Kinshasa (AFP) – "I'm afraid." Fifteen Latin American migrants expelled from the United States have been held for five days in a hotel in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, awaiting an uncertain fate thousands of kilometers from their homes.

First modification: 04/22/2026 - 21:33 Last modification: 04/23/2026 - 12:59

"I didn't want to go to the Congo. I'm afraid, I don't know the language," says Gabriela, a 30-year-old Colombian who is part of the group of asylum seekers rejected by the United States and who arrived after a 27-hour flight, handcuffed by their hands and feet.

They only learned their destination a few days before their expulsion: a country in central Africa, one of the poorest in the world, thousands of kilometers from the American continent.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo received migrants deported from the United States for the first time last Friday.

It joins the list of African countries, including Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda and South Sudan, that in recent months have agreed to participate in Washington's controversial plan to send undocumented foreigners to third countries.

Although the plan has the financial and logistical support of the United States, the authorities of the host countries offer very little information about the destination of the migrants once in their territory.

However, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) assured AFP that when they arrive they provide them with short-term visas and offer them "assisted voluntary return" if they request it.

Since their arrival in Kinshasa, a megalopolis of more than 17 million inhabitants, the 15 Latin Americans live in a complex a few kilometers from the arrival airport.

They sleep in small houses with white walls, one next to another. They are prohibited from leaving the premises and visitors are not allowed.

Several police and army vehicles are parked in the outside car park, where personnel from a private military company whom AFP was unable to identify are sometimes seen.

"Inhuman"

They spend the day glued to their mobile phones trying to contact their families.

None of them speak French, the country's official language, and each says they received $100 from the IOM.

"Several of our friends have gotten sick, like me," says Gabriela. "We have had fever, vomiting and stomach problems. But they tell us that it is normal and that we must adapt."

Some have been given medication, but Gabriela assures that no health worker came to examine them.

Four residents of the hotel told AFP that they had been issued a seven-day visa, extendable for three months. However, they claim that once the seven days had passed, they threatened to withdraw their support and "leave them to their fate."

"They have us cornered because they tell us: 'if you don't accept the repatriation program, you will be trapped in this mess in the Congo,'" says Gabriela, visibly upset. "It is inhuman and unfair," he laments.

From inside the hotel you can hear the noisy chaos of the Congolese capital. A constant stream of minibuses and cars honk their horns on a bumpy road, surrounded by dilapidated buildings.

Most residents of the overcrowded capital lack reliable access to both running water and electricity. And nearly three-quarters of Congolese live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

"They give me three meals a day, the hotel staff cleans the rooms and we are well protected," says Hugo Palencia Ropero, a 25-year-old Colombian who claims to have spent five months detained in the United States before being deported.

But he is very worried about his future.

"I'm more afraid of being here in Africa than in Colombia (...) If seven days pass and we don't receive more help, things will get very difficult for us, especially because we don't have work permits."

That is why he says he is willing to accept "any travel document" in order to "be able to leave this country."

© 2026 AFP

The content you requested does not exist or is no longer available.