A Cuban national deported from the United States to the African kingdom of Eswatini has been on a hunger strike for a week while being held at a maximum-security prison without charges or legal access, according to his U.S.-based lawyer.
Roberto Mosquera del Peral has been detained for over three months under the Trump administration’s third-country deportation program, which transfers individuals to African nations under confidential agreements. Rights groups have strongly condemned the initiative, warning that deportees face legal limbo and mistreatment.
His lawyer, Alma David, told the Associated Press that Mosquera’s health has deteriorated due to his hunger strike and that she has not been granted access to him.
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“My client is arbitrarily detained, and now his life is on the line,” she said, calling on Eswatini’s prison authorities to provide immediate medical care and to allow legal visits.
Mosquera was among five men from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Vietnam, and Yemen sent to Eswatini in July. The others remain imprisoned, except for the Jamaican man, who was repatriated last month. Civic groups in Eswatini have since taken legal action, challenging the indefinite detention of foreign nationals without charge.
Human Rights Watch revealed that the U.S. paid Eswatini $5.1 million to accept up to 160 deportees under the program, which it says violates international human rights norms.
READ ALSO: Deported immigrants held in solitary in Eswatini under U.S. third-country policy
