Leading Eswatini human rights lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi likens the shadowy US expulsions of 15 men to his country, a tiny kingdom in southern Africa, to kidnappings.Since the first five deportees were flown from the United States on a military plane in July, authorities have blocked the lawyer from visiting them at the high-security prison where they are held.Another 10 arrived in October and had also reached out, via their relatives, for assistance, the lawyer told AFP in an interview.The expulsions are part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants which has seen scores removed to countries in Africa and Central America. “Eswatini finds itself participating in what I can call human trafficking or kidnapping because you cannot have these third-party state deportees being housed (here) while denying them access to lawyers,” Nhlabatsi said.”They are far from their families, so their relatives cannot come here, yet they are being denied a basic right,” he said.Authorities have released few details about the deportees in Eswatini, who are from diverse countries including Vietnam, Laos and Cuba. One — a Jamaican — was repatriated in September.After being refused access by prison authorities, Nhlabatsi turned to the High Court which in early October agreed that local lawyers should be allowed to visit the detainees. But the government appealed the ruling and “that access has not yet been facilitated,” said Nhlabatsi, who is in his mid-40s.Lawyers have also asked the courts to oblige the government to make public the details of its deal with Washington. A text revealed by Human Rights Watch and some media, and seen by AFP, says Eswatini agreed to take 160 deportees in exchange for $5.1 million to “build its border and migration management capacity”.”I believe the country concentrated on financial gain and overlooked every aspect of international law,” Nhlabatsi said. – ‘Weaponisation’ -Poverty and unemployment are high among Eswatini’s 1.2 million population, with 58 percent of the youth without jobs, according to the International Monetary Fund.The autocratic ruler, King Mswati III, has held power for 39 years, openly flaunting his wealth with a lavish lifestyle.Political parties have been banned since 1973 and calling for democratic reforms risks terrorism or sedition charges.An example of the “weaponisation of the judiciary” in the deteriorating human rights environment was the jailing in 2021 of two opposition MPs accused of inciting unrest during pro-democracy protests, the lawyer said.One of them — Mthandeni Dube, sentenced to 18 years in prison — was freed on Tuesday after apologising to the king and agreeing not to make public speeches or join protests. “Even though one of them has since apologised, that does not change the fact that they should not have been convicted in the first place,” Nhlabatsi said.Since the 2021 protests, when at least 37 people were killed, “civic space has shrunk, the independence of the judiciary is questionable, and the rule of law remains under threat,” Nhlabatsi said.- Ticking time bomb -In 2023, human rights lawyer and fierce critic of the authorities Thulani Maseko was gunned down in a killing that shocked many beyond the borders of Eswatini. There have still been no arrests for the murder. “I began to truly fear for my safety after the assassination of Thulani Maseko because I had worked closely with him,” Nhlabatsi said.”What shocked and terrified me was that he was a man of peace. And I know for a fact that the state also knew that he never advocated violence in any form,” said the formal but friendly lawyer.  Eswatini needs change, including a move away from its system of royal favouritism and patronage that is eating into government finances, he said. “It is not sustainable,” Nhlabatsi said, describing the desperation for jobs in particular as a “cry for help, a ticking time bomb.”

