The US pushed five West African countries whose leaders were invited to a special summit in Washington this week to accept migrants deported from America, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal were each sent requests ahead of their leaders meeting US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, in a move “underscoring the overlap between the administration’s aggressive deportation campaign and its foreign policy,” the Journal wrote. It’s unclear whether any of the countries have agreed to the proposal.
Washington has ramped up its unorthodox deportation demands in recent weeks, asking many African countries to accept deportees from other nations. This week Nigeria said it was not in any position to accept Venezuelan deportees despite pressure from the US administration, which appears to be tying the demands to visa restrictions.
Trump’s summit marked his first multilateral diplomatic foray with the continent and the invitees stood out for their countries being rich in highly sought-after critical minerals. The gathering also reflected “a broader strategic ambition” to reassert Washington’s power in a region where China and Russia have surged ahead in influence, noted the Brookings Institution think tank.