Migrants deported from the United States and currently detained in a hotel in Equatorial Guinea have reported that authorities used the facility to quarantine at least one suspected Ebola patient, according to deportees and their lawyers. The hotel, located on Bioko Island and owned by Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, is reportedly housing 17 migrants from countries including Angola, Mauritania, and Ethiopia under a third-country deportation agreement with the Trump administration.
According to a statement from an international lawyers' coalition and interviews with two deportees who spoke anonymously for fear of reprisals, medical personnel in hazmat suits brought a man suspected of having Ebola to the hotel last week. The man was allegedly placed on a floor below the detainees. One deportee stated that a doctor informed them in English about the suspected Ebola patient and advised them to be cautious, though no further details were provided. The lawyers' group said they received "disturbing reports from multiple detained individuals that a person with a suspected case of Ebola was recently brought under quarantine into the same hotel complex where they are being held."
On Sunday, another individual, a woman, was reportedly brought to the quarantine floor and identified by medical staff as a suspected Ebola patient. Videos seen by The Associated Press appear to show medical personnel in full protective gear transporting patients to the hotel, which previously served as an isolation center during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Detainees expressed confusion and a lack of information, with one stating, "Things are getting worse every day. It's very confusing, no one is coming to talk to us. No one is informing us of anything. The hygiene is unimaginable." They also reported a lack of basic protective supplies such as masks and disinfectants, and no information on measures to reduce exposure risk.
The Trump administration's practice of deporting individuals to third countries, often under secret agreements, has been criticized by advocates as a tactic to deter illegal immigration. Lawyers argue that these agreements serve as a loophole to indirectly return asylum seekers to their home countries. Equatorial Guinea is among at least eight African nations with which the U.S. has entered into such deportation agreements. The U.S. reportedly entered into a $7.5 million deal with Equatorial Guinea, leading to the hotel's use as a detention center.
Currently, 4 women and 13 men are held at the hotel. Lawyers assert that all of these individuals had received orders from U.S. judges that should have protected them from removal to their home countries. Earlier in the month, human rights lawyers filed a case against Equatorial Guinea before Africa's top human rights body, alleging that the nation violated deportees' rights by forcing them back to their home countries. The lawyers' coalition also reported that individuals with serious medical conditions are allegedly being denied adequate medical care while in government custody.
Equatorial Guinea, despite being one of Africa's wealthiest nations due to its oil resources, faces accusations of corruption and human rights abuses from U.S. officials and rights groups. The country is known for suppressing dissent, with the government accused of detaining, torturing, and killing critics. U.S. businesses are among the country's largest foreign investors, and the U.S. government provides military training funding to Equatorial Guinea.