Five migrants being deported by the United States were transported to Equatorial Guinea after they reportedly refused to leave the aircraft when it landed in Liberia.
According to sources cited by Reuters, the group consisted of three Cuban men, one Brazilian man and one Cameroonian woman. They were allegedly told that the aircraft would return them to the United States, but it travelled instead to Malabo, where they were made to disembark.
The five joined more than 30 other deportees already being held in Equatorial Guinea. Liberia had agreed to accept as many as 1,200 third-country deportees under an arrangement with Washington, but only 15 members of the initial group reportedly left the aircraft in Monrovia.
DHS maintained that the individuals were removed to a safe third country. Advocacy organizations have questioned the legal protections, detention conditions and access to medical or legal assistance available under such arrangements.
Why it matters: The incident highlights the practical and legal difficulties surrounding deportations to countries where individuals have never lived.