US forces on Thursday struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from Washington’s controversial anti-narcotics campaign to at least 70.The United States began carrying out such strikes — which experts say amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers — in early September, taking aim at vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.The US strikes have destroyed at least 18 vessels so far — 17 boats and a semi-submersible — but Washington has yet to make public any concrete evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the United States.Hegseth released aerial footage on X of the latest strike, which he said took place in international waters like the previous strikes and targeted “a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.”The video showed a boat traveling through the water before exploding into flames.”Three male narco-terrorists — who were aboard the vessel — were killed,” Hegseth said, without any further identifying information.”To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs — we will kill you,” he wrote.Like some previous videos released by the US government, a section of the boat is obfuscated for unspecified reasons.President Donald Trump’s administration has built up significant forces in Latin America, in what it says is its campaign to stamp out drug trafficking.So far it has deployed six Navy ships in the Caribbean, sent F-35 stealth warplanes to Puerto Rico, and ordered the USS Gerald R Ford carrier strike group to the region.The governments and families of those killed in the US strikes have said many of the dead were civilians — primarily fishermen. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly accused Trump of seeking to oust him.US bombers have also conducted shows of force near Venezuela, flying over the Caribbean Sea off the country’s coast on at least four occasions since mid-October.Maduro — who has been indicted on drug charges in the United States — insists there is no drug cultivation in his country, which he says is used as a trafficking route for Colombian cocaine against its will.The Trump administration has said in a notice to Congress that the United States is engaged in “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, describing them as terrorist groups as part of its justification for the strikes.The United Nations has asked the United States to cease its campaign, with rights chief Volker Turk saying the killings have taken place “in circumstances that find no justification in international law.”

US President Donald Trump hosted all five Central Asian leaders on Thursday for the first time, a few months after they held separate summits with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping. The West has upped its interest with the resource-rich region, where Moscow’s traditional influence has been questioned since the Kremlin’s Ukraine invasion and where China is also a major player.- ‘Incredible importance’ of rare earths -“We’re strengthening our economic partnerships, improving our security cooperation, and expanding our overall bonds,” Trump said before a dinner with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.”One of the key items on our agenda is critical minerals,” Trump said at the so-called “C5+1” meeting.He hailed the countries’ “incredible importance and unbelievable potential.”On social media afterward, Trump announced “an incredible Trade and Economic Deal” with Uzbekistan, which he said included Tashkent investing nearly $35 billion over three years — and more than $100 billion in a decade — in key US sectors such as aviation, critical minerals, agriculture and IT.The United States and European Union are drawn by the region’s huge — but still mostly unexploited — natural resources as they try to diversify their rare earths supplies and reduce dependence on Beijing. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer, Uzbekistan has giant gold reserves and Turkmenistan is rich in gas. Mountainous Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are also opening up new mineral deposits.  But exploiting these giant reserves remains complicated in the impoverished states with harsh and remote terrains. Almost as large as the EU, but home to only about 75 million people, Central Asia is landlocked and covered by deserts and mountains.It is sandwiched between countries that have strained ties with the West: Russia to the north, China to the east and Iran and Afghanistan to the south.- ‘Sent by heaven’ -Trump’s counterparts did not hesitate in offering praise to their host.”You are the great leader, statesman, sent by heaven to bring (back) common sense and traditions that we all share and value,” gushed Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was no less effusive.”Before that, none of the presidents of the United States of America ever treated Central Asia as you do,” he said.”In Uzbekistan, we call you the president of the world.”The five landlocked countries, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have put on a united front for diplomacy.China — which shares borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — has presented itself as a main commercial partner for the region, investing in huge infrastructure projects.The ex-Soviet republics still see Moscow as a strategic partner but have been spooked by its invasion of Ukraine. – Abraham Accords -The biggest announcement of the day was that Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords between Israel and mainly Muslim nations, in a largely symbolic move aimed at boosting Trump’s push for Middle East peace.Kazakhstan will be the first country to join since the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan signed up to normalize ties with Israel in 2020.The central Asian republic has already had diplomatic ties with Israel for decades, but US Vice President JD Vance said Kazakhstan’s decision would nevertheless boost the initiative’s “momentum.”Several states in the Middle East have refused to join the accords so far, most notably Saudi Arabia.- Muffled human rights -For Trump, who has expressed admiration for hardline regimes, economic cooperation with Central Asia has taken precedence over promoting democratic values. While the region has opened up to tourism and foreign investment, rights groups have sounded the alarm over the further deterioration of civil freedoms. “The summit is taking place while all participating governments have increased efforts to stifle dissent, silence the media, and retaliate against critics at home and abroad,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement ahead of the talks.