The Jamaican man who was deported to Eswatini from the United States has returned to his homeland. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith made the confirmation last night.

In July, it was reported by international media that Jamaican national, Orville Etoria and four other people from Vietnam, Laos, Cuba and Yemen were transferred from the U.S. to the southern African country.

The U.S. described them as “criminal illegal aliens” who were convicted of crimes ranging from child rape to murder.

Mr. Etoria was reportedly held in a maximum-security prison for over two months without charge, under U.S. President Donald Trump’s third-country deportation programme. 

In an update, Minister Johnson Smith said that the Government is pleased to welcome Mr. Etoria back home. 

She noted that this case represents another example of the importance of international cooperation and the role of the country’s diplomatic networks in protecting the rights of Jamaican nationals abroad.