WASHINGTON, United States — A Jamaican man is among five migrants expelled from the United States (US) to Eswatini, all described as “barbaric” by  Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the  Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin.

Announcing a third-country deportation flight, McLaughlin wrote via X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, “This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back. These depraved monsters have been terrorising American communities, but thanks to [President] Trump and [Secretary] Noem, they are off of American soil.”

The migrants, all men, were not identified by name, but their photos were shared by McLaughlin.

The Jamaican, a dark-skinned grizzled man based on the shared photo, was reportedly convicted of murder, for which he was sentenced to 25 years confinement; convicted of robbery, landing him six years of confinement; and also convicted of possession of a weapon, for which he was sentenced to six months confinement.

He was deported alongside citizens of Yemen, Cuba, Vietnam and Laos whose offences reportedly ranged from child rape to murder.

Eswatini is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by South Africa and Mozambique.

The US currently has a level two advisory listed for Eswatini and in a 2023 report on human rights in the country the US State Department outlined the following issues: “Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by the Government; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; political prisoners or detainees; transnational repression against individuals in another country; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including censorship.”

The deportation flight to Eswatini comes days after a memo from Acting Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons indicated that ICE officials can now deport immigrants to third countries with notice as little as six hours in advance and with no guarantees of safety from persecution or torture, which was publicised by the Washington Post.

“People being sent to countries where officials have not provided any “diplomatic assurances” that immigrants will be safe will be informed 24 hours in advance — and in ‘exigent’ circumstances, just six. Those being flown to places that have offered those assurances could be deported with no advance notice,” the report said.

The policy, which has been confirmed by the US Government, comes as President Donald Trump pushes to deliver on his promise of mass deportations in the country.