(NewsNation) — The Trump administration on Tuesday sent five men, described by U.S. officials as “barbaric” criminals, to the small South African nation of Eswatini, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the men, who are citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos, arrived on a plane, but didn’t say when or where.
In a social media post, McLaughlin claimed the men are all convicted criminals and “individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back.”
“The individuals have been terrorizing American communities,” but were now “off of American soil,” McLaughlin wrote.
Authorities in Eswatini have not issued any statement confirming the deportations or detailing any agreement with U.S. authorities to accept third-country deportees.
The lack of transparency has sparked concern among civic and human rights groups in the country.
“There has been a notable lack of official communication from the Eswatini government regarding any agreement or understanding with the U.S. to accept these deportees,” Ingiphile Dlamini, a spokesperson for the pro-democracy group SWALIMO, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. “This opacity makes it difficult for civic society to understand the implications.”
It’s unclear whether the men are in custody, what their legal status is in Eswatini, or what the government plans to do with them, Dlamini said.
The flight appears to be an expansion of the Trump administration’s largely secretive third-country deportation program. The administration has said it’s pursuing more such deals with African nations.
Earlier this month, the U.S. deported eight men to South Sudan after the Supreme Court lifted restrictions on deporting people to countries where they have no citizenship or ties. The South Sudanese government has not disclosed where those men, who were also described as violent criminals, are after it took custody of them nearly two weeks ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.