Burkina Faso rejects US proposal to take deportees, calls it “indecent”

Burkina Faso rejects US proposal to take deportees, calls it indecent.

Dakar, Oct 10 (AP/UNB) — Burkina Faso has rejected a proposal from the Trump administration to accept deportees from the United States, calling the request “indecent” and contrary to national dignity.

Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré said Thursday on national television that Washington had asked whether Burkina Faso would accept non-citizens expelled by the U.S., in addition to its own nationals.

“Naturally, this proposal, which we deemed indecent at the time, is totally contrary to the value of dignity which is part of the very essence of the vision of Capt. Ibrahim Traoré,” he said, referring to the country’s military ruler.

The announcement came shortly after the U.S. Embassy in Ouagadougou suspended most visa services for Burkina Faso residents and redirected applications to its embassy in neighboring Togo.

Citing a U.S. diplomatic note accusing Burkinabe nationals of visa misuse, Traoré said the embassy’s decision may be a “pressure tactic,” stressing, “Burkina Faso is a land of dignity, not deportation.”

Since July, the Trump administration has deported more than 40 people to African countries under a secretive third-country deportation program. Human rights groups say several African nations — including Eswatini, South Sudan, Rwanda and Ghana — have accepted deportees in exchange for U.S. aid ranging from $5 million to $7.5 million.