Deportees Who Refused to Leave US Flight in Liberia Sent to Equatorial Guinea
Six migrants deported from the United States to Liberia have reportedly been transferred to Equatorial Guinea after refusing to leave the aircraft upon arrival, in a development that has renewed concerns over Washington’s growing use of third-country deportation arrangements.
The six deportees, four Cuban men, a Brazilian man and a Cameroonian woman, were among a group flown from the United States to Liberia last week. According to a person who was aboard the flight and a lawyer in contact with the migrants, they resisted disembarking in Liberia on Thursday because the country was not their homeland and they feared they could be placed in danger there.
Instead of being returned to the United States as they were reportedly told would happen, the six were subsequently flown to Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, another African country that has entered into an agreement with the administration of US President Donald Trump to receive deportees from third countries.
A Honduran deportee who was also aboard the flight said the six migrants refused to leave the plane because they believed they would be unsafe in Liberia. The Honduran national, who spoke anonymously because of fears of possible reprisals, said the remaining passengers eventually disembarked because they were afraid that authorities might forcibly remove them from the aircraft. The six migrants were reportedly separated from the other deportees before being transported onward to Equatorial Guinea.
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Lawyers Raise Alarm Over Treatment
Meredyth Yoon, litigation director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, said the migrants were informed that they would be sent back to the United States after refusing to disembark in Liberia. Instead, she said, they were flown to Malabo. Yoon described their arrival in Equatorial Guinea as chaotic and distressing, saying some of the migrants arrived in chains and appeared to be in severe emotional and physical distress.
Among those reportedly in particularly difficult condition is a Cameroonian woman and one of the Cuban men. According to Yoon, the Cuban man has a large abdominal growth and relies on a colostomy bag that requires regular draining.
Concerns have also been raised about the absence of adequate medical support at the facility where the migrants are being held. Yoon said there is no medical staff available at the hotel in Equatorial Guinea, where the six are reportedly being detained alongside approximately 40 other migrants deported from the United States.
She further alleged that conditions at the facility have deteriorated in recent months, with reports that food has at times been withheld and guards have been accused of threatening, beating and choking some of the migrants. Equatorial Guinea’s government had not immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the allegations.
Growing Use of Third-Country Deportations
The incident comes as the Trump administration continues to expand its immigration enforcement efforts, including the deportation of migrants to countries other than their countries of origin.
Under a series of agreements, some of which have received limited public disclosure, the United States has reportedly transferred thousands of people to countries across Africa and other regions as part of its broader immigration crackdown.
Immigration advocates and lawyers have raised concerns that such arrangements could expose asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants to danger in countries where they have no established ties. Critics argue that deporting individuals to third countries could also create a legal and humanitarian dilemma, particularly when migrants have previously fled persecution, conflict or other serious threats in their countries of origin.
The latest case has therefore placed renewed attention on the conditions under which the United States transfers deportees to countries that are not their own, as well as the safeguards in place to protect their rights after arrival.
Equatorial Guinea Detention Facility Under Scrutiny
Equatorial Guinea has emerged as one of the countries accepting migrants deported from the United States under a reported $7.5 million agreement with the Trump administration.
At the centre of the arrangement is a hotel in Malabo reportedly owned by the family of Equatorial Guinea’s long-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The facility has been used to house asylum seekers and other migrants deported from the United States. The reported transfer of the six migrants from Liberia to Equatorial Guinea has intensified scrutiny of the agreement, particularly because the migrants allegedly did not voluntarily choose to travel to either country and reportedly feared returning to a country other than their own.
For immigration advocates, the case highlights the human consequences of increasingly complex deportation arrangements and raises questions about whether migrants transferred through third countries are receiving adequate legal protection, medical care and humane treatment.
As governments continue to negotiate agreements aimed at facilitating deportations, the situation of the six migrants in Malabo is likely to remain under close scrutiny, particularly amid growing calls for greater transparency and accountability surrounding third-country deportation policies.
