Twelve people were sent by the United States to Burundi in August under its programme to send foreign nationals to third countries, a Burundian security source told AFP on Wednesday, confirming information from a US lawyer.
In February 2026, Burundi signed an agreement with Washington to receive deported migrants, according to a diplomatic memo seen by AFP, excluding individuals who have committed “violent crimes”.
No financial compensation was specified, but the agreement was reportedly negotiated alongside the resumption of health aid, according to a senior Burundian security official who spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to provide further details.
Burundian authorities announced the agreement in late September, although they said then it had not yet been implemented.
More than 25,000 people deported from US
Twelve people from Angola, Cameroon, Mauritania, and Sudan had arrived in Burundi on August 27, sources said. Their arrival was confirmed to AFP by a security source and a Burundian government official.
The individuals are being kept under the supervision of intelligence agents in a large villa in the affluent Kinindo neighbourhood of the economic capital Bujumbura, the two sources said.
An investigation published in September estimates that 25,000 people have since been deported from the US under the programme.
Since 2025, the US has deported more than 500 people to African countries that were not their own, according to data from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),
