Burundi agrees to host migrants expelled by the United States

Burundi has agreed to receive foreign nationals expelled by the United States on its soil, under an agreement whose contents were made public on October 2, 2026. According to RFI, the text was signed on February 12, 2026, following an exchange of diplomatic notes between Washington on December 8, 2025, and Bujumbura on February 6, 2026.

The individuals concerned are not Burundian: they are nationals of third countries, presented by the American administration as threats to its security. Burundi reportedly set a limit, according to RFI, by refusing to host people who have committed violent crimes. AFP, cited by the Nigerian daily Vanguard, mentions for its part the exclusion of individuals prosecuted for criminal offenses or suspected of links to terrorism. The agreement reportedly provides guarantees against persecution and torture.

A mechanism spreading across the continent

Bujumbura is not an isolated case. An investigation by the Forbidden Stories consortium published in September 2026, picked up by AFP, asserts that Washington has already expelled approximately 25,000 people to 35 third countries as part of agreements that have remained confidential. Several African states are among the signatories, including Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, and Eswatini. United Nations experts have warned against the human rights violations that this practice can lead to.

The spokesperson for the Burundian presidency, Nancy-Ninette Mutoni, highlighted the practical questions raised by the arrival of these people. She explained to AFP that it is necessary to find them accommodation, cover their basic needs, and organize their coexistence with the local population. Neither the number of people expected nor a timeline has been communicated.

What this says about the balance of power

These agreements raise a question that African citizens have the right to ask their governments: at what price, and in exchange for what, does a state agree to become a place of relegation for people whom the United States does not want to keep and whose country of origin will not take back? The counterparts—commercial, tariff-related, or diplomatic—are not made public.

For the individuals transferred, the stakes are even more immediate: expelled to a country of which they are not nationals, without ties or networks, they depend entirely on the guarantees written on paper. Their effectiveness remains, at this stage, unverifiable.