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The United States Department of Homeland Security has announced the deportation of five migrants—convicted of violent crimes—from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, and Yemen to the African nation of Eswatini. The migrants arrived late Tuesday, following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the administration to deport immigrants to a third country, even if not their country of origin, without offering them the opportunity to present fears of torture or degrading treatment[1]. Homeland Security officials described these individuals as “so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,” citing convictions for offenses such as murder and the sexual abuse of a minor[3]. Despite the significance of these developments, Eswatini authorities have not yet commented on any agreements with the U.S. to accept such deportees or on the migrants’ status inside the country[5]. This is part of a broader expansion of the Trump administration’s practice of third-country deportations, with a similar flight recently having sent eight individuals to South Sudan.

Eswatini remains Africa’s last absolute monarchy, under King Mswati III, who has ruled by decree since 1986 and maintains tight control over political life. In 2023, the king secured the loyalty of the newly elected Parliament, as most pro-royalist candidates prevailed in a process overseen by chiefs aligned with the monarchy[4]. Political parties remain banned since 1973, and civic and labor dissent is often harshly suppressed. Recent years have seen strike actions, pro-democracy protests, and responses involving state violence, but observers expect the risk of nationwide social unrest to be contained in 2025, in part because opposition groups have been weakened and fear further repression[2].

In the context of human rights, international watchdogs note that Eswatini’s civic space, judicial independence, and rule of law all continued to deteriorate in 2024. The ruling regime regularly uses anti-terrorism laws and other legislative tools to stifle protest and imprison government critics. In June 2023, two pro-democracy MPs, Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, were convicted of terrorism and murder charges for their roles in 2021 protests seeking democratic reforms, with their trials and convictions widely regarded as politically motivated[6]. The violent death of prominent human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko in early 2023 further heightened concerns about state repression and the prospects for peaceful reform.

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