The Extrajudicial Detention of Roberto Mosquera in Eswatini

Roberto Mosquera, a 59-year-old Cuban-born U.S. permanent resident, has been held for more than a year in a maximum-security prison in Eswatini—formerly Swaziland—without charge, trial, or any avenue for appeal. The New York Times reported that Mosquera’s work permit was withdrawn, after which he was seized, transferred through multiple detention facilities, and flown to a continent he had never visited. He remains incarcerated despite having served his U.S. sentence and having no pending criminal case in Africa.

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Mosquera arrived in the United States at age 12 during the 1980 Mariel boatlift from Cuba. After serving time for a gang-related shooting allegation, he rebuilt his life as a born-again Christian, married, fathered four U.S. citizen daughters, and advanced to foreman in a plumbing company. He maintained legal status by annually renewing his work permit, a process made possible because Cuba does not accept deportees. The withdrawal of his permit and subsequent removal occurred under the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policies, which have been described by critics as creating a class of “stateless” individuals who fall outside normal legal protections.

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• Roberto Mosquera – Cuban-born U.S. permanent resident, former plumber and foreman.

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• Alma David – Immigration-rights attorney who highlighted Mosquera’s lack of legal standing.

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• Nicholas Casey – New York Times reporter who profiled Mosquera’s case.

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• Former supervisor – Described Mosquera as a hard-working employee who inspired coworkers.

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Legal scholars and human-rights advocates argue that Mosquera’s situation exemplifies a broader erosion of the “right to have rights,” a concept articulated by Hannah Arendt. The detention without judicial oversight mirrors historical practices where governments declared certain populations undeserving of protection, a pattern critics link to past abuses such as slavery and the Abu Ghraib scandal.

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The Mosquera case illustrates how U.S. immigration enforcement can extend beyond domestic borders, resulting in the outsourcing of detention to foreign prisons. Observers warn that this “whole-of-government” approach may set a precedent for future extraterritorial deprivations of liberty, challenging the constitutional guarantee that all persons—citizens and non-citizens alike—are entitled to basic human rights.

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