Overview

• On July 16, the U.S. deported five convicted criminals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos to Eswatini under its revived third-country removal program.
• Officials described the men as too dangerous to repatriate after their home countries refused to accept them following convictions for murder, child rape and gang membership.
• Eswatini’s government has not disclosed the deportees’ legal status or detention conditions, prompting local civil society group SWALIMO to demand transparency.
• The flight follows a June Supreme Court decision that also enabled secret deportations to South Sudan earlier this month.
• Washington is negotiating additional similar pacts across Africa as part of a broader strategy to ease domestic detention pressures and deter illegal migration.