Across Africa, and in the tiny nation of Eswatini, fury has erupted over the arrival of foreign deportees from the United States, after its government confirmed that migrants described by a Department of Homeland security spokesperson as “depraved monsters” had been sent to its prisons.
Roughly the size of New Jersey, Eswatini — formerly known as Swaziland — is governed by a monarch who has absolute power. On Wednesday, officials said that five deportees from the US were now being held in isolated units in its jails, acknowledging “widespread concern” but insisting the deported men “pose no threat to the country or its citizens.”
The deportation, according to a statement by acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli, was the “result of months of robust high-level engagements” between the US and the southern African nation.
Critics of the move say it is unacceptable for Eswatini to be treated as a “dumping ground” for people considered unfit to live in the US.
US ‘pressure’ on African countries
While the Trump administration’s mass deportations to the prisons of El Salvador have made headlines around the world, the White House has also been quietly attempting to strike agreements with a number of African countries to accept deportees originally from other nations.
President Donald Trump’s aggressive clampdown on immigration has run into logistical hurdles, with some countries refusing to take back their nationals, or doing so only on a limited basis.