Trending Now - Us-deported Asylum Seekers Held in African Hotel Facility

WHO:

ABC News - Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is the president of Equatorial Guinea.

ABC News - The hotel is owned by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo's family.

ABC News - Asylum seekers from Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Mauritania are being held at the hotel.

ABC News - A 26-year-old man from an East African country is one of the imprisoned asylum seekers.

WHAT:

ABC News - The hotel, Bamy Hotel, has been turned into a prison for asylum seekers deported from the United States.

ABC News - The Trump administration has a $7.5 million deal with Equatorial Guinea regarding the deportation of asylum seekers.

ABC News - At least 32 people have been imprisoned at the hotel since November.

ABC News - Of the 32 imprisoned, 25 have been forced to return to their home countries.

ABC News - The asylum seekers face intense psychological pressure and fear of persecution if returned to their home countries.

ABC News - The East African man reported that he was told by a police officer that his problems would go away if he jumped out of the hotel’s fourth floor.

WHERE:

ABC News - The Bamy Hotel is located in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

ABC News - The hotel is situated on the island of Bioko.

WHEN:

ABC News - The deportations to Equatorial Guinea began shortly after the U.S. lifted sanctions on Teodoro “Teodorin” Obiang Nguema, which occurred just weeks before the deportations started.

ABC News - The East African man arrived at the U.S. border in August 2024.

WHY:

ABC News - The Trump administration uses deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers back to their home countries.

ABC News - Countries accepting deportees may be doing so to earn goodwill in negotiations with the U.S. over trade, migration, or aid.

HOW:

ABC News - The asylum seekers are held in a hotel setting, where they are served meals and have access to basic amenities, but are not allowed to leave.

ABC News - A local lawyer provides some assistance to the detainees, including new toothbrushes and sanitary products for women.

(UPDATED May 28, 2026 08:19 UTC)

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea, has turned the Bamy Hotel in Malabo into a prison for asylum seekers deported from the United States, with at least 32 individuals detained since November. Among those imprisoned is a 26-year-old man from an East African country, who reported being told by a police officer that his problems would vanish if he jumped from the hotel’s fourth floor. The Trump administration has a $7.5 million deal with Equatorial Guinea regarding these deportations, which are seen as a way to indirectly force asylum seekers back to their home countries, while the detainees face intense psychological pressure and fear of persecution.