US accused of pressuring third countries to accept deported migrants

The United States is reportedly applying diplomatic and economic pressure on third countries to accept migrants deported from its territory.

Citing diplomatic sources and confidential documents, the Spanish El País claims that the US government is leveraging a combination of tariffs, migration-related sanctions, financial payments per accepted migrant, and political incentives, such as non-interference in domestic affairs or promises of future diplomatic leniency, to persuade countries to cooperate.

A prominent example of this strategy, the report states, involves Ghana. On September 11, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama publicly agreed to receive individuals deported from the US, citing the fact that they are citizens of West African nations and do not require visas to enter Ghana. Coinciding with this decision, the US lifted visa restrictions it had imposed on Ghanaian nationals three months earlier, in June.

In another case, El País claims to have obtained the text of an agreement between the United States and Eswatini. According to the document, Eswatini has agreed to accept 160 deported individuals in exchange for $5.1 million in financial support. The agreement reportedly includes a provision that the deportees will be relocated to other countries within one year of their arrival in Eswatini.

By Vafa Guliyeva