Burkina Faso has refused to accept individuals deported from the United States, calling the US government’s proposal “indecent” and a violation of the principle of dignity.
This decision comes as the U.S. has been increasingly pushing a policy of deporting people to “third countries,” often to nations they have no direct connection to. Other African nations, including Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan, have recently accepted deportees from the U.S.
In response to Burkina Faso’s refusal, the U.S. embassy in Ouagadougou announced it would suspend regular visa services for Burkinabe citizens, redirecting them to the U.S. embassy in Lomé, Togo. Burkina Faso’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore, viewed this action as a form of pressure or “blackmail.”
This stance is in line with the current leadership in Burkina Faso. The country, under Captain Ibrahim Traore, has adopted an anti-Western, Pan-Africanist position since the September 2022 coup, and has been strengthening its ties with Russia.
