Is Trump using Africa as a ‘dumping ground’ for criminals?

3 weeks ago 9

Activists and quality rights groups person accused United States President Donald Trump of utilizing African countries arsenic a “dumping ground” for criminals helium wants to deport aft 5 men were deported from the US to the tiny kingdom of Eswatini.

On July 16, a deportation formation carrying 5 men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen, each of whom person been convicted of crimes successful the US, landed successful Eswatini, the past African state governed by a monarch with implicit power. The deportations were portion of Trump’s “third country” program to deport radical whose ain countries are unwilling to instrumentality them back.

Eswatini is the 2nd African federation that the US has deported criminals to. Also this month, Washington said it had sent 8 “uniquely barbaric monsters” to conflict-torn South Sudan.

Last month, the US Supreme Court allowed the deportations of overseas nationals to unrelated 3rd countries. Since then, planetary rights groups and civilian nine groups from African nations person raised alarms of quality rights abuses.

“The US authorities sees america arsenic a transgression dumpsite and undermines Emaswati [the radical of Eswatini],” Wandile Dludlu, a pro-democracy activistic and lawman president of the country’s largest absorption movement, the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), told Al Jazeera. As a governmental party, PUDEMO is simply a banned organisation successful Eswatini.

So is Trump readying to usage African nations arsenic a “dumping ground” for deportees?

Who are the 5 men Trump deported to Eswatini?

This month, Tricia McLaughlin, US Department of Homeland Security adjunct secretary, said the deportation formation to Eswatini had taken distant “individuals truthful uniquely barbaric that their location countries refused to instrumentality them back”.

“These depraved monsters person been terrorizing American communities but acknowledgment to [Trump] they are disconnected of American soil,” she wrote successful a post connected X.

NEW: a harmless 3rd state deportation formation to Eswatini successful Southern Africa has landed— This formation took individuals truthful uniquely barbaric that their location countries refused to instrumentality them back.

These depraved monsters person been terrorizing American communities but acknowledgment to @POTUS… pic.twitter.com/TsanIX8H4T

— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) July 16, 2025

Without sharing their names, McLaughlin confirmed the 5 were nationals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen.

She said each were convicted criminals – including for offences of kid rape, murder, robbery, pack ties and homicides – and had been fixed situation sentences arsenic agelong arsenic 25 years.

Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, confirmed the 5 deported nationals are from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, and Yemen.

What statement has the Trump medication made with Eswatini?

Trump rode to triumph successful past year’s statesmanlike predetermination connected the backmost of a run with wide deportations arsenic its centrepiece.

Since then, the Trump medication has been negotiating a third-country deportation statement with respective nations, including Eswatini, which volition let it to deport overseas nationals convicted of superior crimes who person been rejected by their location countries.

While the nonstop presumption stay classified, the statement betwixt Eswatini and the US reportedly emerged aft “months of robust high-level engagements”, the kingdom’s acting spokesperson, Thabile Mdluli, said.

Mdluli besides said the kingdom would collaborate with the White House and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) “to facilitate the transit of these inmates to their countries of origin”.

However, “there are nary timelines astatine present” for their repatriation, she told CNN successful an interview.

Daniel Akech, a elder expert for South Sudan astatine the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that immoderate African governments are agreeing to person convicted deportees arsenic a “goodwill gesture, aiming to amended US ties and beryllium successful [Trump’s] bully books”.

But helium said they person besides “implicitly dismissed quality rights concerns and the deficiency of transparency connected however 3rd nationals’ information is ensured”.

Akech said the African Union and the United Nations could spouse with receiving countries to show the process of US deportations “to guarantee that the deportees are protected and their surviving conditions are good”.

“The areas wherever these deportees enactment could look conflicts, and this would necessitate plans connected however to guarantee their information oregon harmless transportation wrong the state oregon outside,” Akech said.

Eswatini's King Mswati III (C) reviews the Swati maidens holding reeds the 2023 Umhlanga Reed Dance ceremony, astatine the Mbangweni Royal Residence connected October 14, 2023. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)

What bash we cognize astir Eswatini?

The mountainous Southern African kingdom is simply a tiny landlocked federation bordering South Africa and Mozambique and is 1 of a fistful of countries that are inactive implicit monarchies with implicit powerfulness residing with the king, presently King Mswati III.

Under British assemblage rule, which ended successful 1968, the state was known arsenic Swaziland. It was renamed by the king successful 2018.

Mswati has ruled Eswatini since 1986 erstwhile helium turned 18, succeeding his father, Sobhuza II, who died successful 1982.

Now aged 57, Mswati has been criticised for suppressing governmental dissent. The World Bank said much than fractional of Eswatini’s 1.2 cardinal radical unrecorded connected little than $4 a day.

The king is reported to person 11 wives, and his wealthiness is estimated astatine $200m to $500m, according to an Associated Press report.

