Afghan and Cuban nationals sent from the United States have been received by Guyana, marking the latest expansion of Washington’s third-country transfer arrangements, according to a U.S. official speaking with CBS News on Friday. The group was small in size and arrived under expulsion orders issued by the Trump administration.
More than 30 countries have entered into pacts with the Trump administration to take in non-citizens expelled from the U.S., the official noted. Guyana’s government described the transfers as part of an “Assisted Voluntary Return Program,” saying those moved will stay in Guyana while their immigration cases are pending. Outcomes could include a return to their home nations or relocation to another state, according to the government’s statement.
Authorities in Georgetown said the U.N. International Organization for Migration will run the program, and stressed that Guyana will not cover housing or other support expenses.
Six individuals—hailing from Cuba and Afghanistan—arrived on Friday, Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud told the Associated Press on Saturday. He said they had been screened by his government and had no criminal records. The hosting arrangement followed months of talks, Persaud said, adding that “the U.S. has not made any further requests.” The deal lasts one year and is not a permanent resettlement plan, he explained.
Guyana, one of the founding members of the 15-nation Caribbean Community, joins a list of regional states that have taken in modest numbers of U.S. deportees. St. Kitts and Nevis, Belize, and St. Lucia—the latter slated to receive its first group this week—are among them, per officials.
Critics, including human rights advocates, have slammed these third-country expulsions as unlawful under international law and cruel, pointing out that some deportees are being sent back to places where they had faced persecution. The Trump administration, however, has stood by the practice, calling it a lawful and effective deterrent against illegal crossings.
Neither the Guyanese statement nor the U.S. official’s remarks clarified the legal rationale for the transfers or detailed the deportation proceedings. Beyond the official’s comments, no further U.S. government response was reported.