face effective bans, and pro-democracy organizations have long claimed that King Mswati III stifles political dissent, resorting at times to violent measures. (AP) SKS SCY SCY

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