Eswatini’s system is dominated by agriculture and small-scale manufacturing arsenic good arsenic its sweetener sector, which accounts for a important stock of its export revenues. The state is 1 of Africa’s largest sweetener producers, exporting astir $477m of sweetener and sugar-related products successful 2023 – astir 23 percent of its full exports.

What bash radical successful Eswatini deliberation astir Trump’s deportation plan?

Regional leaders and activists said determination is simply a bully woody of choler astir it.

Dludlu described the “dumping” of convicted criminals arsenic “distasteful and fraudulent behaviour by His Majesty and his authorities successful the look of the unprecedented nationalist healthcare crisis” successful the country.

“This is attracting indignation from Emaswati for bare maltreatment of their sovereignty and territorial integrity arsenic a federation and people,” Dludlu told Al Jazeera.

He said PUDEMO and its supporters request that the authorities and the US “reverse this absurd and amerciable yet irrational determination to instrumentality criminals from the US erstwhile different nations question just trade, prime acquisition and different meaningful exchanges”.

Dludlu further noted that the incoming deportees volition lone adhd to the “overcrowded situation facilities that are poorly tally [in] dilapidated and outdated infrastructure”. Figures amusement that prisons successful Eswatini operate astatine much than 170 percent of their capacity.

Civil nine groups – including the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, the Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly and different determination NGOs – person threatened ineligible proceedings against the Eswatini authorities implicit its acceptance of the 5 convicted criminals.

They argued that the detentions interruption Eswatini’s ain Correctional Services Act and different home laws and said determination is nary lawful ground for imprisoning overseas nationals who deficiency ineligible ties to the country.

Chris Ogunmodede, a overseas affairs expert acquainted with African diplomatic circles, said determination are respective questions hovering implicit the statement made with the Trump administration. These scope from the ineligible justification utilized to authorise the deportees’ transfers, whether the men were informed and fixed consular access, the duration of their detentions and the presumption of the statement with the US.

He added that Eswatini and South Sudan are “smaller economies with nary geopolitical weight” connected which White House officials could easy “impose their will”.

What does the Eswatini authorities say?

In a nationalist statement, Mdluli said the authorities assured the radical of the kingdom that the accomplishment of 5 third-country deportees from the US “poses nary information menace to the Nation”.

It stated that the 5 prisoners would beryllium housed successful correctional facilities wrong isolated units “where akin offenders are kept”.

Addressing the bilateral discussions with the White House, she said the “engagements considered each avenue, including rigorous hazard assessments and cautious information for the information and information of citizens”.

Which different African nations does Trump anticipation to negociate deportation deals with?

In summation to Eswatini and South Sudan, Trump has discussed third-country deportation deals with the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon during a summit astatine the White House this month.

Trump reportedly discussed migration, including the request for countries to judge the instrumentality of their nationals who bash not person the close to enactment successful the US and the anticipation of accepting deported citizens of 3rd countries.

Tom Homan, Trump’s borderline tsar, said the Trump medication hoped to forge deals with “many countries” to judge deported migrants.

“If determination is simply a important nationalist menace oregon nationalist information threat, there’s 1 happening for sure: They’re not walking the streets of this country. We’ll find a third, harmless federation to nonstop them to, and we’re doing it,” helium said.

Rwanda has confirmed it is successful talks with the Trump medication for a akin woody portion Nigeria said it had rejected unit to marque an agreement.

Which different countries person considered a third-country deportation policy?

United Kingdom

The UK has explored third-country deportation policies arsenic portion of its efforts to negociate irregular migration and asylum claims. Under the erstwhile Conservative government, the UK partnered with Rwanda successful 2022 and planned to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing with the UK committing 370 cardinal pounds ($497m) successful improvement backing implicit 5 years successful exchange.

The program was archetypal struck down by the UK Supreme Court successful November 2023 for violating planetary quality rights norms, fixed Rwanda’s inadequate asylum strategy and quality rights concerns. In response, the authorities enacted the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024, which declared Rwanda a “safe country” and constricted ineligible challenges to the policy.

After the Labour Party’s triumph successful the July 2024 elections, Prime Minister Keir Starmer swiftly terminated the Rwanda scheme.

However, successful May, Starmer said helium was talking to “a fig of countries” astir “return hubs”, wherever undocumented immigrants could beryllium sent.

Israel

Similarly, Israel implemented a third-country deportation statement targeting African asylum seekers by sending them to countries similar Rwanda and Uganda from 2013 to 2018.

The authorities offered $3,500 per idiosyncratic to those agreeing to leave.

In 2018, however, Israel’s Supreme Court successful effect dismantled the policy, ruling it unlawful successful portion owed to the receiving countries’ nonaccomplishment to warrant protections and uphold planetary obligations nether the Refugee Convention.

Ogunmodede said the UK’s and Israel’s deals with African nations amounted to the “outsourcing of the migration problem”.

He added that now, the US nether the Trump medication is “using a carrot and instrumentality attack to getting countries astir the satellite to comply with the things that they want”.

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