Africa-Press. The government of Eswatini announced that it has received four additional deportees from third countries arriving from the United States, bringing the total number to at least 19 as the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown.
Two of the new deportees are from Somalia, one from Sudan, and one from Tanzania. Earlier deportees who arrived in July last year included citizens from Vietnam, Cuba, Laos, and Yemen.
Alma David, a lawyer representing some members of the previous group, said that a Cambodian man named Veap Rom, who had been scheduled to be returned to his country, became the second man to be released after another individual who was sent back to Jamaica last year. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump paid $5.1 million to the small southern African kingdom of Eswatini to receive them.
In a statement, the Eswatini government — an absolute monarchy ruled by King Mswati III — said:
“In line with this agreement, the state received another group of four third-country nationals from the United States.”
Eswatini is one of several African countries that have signed similar secret agreements. Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by local human rights lawyers challenging the deal, though they have appealed the ruling. Although the remaining detainees have already served sentences for crimes committed on U.S. soil, they remain held in Eswatini’s prisons.
