politics
U.S. Deports Vietnamese National Convicted of Murder to Vietnam After Detention in South Sudan
Tuan Phan, 44, left Juba International Airport for Vietnam on Friday after more than a year in detention. South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the departure.
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Vietnamese national Tuan Phan, 44, departed Juba International Airport for Vietnam on Friday after spending more than a year in detention in South Sudan. South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the repatriation at a press briefing the same day. Spokesperson Agok Anyar said, “We are grateful that while in our custody Mr.
U.S. third-country deportation program.
U.S. Military base in Djibouti before arriving in Juba aboard a military aircraft in July 2025 after a Supreme Court ruling permitted the removals. All eight men had criminal convictions in the United States but had completed their prison sentences before being taken into custody in 2025. Phan moved to the United States as a child in 1991, according to court documents.
In 2000, shortly after turning 18, he received a 25-year sentence after shooting and killing someone during a gang altercation. His removal was ordered in 2009, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into custody immediately after he finished his sentence in March 2025.
U.S. Senate report. A congressional aide who visited last year was the first person other than a South Sudanese official to see the men, the report states. Phan is the second member of the group to be repatriated.
Jesus Muñoz-Gutierrez was flown to Mexico in September. Dian Peter Domach, the only South Sudanese national among them, was released upon arrival in Juba. The remaining men are from Cuba, Myanmar, and Laos.
At least seven African countries have agreed to accept third-country deportees under arrangements with the United States. U.S. government has agreed to pay millions of dollars to those governments.
More than 180 people have been sent to the seven countries, according to Third Country Deportation Watch. Armed conflict in South Sudan displaced more than half a million people in 2025, according to the United Nations. ” State Department documents show South Sudan requested sanctions relief for a former top official and support with the prosecution of a prominent opposition leader after agreeing to accept the men.
