Cuban man deported from US to Eswatini launches hunger strike
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Roberto Mosquera del Peral, deported from the US to Eswatini, begins a hunger strike in prison as legal battle intensifies over arbitrary detention claims.
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Matsapha Correctional Complex is seen in Matsapha, near Mbabane, Eswatini, on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP)
A Cuban man deported from the US to Eswatini has launched a hunger strike in protest of his ongoing imprisonment in the southern African kingdom, according to his attorney.
Roberto Mosquera del Peral, 58, was among five third-country nationals deported to Eswatini in July under the Trump administration’s ramped-up deportation policies. Since his transfer, he has been held in a maximum-security prison without trial.
His US-based attorney, Alma David, stated that Mosquera del Peral began his hunger strike on October 15 in protest of what she called his arbitrary detention. “My client is arbitrarily detained and now his life is on the line,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
US immigration officials have claimed that the men deported to Eswatini are convicted criminals, and cited Mosquera del Peral’s record, alleging convictions for homicide, aggravated assault on a police officer, and aggravated battery.
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David rejected those claims, saying her client had been convicted of attempted murder, not homicide, and had already served his full sentence in the US prior to his deportation. She is now calling for Mosquera del Peral to be granted access to legal representation in Eswatini.
A local attorney representing the deportees is currently engaged in a legal struggle to gain access to the detainees. The Eswatini government has so far refused to allow lawyers to meet with them.
MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: ICE Miami arrested Roberto MOSQUERA-Del Peral, a 58-year-old citizen of Cuba. MOSQUERA’s criminal history includes convictions for homicide, aggravated assault on a police officer with a weapon and aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability in… pic.twitter.com/JUcqicda9B
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 16, 2025
US immigration crackdown and third-country deportations
The case highlights broader concerns over third-country deportations under the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Alongside Mosquera del Peral, ten additional individuals were deported to Eswatini in October as part of an expanded effort to remove non-US nationals to third countries, even in cases where those countries are not the detainees’ home nations.
The legal basis for their continued detention in Eswatini remains unclear. Human rights advocates argue that the move violates international norms and the detainees’ rights to due process.
Efforts to provide legal representation for the deported men have been consistently thwarted by Eswatini’s correctional authorities, according to both US- and Africa-based legal teams. A spokesperson for the country's correctional services said they were reviewing the case but declined to offer immediate comment when questioned by The Guardian.
As Mosquera del Peral's hunger strike continues, pressure is building on both Eswatini and US authorities to clarify the legal grounds for his detention and to allow urgent access to medical care and legal counsel.
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