MBABANE, Eswatini (AFP) — The Eswatini Government said Thursday a new group of US “deportees” it had received from the United States was made up of 11 people mostly from other African count
ries.

The new arrivals were flown into the tiny nation on Wednesday, the fourth batch to arrive since July last year as part of a US$5-million deal with Washington.

They were “predominantly from African countries”, a Government statement said, without providing details.

It confirmed information from a US immigration attorney to AFP Wednesday that there were 11 people in the new group, who were flown in from the United States on two planes.

Local sources told AFP Thursday that 10 of the deportees were from Africa.

A video shared with AFP showed the deportees arriving at the heavily guarded Matsapha Correctional Centre.

Eswatini has already taken in 19 men as part of US deals with several African nations to accept migrants under a third-country deportation programme that is part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Two of them — a Jamaican and Cambodian — have been repatriated, but 17 remain in the high-security prison, held without charge.

Amnesty International has called the deportation scheme “deeply abusive”.

Eswatini says the deportees are only in the country temporarily as it expects them to be returned to their countries of origin.

Africa’s last absolute monarchy with a poor human rights record, it confirmed last year it had received around US$5.1 million from the United States to accept 160 deportees.

The funds were meant to strengthen its border and migration management capacity.

Editor’s note: The Jamaica Observer has confirmed that one is 64-year-old Jamaican Junior Alves.