Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is set to receive more than 30 deportees from the United States (US) this week, four sources told Reuters, the latest example of Washington using agreements with African governments to accelerate migrant removals.
The deportees are all from countries other than DRC, and at least some are from Central and South America, according to one source and US court documents.
One source familiar with the matter said they would total 37, while another put the figure at 45.
They will be the first to land in the Central African country as part of an agreement with the US President Donald Trump administration announced on April 5, two days after Reuters reported the two countries were negotiating a deal for DRC to receive third-country deportees.
The move coincides with the Trump administration’s efforts to implement a US, brokered peace deal between DRC and Rwanda aimed at ending fighting with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern DRC that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
It also follows the signing of a strategic partnership granting the US preferential access to Congo’s critical minerals.
The timing of the arrival of the deportees and details on how they will be accommodated in DRC have not been previously reported.
The deportees are expected to reach Congo by Friday and be housed in a hotel near Kinshasa’s main airport, three of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the move, which has attracted criticism from human rights groups and opposition politicians in DRC.
The US has previously sent third-country deportees to African states including Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and , drawing criticism from legal experts and rights groups over the legal basis for the transfers and the treatment of deportees sent to countries where they are not nationals.
Some of the deportees were later returned to their home countries despite receiving court-ordered protection in the US meant to prevent that from happening.
A DRC government Spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Kinshasa has previously stressed it will not spend any money as part of its third-country deportees deal with the US.
A State Department Spokesperson said Washington had “no comment on the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments.”
The hotel near the airport in Kinshasa is due to house the deportees for only 10 to 15 days, one of the sources told Reuters. The source was unable to say what will happen to the deportees after that period.
The hotel will remain open to other guests and the deportees will be free to move around, a diplomat and a senior humanitarian source said.
The deportees will be accommodated in single rooms, with two meals a day provided. The site is being secured by DRC’s national police and a private security firm.
–Reuters–
