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Eswatini says it is holding U.S. deportees in prisons, aims to repatriate them
6:55 CAT | 16 Jul 2025
Image: Google Maps
Eswatini’s government said on Wednesday that it was holding five third-country nationals deported from the United States in isolated prison units under a deal with President Donald Trump’s administration, but sought to eventually send them home.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department said on Tuesday that a deportation flight carrying immigrants from five countries had landed in Eswatini, after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on deporting migrants to countries that are not their own.
The five individuals on the flight were convicted criminals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen, it said. U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said on X their home countries had refused to take them back.
“Government acknowledges the widespread concern regarding the deportation of third-country prisoners from the United States of America into the Kingdom of Eswatini,” said Eswatini’s acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli in a statement.
“Indeed, five inmates are currently housed in our correctional facilities in isolated units,” she said, adding that this was “the result of months of robust high-level engagements” with the United States government.
Eswatini, a landlocked nation in Southern Africa, is home to about 1.2 million people and ruled by an absolute monarch who has been in power since 1986.
The statement said that Eswatini and the United States would “collaborate with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to facilitate the transit of the inmates to their countries of origin.”
The IOM could not immediately be reached for comment.
Government has assured emaSwati that the arrival of five third-country deportees from the United States of America poses no security threat to the Nation.
— Eswatini Government (@EswatiniGovern1) July 16, 2025
AGS: “As a responsible member of the global community, the Kingdom of Eswatini adheres to international agreements and diplomatic protocols regarding the repatriation of individuals, ensuring that due process and respect for human rights is followed.”
— Eswatini Government (@EswatiniGovern1) July 16, 2025
NEW: a safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed— This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back.
These depraved monsters have been terrorizing American communities but thanks to @POTUS… pic.twitter.com/TsanIX8H4T
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) July 16, 2025
CITIZEN OF YEMEN
• Convicted of second-degree homicide;
• Convicted of assault and battery;
• Convicted of resist and obstruct officer; sentenced to 17 days confinement.
• Convicted of cruelty to dependent adult;
• Convicted of assault with the intent to do great bodily harm… pic.twitter.com/R2dots7hrw— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) July 16, 2025
CITIZEN OF LAOS
• Convicted of second-degree murder and burglary (forced entry); sentenced to 20 years confinement.
• Convicted of operating a motor vehicle under influence of controlled substance.
• Charged with aggravated assault with deadly weapon and possession of… pic.twitter.com/5gNJGd2YpE— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) July 16, 2025
BREAKING: DHS announces a third country ICE deportation flight has landed in the tiny African country of Eswatini. On board were egregious criminal illegal aliens, including three convicted murderers and a convicted child rapist. Nationalities: Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, & Cuba. pic.twitter.com/VTHkjTGG4E
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 16, 2025
Source: Reuters
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