Men deported by US to Eswatini in Africa will be held in solitary confinement for undetermined time

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Five immigrants deported by the United States to the small southern African nation of Eswatini under the Trump administration's third-country program are being held in solitary confinement in various prisons for an undetermined time, a government spokesperson said.

Thabile Mdluli, the Eswatini government spokesperson, declined to identify the correctional facilities where the five men are, citing security concerns. She said they were being held in solitary confinement away from other inmates.

She added that Eswatini planned to ultimately repatriate the five to their home countries with the help of a United Nations agency. Mdluli told The Associated Press it wasn't clear how long that would take.

The men, who the U.S. says were convicted of serious crimes and were in the U.S. illegally, are citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos. Their convictions included murder and child rape, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said, describing them as "uniquely barbaric."

They had been jailed in the U.S. before being sent to Eswatini, according to Mdluli.

Their deportations were announced by Homeland Security on Tuesday and mark the continuation of President Donald Trump's plan to send deportees to third countries they have no ties with after it was stalled by a legal challenge in the United States.

Eswatini, a country of 1.2 million people bordering South Africa, is the latest nation to accept third-country deportees from the U.S. The Trump administration has sent hundreds of Venezuelans and others to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama, and deported eight men earlier this month to South Sudan, also an African country.

The deportees to South Sudan are citizens of Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan. They were held for weeks in a converted shipping container at a U.S. military base in the nearby country of Djibouti until a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for them to be finally sent to South Sudan. The U.S. also described them as violent criminals.

Eswatini's government confirmed on Wednesday that the latest five deportees were in its custody after landing on a deportation plane from the U.S.

Local media had reported they were all held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex near the administrative capital of Mbabane when they arrived. The complex includes Eswatini's top maximum-security prison. It wasn't clear if some of the men were still there.

The Eswatini government said the men are considered to be “in transit” and will eventually be sent to their home countries. The U.S. and Eswatini governments would work with the U.N. migration agency to do that, it said.

The U.N. agency — the International Organization for Migration or IOM — said it was not involved in the operation and has not been approached to assist in the matter but would be willing to help “in line with its humanitarian mandate.”

Eswatini's statement that the men would be sent home was in contrast to U.S. claims they were sent to Eswatini because their home countries refused to take them back.

It's unclear how sending the men to Eswatini would make it easier for them to be deported home. There was also no timeframe for that as it depends on several factors, including engagements with the IOM, Mdluli said.

“We are not yet in a position to determine the timelines for the repatriation,” she wrote.

Four of the five countries where the men are from have historically resisted taking back some of their citizens deported from the U.S., which has been a reoccurring problem for Homeland Security. Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the administration was happy the men were “off of American soil” when she announced their deportations.

It’s also not clear if the men are being represented by lawyers.

There have been no details on why Eswatini agreed to take the men and Mdluli, the government spokesperson, said "the terms of the agreement between the U.S. and Eswatini remain classified.”

Eswatini has said it was the result of months of negotiations between the two governments. South Sudan has also given no details of its agreement with the U.S. to take deportees and has declined to say where the eight men sent there are being held.

Some analysts say African nations might be willing to take deportees from the U.S. in return for more favorable relations with the Trump administration, which has cut foreign aid to poor countries and threatened them with trade tariffs.

The Trump administration has also said it's seeking more deportation deals with other countries.

Rights groups have questioned the countries the U.S. has chosen to deal with, as South Sudan and Eswatini have both been criticized for having repressive governments.

Eswatini is Africa's only absolute monarchy, meaning the king has power over government and rules by decree. Political parties are banned and pro-democracy protests have been quelled violently in the past.

Several rights groups have criticized Eswatini since pro-democracy protests erupted there in 2021, citing deadly crackdowns by security forces and abusive conditions in prisons, including at the Matsapha Correctional Complex, where pro-democracy activists are held.

Associated Press writers Mogomotsi Magome and Michelle Gumede in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump, center, speaks with reporters as, from left, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Rep. Zachary Nunn, R-Iowa, Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem listen as they arrive on Air Force One, Friday, July 4, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - The Department of Homeland Security logo is seen during a news conference in Washington, Feb. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - King Mswati III of Eswatini arrives for the swearing-in ceremony of Cyril Ramaphosa at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, South Africa, on May 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

Matsapha Correctional Complex is seen in Matsapha, near Mbabane, Eswatini, Thursday July 17, 2025. (AP Photo)

A guard tower at Matsapha Correctional Complex is seen in Matsapha, near Mbabane, Eswatini, Thursday July 17, 2025. (AP Photo)

Matsapha Correctional Complex is seen in Matsapha, near Mbabane, Eswatini, Thursday July 17, 2025. (AP Photo)

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FILE - President Donald Trump dances as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)