MBABANE, Eswatini — 28 August 2026: Eswatini has received two more people deported from the United States under its bilateral third-country transfer arrangement. The government said the new arrivals are from Latin America but did not disclose their names, individual nationalities, current location or how long they may remain in the kingdom.
Who are the latest US deportees sent to Eswatini?
The government has identified them only as two Latin American third-country nationals. They form the fifth group transferred under the US–Eswatini arrangement. Their names, specific countries of citizenship, legal status and accommodation have not been publicly disclosed.
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said the two people arrived after consultations and arrangements involving the governments of Eswatini and the United States. A local report reproducing the statement said they were received under procedures governing the admission and temporary hosting of third-country nationals.
The statement did not identify the individuals beyond saying that they are Latin American. It also did not say where they are being accommodated or whether either person intends to seek protection, remain temporarily or return to a country of origin.
Reuters reported that more than 30 people have now been transferred from the United States to Eswatini since the arrangement began. The Associated Press described the latest arrivals as the fifth batch.
Those totals concern transfers into Eswatini, not the number still present. Several earlier deportees have subsequently returned to their home countries.
Why the fifth transfer is drawing attention
The latest arrival shows that the arrangement remains active despite legal challenges, protests and demands for greater transparency. The international pickup also places Eswatini back at the centre of debate over Washington’s use of African countries to receive migrants who are not their nationals.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Eswatini Receives Two More US Deportees
Aug 28, 2026
Aug 28, 2026
4 min read
Published
Updated:
MBABANE, Eswatini — 28 August 2026: Eswatini has received two more people deported from the United States under its bilateral third-country transfer arrangement. The government said the new arrivals are from Latin America but did not disclose their names, individual nationalities, current location or how long they may remain in the kingdom.
Who are the latest US deportees sent to Eswatini?
The government has identified them only as two Latin American third-country nationals. They form the fifth group transferred under the US–Eswatini arrangement. Their names, specific countries of citizenship, legal status and accommodation have not been publicly disclosed.
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said the two people arrived after consultations and arrangements involving the governments of Eswatini and the United States. A local report reproducing the statement said they were received under procedures governing the admission and temporary hosting of third-country nationals.
The statement did not identify the individuals beyond saying that they are Latin American. It also did not say where they are being accommodated or whether either person intends to seek protection, remain temporarily or return to a country of origin.
Reuters reported that more than 30 people have now been transferred from the United States to Eswatini since the arrangement began. The Associated Press described the latest arrivals as the fifth batch.
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Those totals concern transfers into Eswatini, not the number still present. Several earlier deportees have subsequently returned to their home countries.
Why the fifth transfer is drawing attention
The latest arrival shows that the arrangement remains active despite legal challenges, protests and demands for greater transparency. The international pickup also places Eswatini back at the centre of debate over Washington’s use of African countries to receive migrants who are not their nationals.
An EFE report carried by Infobae quoted the government as saying it would continue working with the United States and international partners. EFE also reported that the two latest arrivals bring the total transferred under the arrangement to more than 30.
The reported agreement is worth $5.1 million, according to Reuters. Eswatini says the transfers are temporary hosting arrangements. Lawyers and rights organisations have questioned the legal basis for holding people who have no established connection to the kingdom.
What remains undisclosed
The government has not published the latest deportees’ individual nationalities, reasons for removal from the United States, immigration or protection status, or intended length of stay. Those gaps prevent responsible reporting from asserting that they are asylum seekers, convicted offenders, detainees or voluntary participants.
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Earlier groups included people from countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East. Some were held at Matsapha Correctional Complex, while the government described its role as temporary hosting pending repatriation or another outcome.
The latest two should not automatically be assumed to be at Matsapha. No current government statement located for this update disclosed their accommodation.
Rights groups want disclosure and legal access
Amnesty International said after the fourth transfer that it had documented concerns including arbitrary detention, restricted access to lawyers, denial of due process and the danger of onward removal to countries where people could face serious harm.
Amnesty called on Eswatini to disclose the identities and whereabouts of transferred people to lawyers and families where appropriate, explain the legal basis for any detention, and ensure access to legal, medical, consular and interpretation services.
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Those concerns are not findings about the two latest arrivals’ individual circumstances. They are documented questions about the wider arrangement and the safeguards applied to previous groups.
How this fits the wider African deportation strategy
Eswatini is one of several African countries involved in US third-country transfers. XTRAfrica has reported on Rwanda’s agreement to receive deportees, Uganda’s expectation of further transfer flights and UN concerns over deportees in Equatorial Guinea.
The new Eswatini transfer is therefore part of a continent-wide policy story, but each country’s agreement, legal framework and treatment of arrivals differs. It should not be assumed that conditions reported in one country automatically apply in another.
The next useful confirmations will be the two people’s specific nationalities, whether they have access to lawyers or consular officials, where they are staying, and whether either requests repatriation. Until those facts are released, the verified story is limited to their arrival and the government’s description of temporary hosting.
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