Ten third country nationals deported from the United States have been jailed in Eswatini, the government revealed on Monday. It is just one of several countries to have accepted a deal with the Trump administration in recent months.
Goverment oficials refused to divulge details of the people who arrived but said they had been securely accommodated in one of the country's correctional facilities.
"The government will facilitate their orderly repatriation," the statement added.
In July, Eswatini became the second African country after South Sudan to admit third country nationals from the US.
Men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba were flown to the southern African country on a range of charges including rape and murder.
They were sent to Eswatini's maximum security Matsapha Correctional Centre.
In August, Uganda's foreign ministry said it would take deported migrants as long as they had no criminal records and were not unaccompanied minors.
Rwanda also confirmed a deal with Washington in August.
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said early last month that his country had started receiving West Africans expelled from the US.
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Part of the system
Lawyers and civil society groups in Eswatini have gone to court to challenge the legality of the detentions and demand the government make public the terms of its deal with the US.
The non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch said last month that, according to its information, the deal between the US and Eswatini involved financial assistance of around €5 million (€4.2 million) to build its border and migration management capacity.
In return, Eswatini agreed to accept up to 160 deportees, HRW said in a statement.
The group urged African governments to refuse to accept US deportees and to terminate deals already in effect, saying they violated global rights law.
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Deportation plan
US President Donald Trump has overseen an expansion of the practice of deporting people to countries other than their nation of origin, notably by sending hundreds to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
Human rights activists have warned the deportations risk breaking international law by sending people to nations where they face the risk of torture and abduction.
At a rally in Arizona before the US presidential elections in November, Trump attacked the immigration record of his predecessor Joe Biden.
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"We’re a dumping ground," Trump told Republican supporters. "We’re like a garbage can for the world. That’s what’s happened.
"Every time I come up and talk about what they’ve [Biden] done to our country I get angry and angrier. First time I’ve ever said garbage can. But you know what? It’s a very accurate description."
In February, hundreds of people were deported from the US to Panama, including some removed before their asylum claims could be heard.
Hundreds more were sent to El Salvador after the US government invoked an 18th century law to expel people it accused of being Venezuelan gang members. Some were deported despite judges in the US ordering planes to turn back.
