Migrants Diverted to Equatorial Guinea After Resisting Deportation

Several migrants deported from the United States to Liberia refused to disembark, and the five who resisted were instead flown to Equatorial Guinea, marking the first known diversion in Washington’s third-country deportation scheme with African nations. Liberia had agreed to accept up to 1,200 deportees over the next year, with the initial batch of about 20 planned but only 15 actually disembarking before the diversion. The group that resisted included three Cuban men, a Brazilian man, and a Cameroonian woman, and they were subsequently forced off the aircraft in Malabo after assurances they would be returned to the United States. U.S. authorities have described the measure as deportations to a safe third country, while rights groups and advocates warn of inadequate legal aid, medical care, and due process in these arrangements. The incident underscores the increasingly complex and controversial role African hosts play in the Trump administration’s immigration policy, with allegations of insufficient transparency and treatment of detainees who may have legitimate asylum or protection needs. Critics have highlighted tensions between U.S. deportation aims and concerns about the conditions and legality of third-country removals in Equatorial Guinea and Liberia.