U.S. Deports Eight Prisoners to South Sudan as Pressure Mounts on West African Nations

The United States has deported a group of convicted foreign nationals to South Sudan while mounting pressure on African countries to accept deportees who are not their citizens.

In July, eight men from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam, and South Sudan were flown to South Sudan after weeks of being held under guard at a U.S. military base in Djibouti. They had been deported in May and kept in detention while their legal challenges made their way through the U.S. court system.

The case went as far as the U.S. Supreme Court, which ultimately permitted their removal. U.S. officials said the men had all been convicted of violent crimes. The deportations were carried out despite the State Department’s warning against travel to South Sudan due to “crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.”

Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar has also stated that the U.S. is pressuring African nations to accept deported Venezuelans, including individuals recently released from American prisons.

On Thursday, he made the statement on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

It would be difficult for countries like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners. We already have 230 million people…., Tuggar said.

Tuggar spoke from Brazil, where he attended the BRICS Summit with President Bola Tinubu. Nigeria joined BRICS as a partner country in January 2025. The summit, held from 6 to 7 July in Rio de Janeiro, brought together leaders from the expanded 11-member bloc. BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.

At the summit’s close, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10 per cent trade tariff targeting countries aligned with BRICS, including Nigeria. Tuggar said the tariff threat may not be directly tied to Nigeria’s participation in the summit.

You have to also bear in mind that the U.S. is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans to be deported from the U.S., some straight out of prison, he stated.

Since returning to the office in January, Trump has moved to speed up deportations. When home countries delay acceptance, the U.S. seem to be turning to third countries as alternatives. Earlier this week, Trump hosted the presidents of Liberia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Gabon at the White House. According to U.S. and Liberian officials, he asked them to take in deported migrants from other nations.

The Wall Street Journal reports that an internal U.S. State Department memo sent to the African governments before the meeting asked for agreement on the “dignified, safe, and timely transfer” of third-country nationals.

Read More: Intra-African Flights Remain Among the Most Expensive Globally, Frustrating Travellers and Hindering Trade

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