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After accepting US deportees, South Sudan wanted sanctions relief for top official, documents show

After agreeing to accept deportees last year, the Government of South Sudan sent Washington a list of requests seeking U.S. support for prosecuting Riek Machar and sanctions relief for Benjamin Bol Mel, revealed in diplomatic communications made public this month by the United States.
Seeking investment, South Sudan asked the U.S. to lift sanctions on South Sudanese oil companies and back investment in fossil fuels, minerals and agriculture in a May 12 communication.
In July, South Sudan became the first African country to receive third-country deportees, accepting eight including nationals of Mexico and Cuba; six remain in a Juba residential facility while one was freed and one repatriated in September.
Despite accepting the U.S. request to admit deportees, relations between the two governments have been strained in recent months, and the United States threatened in December to reduce aid, having provided roughly $9.5 billion since 2011.
The prosecution of Riek Machar, opposition leader and now-suspended first vice president, has been widely criticized as violating the 2018 peace agreement and coincides with a U.N. report of more than 1,800 deaths between January and September 2025, while Machar remains under house arrest in Juba.

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After accepting US deportees, South Sudan wanted sanctions relief for top official, documents show

After agreeing to accept deportees from the United States last year, South Sudan sent a list of requests to Washington that included American support for the prosecution of an opposition leader and sanctions relief for a senior official accused of diverting over a billion dollars in public funds.

1 day ago·United States

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