Aubrey Retemyer · Sep 20, 2026
Published On 5 Sep 2026 5 Sep 2026
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Guyana says that it has received six people deported from the United States, as the administration of President Donald Trump steps up so-called third-country deportations.
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Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud announced that a group of Cuban and Afghan nationals had arrived in the South American nation on Saturday, after being deported due to immigration issues.
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has not made any further requests” for non-citizen deportations
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aud told The Associated Press news agency.
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Persaud said that Guyana reached an agreement with the US to receive deportees after months of negotiations.
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The deal with Guyana will last for one year and does not constitute permanent resettlement, Persaud said.
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The deportees sent to Guyana on Saturday will receive resources through the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme, run by the United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
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Under the arrangement, those deported will await the outcome of their immigration process in Guyana.
(Kaieteur News) – “We’re grateful to Guyana for agreeing to assist us in resolving
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.S. Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot stated, as the United States signalled its appreciation to Guyana for receiving non-citizen deportees under a newly finalised bilateral agreement.
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The government has finalised a one-year migration cooperation framework with the United States, under which the country will receive, according to a statement issued on Saturday, limited, vetted group of non-criminals, skilled individuals through the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Assisted Voluntary Return Programme.
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The agreement marks the immediate rollout of a temporary third-country deportation mechanism, with an initial cohort of six deportees, four originating from Cuba and two from Afghanistan, arriving in Guyana on Friday.
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The deal outlines a temporary arrangement for individuals who voluntarily opt for relocation to Guyana while awaiting the final determination of their immigration status. Official government statements detailed that depending on the outcome of their cases, individuals will either return to their country of origin or relocate elsewhere of their choosing. The arrangement operates under strict parameters and does not offer open-ended residency or permanent resettlement.
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Under the agreed terms, the United States Government will bear the complete financial burden of the relocation exercise, ensuring Guyana incurs no financial liability. The operational execution of the framework falls directly under the IOM, which will fund and manage reception, housing, basic support, and social integration services, including healthcare, employment supervision, and facilitating contact with legal counsel and family. The IOM confirmed that the arrangement does not transfer any of the state’s official legal duties concerning immigration admission, protection, legal stay, or deportation.
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The administration maintained that Guyana holds total sovereignty and retains complete veto power to review and deny any individual put forward by U.S. authorities. Only individuals who explicitly consent to relocate of their own free will, have been denied asylum in the U.S. without wanting to return home, and meet strict non-criminal and skill criteria will be admitted.
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Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud confirmed to Al Jazeera that
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had been vetted by Guyanese authorities and found to have no criminal backgrounds. The Miami Herald quoted Persaud as stating that Guyana reached the agreement after months of discussions dating back to January. He pointed out that Guyana’s position regarding accepting skilled migrants is tied to its ongoing oil boom, which has created an estimated skills gap of 70,000 to
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80,000 workers. Persaud added that the U.S. has not made any further requests for third-country deportations to Guyana at this time.
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President Irfaan Ali’s administration framed the framework as a continuation of Guyana’s international human rights obligations, emphasising that relocated individuals maintain the right to seek international protection where applicable in direct coordination with local civil society bodies, the IOM, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
(Kaieteur News) – The Government of Guyana has finalised a migration cooperation agreement with the United States under which the country will receive a limited, vetted group of non-criminal, skilled individuals through the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Assisted Voluntary Return Programme.
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The agreement marks the immediate rollout of a temporary third-country deportation mechanism, with an initial cohort of six deportees with four originating from Cuba and two from Afghanistan arriving in Guyana on Friday. Official sources confirmed to Kaieteur News that the newly inked bilateral framework agreement carries an initial duration of one year.
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The deal outlines a temporary arrangement for individuals who voluntarily opt for relocation to Guyana while awaiting the final determination of their immigration status. Under the agreed terms, the United States Government will bear the complete financial burden of the relocation exercise. The operational execution of the framework falls directly under the IOM, the UN Migration Agency.
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IOM will fund and manage
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, housing,
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. These services include facilitating
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reaffirmed that Guyana will incur no
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. Furthermore, the IOM confirmed that the arrangement does
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the state’s official
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stay, or deportation.
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The Government maintained that it holds total sovereignty over who enters the country under the pact. Guyana retains complete veto power to review and deny any individual put forward by US authorities. Only individuals who explicitly consent to relocate to Guyana of their own free will and meet strict non-criminal and skill criteria will be admitted.
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Addressing public concerns, the official government statement clarified that the arrangement operates under strict parameters and does not offer open-ended residency or permanent resettlement. “Individuals relocated to Guyana under the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme do so voluntarily and will await the outcome of their immigration status determination while in Guyana,” the statement detailed. “Depending on the outcome, individuals will either return to their country of origin or relocate elsewhere of their choosing.”
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President Irfaan Ali’s administration framed the framework as a continuation of Guyana’s international human rights obligations. Relocated individuals will maintain the right to seek international protection where applicable. In such cases, the IOM will coordinate directly with Guyanese agencies and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to manage referrals. The framework reflects the deepening bilateral partnership between Georgetown and Washington, which has expanded across trade, national security, investment, energy, and diplomatic initiatives. The Government stated it will continue to work alongside the IOM, UNHCR, and local civil society bodies to ensure full compliance with domestic laws, international treaties, and national development agendas.
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Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud told Al Jazeera that a group of Cuban and Afghan nationals had arrived in Guyana on Saturday, after being deported due to immigration issues. “The US has not made any further requests” for non-citizen deportations to be sent to Guyana at this time, Persaud told The Associated Press news agency. None had criminal backgrounds, according to Persaud.
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removals are part of an ongoing campaign under Trump, who promised during his 2024 re-election bid to engineer the “largest deportation
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in the history of America”.
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Persaud said that Guyana reached an agreement with the US to receive deportees after months of negotiations. The human rights nonprofit Amnesty International estimates that more than 30 countries have entered into such agreements since Trump returned to office, including 15 in the Americas region. The deal with Guyana will last for one year and does not constitute permanent resettlement, Persaud said.
(Kaieteur News) – President Irfaan Ali has defended Guyana’s human rights track record and sovereign authority following criticism over a newly finalised migration cooperation framework that saw the country accept its first cohort of third-country U.S. deportees.
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Speaking in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, President Ali rejected assertions that Guyana is compromising its human rights
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or acting as a dumping ground for Washington’s immigration backlogs.
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During the interview, when pressed on why a sovereign nation would step back to assist Washington amid intense scrutiny from international human rights organizations, President Ali emphasised that Guyana retains full control over its borders.
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“I don’t see this as a precedent because we can reject,” President Ali stated. “We can say that we are not accepting this, so that has not been taken away. The agreement is one in which Guyana has full control over what we accept.”
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“First of all, I don’t see it as a business. Of course
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everything in life
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risk,” Ali said. “But here is where we have the names before. We do our own vetting to our own satisfaction, and then we agree with the names. This is not a situation where the U.S. turns up with a plane and just throw people off on your shores.”
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According to official government statements issued Saturday September 5th, the agreement establishes a temporary third-country relocation mechanism strictly limited to vetted, non-criminal, and skilled individuals who voluntarily opt for relocation while awaiting the final determination of their immigration status.
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The framework operates under strict parameters and explicitly excludes open-
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residency or permanent resettlement. Individuals admitted under the programme will ultimately either return to their country of origin or relocate to a third country of their choice, depending on case determinations.
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The Ali administration maintained that the framework upholds Guyana’s international obligations, noting that relocated individuals retain the right to seek international protection through coordination with local civil society, the IOM, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).