Roberto Mosqueira, a Cuban-born man deported by the United States, has been held for over a year in Eswatini’s maximum-security prison without charges or clear prospects for release. Mosqueira, 59, was forcibly removed from the U.S. in mid-2025 and transported to Eswatini, a small landlocked country in southern Africa, after Cuba declined to accept his deportation. He was part of a group of deportees sent under the Trump administration’s policies, which have led to individuals being placed in legal and geographic limbo far from their home countries.
Mosqueira arrived in Eswatini after a complex journey beginning in Texas, where U.S. immigration officials detained him and transferred him through multiple U.S. detention centers before flying him and four others—originating from Jamaica, Laos, Yemen, and Vietnam—to Africa. Upon arrival, deportees were immediately placed in the Matsapha Correctional Complex, despite not having committed any crimes in Eswatini. They were subjected to strict lockdowns and denied initial access to legal counsel or family communication, triggering concern and confusion.
Previously, Mosqueira had lived in the United States for nearly four decades. He first came as a child during the 1980 Mariel boatlift from Cuba and later settled in Miami, where he joined a gang as a teenager and faced criminal charges. Ultimately, he accepted a plea deal for attempted murder, which would typically make him subject to deportation. However, U.S. authorities could not return him to Cuba for years due to lack of cooperation, allowing him to remain under supervision while building a life, training as a plumber, becoming a born-again Christian, marrying, and fathering four daughters.
His long detention in Eswatini has taken a significant personal toll. Mosqueira’s marriage ended shortly before his deportation, and he has since lost regular contact with his children. Despite the lack of criminal charges locally, he remains confined, uncertain of his future, and has endured hunger strikes to protest his treatment. He has been allowed to purchase a cellphone with funds sent by family and has maintained communication with a U.S.-based lawyer representing him, who has raised concerns about due process and the conditions faced by deportees in Eswatini.
Other deportees in the prison, many with criminal convictions in the U.S., have reported similar bewilderment and hardship. Only two from the group sent have reportedly returned to their countries of origin, highlighting the difficulties in resolving their status. The Eswatini government has declined to release the detainees, while Cuba has not agreed to repatriate Mosqueira, who fears persecution if forced to return.
Mosqueira’s case illustrates the complex challenges of global deportations when countries refuse or delay accepting returnees. The situation has left several individuals caught in administrative and geographic uncertainty, with limited avenues for legal recourse or repatriation. As new deportees continue to arrive in Eswatini, the current detainees face ongoing uncertainty about their fate, underscoring broader questions about immigration enforcement and international cooperation.