What You Need to Know
Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang is seeking immediate deportation to Mozambique after being detained by ICE. His deportation was delayed due to a stopover issue in Lisbon, as the necessary travel documents were not approved. Chang’s defense is requesting court assistance to facilitate his return and ensure he receives medical care while in custody.
Africa-Press – Mozambique. The defence of former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang has asked a US court to order his “immediate deportation” to Mozambique, as he was prevented to board a flight in Boston airport on Friday 26 March, due to problems related to a stopover in Lisbon.
The request is contained in an application addressed by the defence to Judge Garaufis, of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), requesting that he “order ICE to coordinate with the defence to ensure immediate deportation” and that he “clarify which additional documents are necessary”, if applicable.
“We write on behalf of Manuel Chang to request the court’s assistance in facilitating his immediate deportation to Mozambique and to ensure that he receives the necessary medication while he is under custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” reads the defence filing, to which the Lusa agency had access on Saturday, 28 March.
The document recalls that Manuel Chang was scheduled “ to be released from the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), at the FCI Danbury facility, on 26 March 2026”, after serving his sentence, and that “anticipating that date, and taking into account that there was a final order of expedited removal to Mozambique, his lawyers coordinated in advance with ICE to ensure his immediate deportation”.
It states that the Mozambican embassy in Washington “issued an emergency travel document” which “was accepted by ICE”, and that an air journey was purchased for his deportation via TAP Air Portugal, with the route Boston – Lisbon – Maputo, which should have taken place on Thursday.
On Friday, 26 March, after the release by the BOP, Manuel Chang was transferred to ICE custody and taken to Boston airport, but was “prevented from boarding” because the “travel document had not been approved by the Portuguese authorities, who would be responsible during the stopover in Lisbon”.
“As a result: He did not board; He remains under ICE custody; He is detained at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility (Massachusetts) for about 24 hours. Since then, the lawyers have tried to coordinate with ICE to carry out the deportation, but without success,” reads the application.
It adds that “despite the collaboration of Government representatives, it was not possible to organise the immediate deportation”, nor to “obtain clear information about additional documents necessary”, therefore the defence requests the intervention of the court, recalling that Chang “suffers from several health problems”, including chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia, without receiving the necessary medication.
The release date had already been confirmed by the EDNY when rejecting, on 12 February, the request for early release on health grounds submitted by the defence.
The EDNY, in Brooklyn, sentenced Chang a year ago to 102 months in prison, but rejected last month the early release, according to the decision to which Lusa had access, with Judge Nicholas Garaufis considering that there were no “extraordinary and compelling” reasons to justify it.
Chang, who led Mozambique’s finances from 2005 to 2015, was detained in the federal prison facility FCI of Danbury and had been deprived of liberty since December 2018, when he was detained in South Africa.
Manuel Chang was convicted at the EDNY, on 17 January 2025, to 102 months (eight and a half years) in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The sentence was significantly reduced due to administrative credits attributed by the BOP, which counted the time already spent in pre-trial detention and good behaviour while he was detained. Those credits reduced the initial sentence to about 14 months.
Chang was accused of accepting bribes and of conspiracy to divert funds from Mozambique’s efforts to protect and expand the natural gas and fishing industries, in a plan to enrich himself and deceive investors.
Manuel Chang served as Mozambique’s finance minister from 2005 to 2015, during which time he was implicated in a scandal involving the misappropriation of funds intended for the country’s natural gas and fishing industries. His legal troubles began in December 2018 when he was arrested in South Africa, leading to his extradition to the United States, where he was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. His case highlights significant issues of corruption and governance in Mozambique, raising concerns about the country’s financial management and international relations.
