Eswatini accepts five ‘uniquely barbaric' foreign criminals deported from US
The Estwatini government has confirmed the arrival of US deportees with criminal records but insisted they posed no threat to the people of the country.
US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the deportees, from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam and Yemen, had criminal records which included convictions for murder, homicide and child rape.
They were 'so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back', she added.
Thabile Mdluli, the acting Eswatini government spokesperson, said that 'the government acknowledges the widespread concern' about the prisoners.
'Indeed, five inmates are currently housed in our correctional facilities in isolated units where people with similar offences are kept. The nation is assured that these inmates pose no threat to the country or its citizens.'
She said the deportations followed months of engagement between Eswatini and the US, which would collaborate with the International Organization for Migration to return the five men to their countries of origin. She said Eswatini and the US had done 'rigorous risk assessments' to 'ensure the safety and security of citizens'.
She added that Eswatini 'adheres to international agreements and diplomatic protocols regarding the repatriation of individuals, ensuring that due process and respect for human rights is followed'.
Bheki Makhubu, who edits Eswatini's The Nation, told Daily Maverick he suspected that Eswatini had agreed to accept the convicts in exchange for avoiding US trade tariffs. He noted that the Trump administration had given Eswatini a complete pass on tariffs.
'Why would the US hit Lesotho with [50%] tariffs and leave us alone, unless they were negotiating with us to take their dangerous prisoners?' he asked.
However, Makhubu also noted that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which gives Eswatini and other African nations duty-free access to the US market, was due to expire in September, 'so we don't know what Trump might do. But hey, we've been nice to him so perhaps he'll return the favour.'
Asked to comment about Makhubu's belief that Eswatini had made a deal to avoid tariffs, Mdluli said, 'Unfortunately, the terms of the agreement remain classified information, so what people say remains just that — speculation.'
CBS News reported in May that the US had asked Eswatini, Angola, Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Moldova and Rwanda to accept migrants who are not their citizens.
According to US and other media, the US programme is causing concern as the Trump administration appears to be asking countries regardless of their human rights records.
In June, the US flew eight deportees to South Sudan after the US Supreme Court overturned a lower court ban on the grounds that the men had not been given an adequate opportunity to legally oppose their deportations. DM
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