Police in Equatorial Guinea pointed firearms at migrants deported from the United States during an altercation at a hotel in Malabo, according to three witnesses and video footage.
The incident began over confiscated mobile phones at the hotel, where 31 deportees are currently being held. Witnesses said the confrontation escalated after one migrant asked police to return his phone so he could contact relatives and a lawyer.
The incident has raised further questions over the security and treatment of people transferred to Equatorial Guinea under US third-country deportation arrangements. Washington has reached agreements with several African countries to accept migrants whom the US cannot legally return to their countries of origin.
The US Department of Homeland Security said the administration was using lawful options to carry out deportations and that its responsibility ends once individuals are no longer in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The State Department said the US would continue to use legal means to remove people without a right to remain in the country.
Equatorial Guinea has not publicly disclosed the terms of its arrangement with Washington, and its government did not respond to requests for comment.
The situation escalated further on September 11, when an Egyptian deportee, Ahmed Soliman, was taken into police custody after speaking publicly about the earlier confrontation, according to his lawyer. Another deportee was also reportedly arrested. Equatorial Guinea's government has not commented on Soliman's whereabouts.
A total of 53 people were deported to Equatorial Guinea under the arrangement between November 2025 and July 2026, according to a tracker cited by Reuters. They came from 11 African countries as well as Georgia, Jamaica, Brazil and Cuba.
The incidents put greater attention on how third-country deportees are treated after being transferred outside US custody, particularly when the receiving government provides limited public information about the arrangements.
