U.S. sends Hardened convicts to Eswatini as Nigeria Rejects Trump Policy
The United States has deported five migrants convicted of violent crimes to Eswatini, an African kingdom, just days after publicly denying that it had asked Nigeria to accept deported criminals.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the five individuals—originally from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen—were removed from the United States because their home countries refused to accept them back. The individuals had been convicted of serious offenses including child rape and murder.
“These criminal illegal aliens are so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,” the DHS wrote in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter).
The deportations to Eswatini follow an earlier U.S. Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for the Trump administration to continue deporting undocumented migrants to third countries not of their origin.
Earlier this month, the U.S. deported another group of eight convicted criminals to South Sudan, including nationals of Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Mexico, Cuba, and South Sudan.
The developments come amid a diplomatic row between Washington and Abuja. Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar recently rejected suggestions that Nigeria had agreed to host deported migrants from Venezuela or any other third country.
Speaking on Channels TV, Mr Tuggar criticized the pressure being applied by the U.S. and referenced a lyric from the American rap group Public Enemy, saying: “Flava Flav has problems of his own. I can’t do nothin’ for you, man.”
“We already have over 230 million people,” Tuggar added. “It will be unfair for Nigeria to accept 300 Venezuelan deportees. You will be the same person that will castigate us if we acquiesce to accepting Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria.”
The minister also noted that the U.S. visa restrictions imposed on Nigerian citizens were not reciprocally justified and appeared to be part of a broader pressure campaign. The new visa measures, announced earlier this week, limit non-diplomatic Nigerian travelers to single-entry visas valid for three months.
U.S. embassy officials in Abuja have insisted that the restrictions are based on “technical and security benchmarks” and not retaliation.
Reports from *The Wall Street Journal* had earlier revealed that the Trump administration had reached out to at least five African countries—Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Gabon, and Guinea-Bissau—requesting they accept deportees whose home countries refused to do so.
Liberia’s Foreign Minister, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, denied any such deal, stating: “We have not had discussions about deportees or criminals coming to Liberia.”
President Donald Trump, who recently returned to the White House after winning re-election, has ramped up efforts to enforce strict immigration policies. During a summit with African leaders in Washington, Trump acknowledged that the U.S. was seeking “safe, third-country agreements” to help manage deportations.
Mr Tuggar, however, signaled that Nigeria was focused on strategic engagement with the U.S. in other sectors, citing natural gas, rare earth minerals, and critical technology resources. He confirmed that Nigeria was in talks with the U.S. to resolve diplomatic tensions, though he maintained that accepting deported criminals was off the table.
“It will be difficult for a country like Nigeria to accept Venezuelans prisoners into Nigeria,” he said. “We have enough problems of our own.”
