Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, a Mexican migrant deported two months earlier to South Sudan by the US during its immigration enforcement, was repatriated to Mexico at Juba International Airport, South Sudan, on September 6, 2025. Image: Deng Machol/AP Photo.
(The Post News)-South Sudan confirmed it returned a man to Mexico who had been expelled from the United States under US President Donald Trump’s intensified immigration enforcement.
South Sudan Facilitates Return of Mexican Deportee
Officials handed Munoz-Gutierrez over to Mexican Ambassador Alejandro Estivill Castro during a “smooth and orderly” transfer, the statement said. South Sudan expressed gratitude to Mexico for its partnership and received guarantees that Munoz-Gutierrez would avoid “torture, cruel or degrading treatment, or unfair prosecution upon arrival.”
Authorities also respected his “human dignity and fundamental rights” during his stay in the capital, Juba. The repatriation complied fully with international statutes, bilateral accords, and diplomatic protocols. Speaking to reporters in Juba, Munoz-Gutierrez said he “felt abducted” when the US sent him.
He claimed to have served his sentence in the United States and was scheduled to be returned to Mexico; instead, he was wrongfully deported to South Sudan. He stated that he had no intention of entering into the country, but once he was there, authorities treated him kindly.
The US Department of Homeland Security reported that Munoz-Gutierrez held a conviction for second-degree murder and faced a life sentence. South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Apuk Ayuel Mayen, said officials are negotiating with other countries to repatriate the six deportees remaining in their custody.
It remains unclear whether these deportees have access to legal counsel. Only one among the eight deportees is originally from the country. Human rights organizations argue that the Trump administration’s expanding policy of sending migrants to third countries breaches international law and migrants’ fundamental rights.
US courts have challenged the deportation practice, but the Supreme Court permitted the government in June to resume rapid removals to countries other than migrants’ native lands.
Other African nations accepting deportees from the US include Uganda, Eswatini, and Rwanda. Eswatini received five men with criminal records in July. Rwanda confirmed the arrival of seven deportees in mid-August.
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