JUBA, South Sudan (AP) – After agreeing to accept deportees from the United States last year, South Sudan sent a list of demands to Washington that included American support for the prosecution of an opposition leader and relief from sanctions for a top official accused of embezzling more than a billion dollars in public funds.
The claims, contained in a pair of diplomatic communications made public by the State Department this month, offer a glimpse into the kind of benefits some governments may have sought as they negotiated with the United States over the issue of receiving deportees.
In the documents, the United States expresses “appreciation” to South Sudan for accepting the deportees and details the names, nationalities and crimes for which each individual was convicted.
In July, South Sudan became the first African country to receive deportees from third countries from the US Rwanda, Eswatini, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea have since received deportees.
The eight deportees to South Sudan included citizens of Mexico, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan itself.
Contentious deportations
They arrived in the South Sudanese capital of Juba after spending weeks at a US military base in Djibouti, where they were held after a US court temporarily blocked their deportation. Six of the eight men remain in a residential facility in Juba under the supervision of security personnel.
South Sudanese national Dian Peter Domach was later released, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, a Mexican, was repatriated in September.
South Sudanese officials have not said publicly what long-term plan is in place for those still in custody. Deportations from third countries have been highly contentious, criticized by rights groups and others who have expressed concern that South Sudan will become a dumping ground.
The details of the agreement between the United States and South Sudan remain murky. It remains unclear what, if anything, South Sudan may have actually received or been promised. The documents offer only a glimpse of what South Sudan’s government hoped to get in return.
In other cases, Human Rights Watch said it has seen documents showing the United States agreed to pay the Rwandan government about $7.5 million to take up to 250 deportees. The United States will give Eswatini $5.1 million to take up to 160 deportees, according to the group.
For South Sudan, in one communication dated May 12 and marked confidential, South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised eight “issues of concern that the Government of South Sudan believes deserve consideration.” These ranged from easing visa restrictions for South Sudanese citizens to building a rehabilitation center and “support to address the problem of armed civilians.”
Request to lift sanctions
But an eye-catching request was for the lifting of US sanctions against former Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel as well as Washington’s support for the prosecution of opposition leader Riek Machar, South Sudan’s now-suspended first vice president who faces treason, murder and other criminal charges in a controversial case.
The allegations against Machar stem from a violent incident in March, when an armed militia with historical ties to him attacked a garrison of government troops. Machar’s supporters and some activists describe the charges as politically motivated.
Bol Mel is accused of diverting more than a billion dollars allocated for infrastructure projects in companies he owns or controls, according to a UN report. He wielded great influence in the government and was touted by some as Kiir’s likely successor to the presidency until he was sacked and placed under house arrest in November.
Bol Mel was also seen as a key figure behind the prosecution of Machar, one of the historic leaders of South Sudan’s ultimately successful quest for independence from Sudan in 2011.
Machar was Kiir’s deputy when he fell in 2013, provoking the start of the civil war as government troops loyal to Kiir fought forces loyal to Machar.
A peace deal in 2018 brought Machar back into government as the most senior of five vice presidents. His prosecution has been widely criticized as a breach of that agreement, and has coincided with an increase in violence that the UN says has killed more than 1,800 people between January and September 2025.
The UN also warned that a resurgence of fighting has brought the country “back to the brink of a relapse into civil war.” Machar is under house arrest in Juba while his criminal trial proceeds slowly.
In its communications with the United States, South Sudan also called for the lifting of sanctions on South Sudan’s oil companies “to encourage foreign direct investments,” and for the United States to consider investing in other sectors including fossil fuels, minerals and agriculture.
When asked if the US government had provided or promised South Sudan anything in return for accepting the deportees, a State Department official said, “In keeping with standard diplomatic practice, we do not disclose the details of private discussions.”
A spokesman for South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thomas Kenneth Elisapana, declined to comment.
Reduction in US aid
Despite accepting the US request to admit deportees, relations between the two governments have been strained in recent months.
In December, the United States threatened to cut aid contributions to the country, accusing the government of imposing fees on aid groups and obstructing their operations.
The United States has historically been one of the largest donors to South Sudan, providing approximately $9.5 billion in aid since 2011. Over the years, South Sudan’s government has struggled to deliver many of the basic services of a state, and years of conflict have left the country heavily dependent on foreign aid.