A discreet building in the Elig-Essono neighborhood of Yaounde holds a state secret: the detention of foreign nationals expelled from the United States under the Trump administration. The information, first mentioned by The New York Times without a precise location, was revealed by The Africa Report on February 19, 2025.
These deportations are part of an accelerated American expulsion policy. The silence of the Cameroonian and American governments on these transfers fuels concerns about the conditions of detention and the rights of those concerned. Families are kept in the dark, and lawyers face difficulties in accessing detainees.
Journalists and the deportees' lawyer have been prevented from approaching the site, and even assaulted by Cameroonian authorities, raising questions about what Yaounde is trying to hide. Analysts suggest possible links to sensitive cases involving the political opposition or transnational economic networks.
This affair highlights a discreet cooperation between Washington and Yaounde, where Cameroon agrees to host deportees as part of a migration policy outsourced by the United States. This cooperation, criticized by human rights organizations, could have repercussions on migration relations between Central Africa and the United States. The exact number of detainees and the legal conditions of their detention remain unclear.
According to The Africa Report, 15 African migrants have been held in this villa since January 2026. They are reportedly from Ghana, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Kenya. Reports from February 2026 indicate that five journalists were arrested for attempting to cover the story. Lawyer Joseph Awah Fru stated that the Cameroonian authorities have indicated to the deportees that they will only leave to return to their country of origin, which, for some, would be tantamount to signing their death warrant.
