On a Texas airport tarmac in late August, federal immigration agents confronted a group of shackled migrants, some of whom resisted being forced onto a plane they understood was bound for Africa. The migrants, from countries including Nicaragua, Iran, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, were to be deported to the Central African Republic (CAR), a nation grappling with ongoing civil conflict and severe humanitarian challenges.

Among those detained was Kenis Adalberto López, 44, a Nicaraguan who fled his country seeking asylum in the United States. López recounted pleading with immigration officers to disclose their destination, expressing a preference to die in the U.S. rather than be sent to Africa. When some men refused to board, officers deployed pepper balls at close range, with López himself struck twice. Subsequently, he was strapped to a stretcher and placed aboard the plane for roughly a 24-hour flight to Bangui, the CAR capital.

The plane transported individuals who had fled oppressive regimes, including an Afghan man with family ties to U.S. military service, and reportedly no criminal records. Several had secured special protections from deportation after demonstrating to U.S. immigration judges that they faced potential torture if returned to their countries of origin.

Witnesses reported that at least two men who resisted boarding were subjected to full-body restraint suits during the flight. All deportees were shackled at the ankles and wrists. The flight made stops in two other African nations before arriving in Bangui. The city is currently contending with a cholera outbreak, power and water shortages, and widespread violence. The U.S. government advises against travel to the CAR due to threats from unrest, crime, kidnappings, landmines, terrorism, and health risks.

Upon arrival, the deportees received yellow fever vaccinations and were placed under 24-hour armed guard in a housing facility. Many reported that their identity documents had been confiscated during detention and never returned, hindering their ability to leave the country. Their legal status in the CAR remains ambiguous.

Two men deported on a July 31 flight described being abducted on the street by men they suspected were police officers, who demanded bribes equivalent to $100 for their release. One of them, Yasmani Moreno, 31, originally from Cuba, had arrived in the U.S. in 2016 under the now-defunct “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which allowed Cuban migrants who reached American soil to remain. Moreno has shared extensive documentation of his experience in Bangui via social media, referring to the country as a “failed state.”

President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s government in the CAR has recently intensified efforts to dismantle militia groups with foreign assistance, including mercenaries linked to the Russian Wagner Group, a contractor accused of human rights abuses. Observers have criticized moves by Touadera to suppress opposition and amend term limits as signs of authoritarian drift.

One deportee, Luis Hernández, 38, fled Nicaragua after participating in 2018 pro-democracy protests that were violently suppressed by the Sandinista government. Although denied asylum in the U.S., Hernández received protection under the Convention Against Torture but was later detained during a routine immigration check-in and ended up on the Texas-to-Bangui flight. He likened the experience to “psychological violence,” describing lasting physical pains from pepper spray and severe emotional distress.

Under the previous U.S. administration, deportations were expanded to include asylum seekers and individuals granted protection from deportation due to fear of torture. The U.S. has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to third countries willing to accept deportees, raising concerns among human rights advocates that some deportees are being placed in harm’s way or even returned involuntarily to dangerous home countries.

Advocates argue that this approach constitutes a forced transfer of vulnerable individuals to unstable and unsafe environments. Legal challenges against the third-country deportation policy have been mounted, with recent appellate court decisions questioning its legality.

Hernández remains uncertain about his safety in the CAR given its ties to Russia and its alliance with Nicaragua’s Sandinista government. His lawyer advises seeking asylum elsewhere, but Hernández continues to hope for a chance to return to the United States, expressing faith in the country’s democratic principles and potential for justice.