A street scene in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)(AP Photo/Misper Apawu)At first glance the Bamy Hotel on Bioko Island looks like a typical tropical resort: a palm-lined driveway, a marble-floored lobby and a mahogany reception desk with a portrait of Equatorial Guinea’s president behind it. But the hotel is eerily quiet and no longer serves tourists or business travelers. Since late last year a small number of people have been lodged there not by choice but because they are being held against their will. How the Hotel Became a Detention Site Human rights advocates say an opaque, reported $7.5 million agreement with the U.S. government allowed Equatorial Guinea’s long-ruling president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, to turn the family-owned Bamy Hotel into a temporary detention site for asylum seekers deported from the United States. Framed portraits of Equatorial Guinea President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, displayed in an office setting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)(AP Photo/Misper Apawu) Who Is Detained Lawyers and sources say the Bamy has held at least 32 people since November; all had previously been granted some form of protection by U.S. judges, their attorneys say. Of that group, 25 have since been forced back to their countries of origin across Africa, where they face possible persecution or worse. The remaining detainees report ongoing pressure from authorities to return home. "Government people would come all the time and say: Where is your passport? You need to go back to your own country," a 26-year-old man from East Africa at the hotel said on condition of anonymity. Conditions And Treatment Detainees — from countries including Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Mauritania — describe a monotonous existence: pacing long corridors, staring at a swimming pool they are not allowed to use and sleeping in ornate rooms they say are seldom cleaned. Meals of rice and meat are served in the hotel restaurant. Several people reported becoming ill after eating the food and now eat sparingly. Front row, from left, Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, first lady Constancia Mangue Nsue Okomo, and Equatorial Guinea Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang attend a Holy Mass with Pope Leo XIV at the Malabo Stadium in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)(AP Photo/Misper Apawu) Medical care has been inconsistent. One detainee was taken promptly to a hospital for an eye problem, the man said, but when he later contracted malaria and typhoid he was not taken for treatment until his condition had deteriorated and an IV was required. Other detainees reported similar delays. While detainees said they had not suffered physical abuse in the hotel, they described intense psychological pressure and direct threats from officials. One detainee recounted being told by a police officer that his problems would be solved if he jumped from a hotel window. A drilling rig in Luba, Equatorial Guinea, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)(AP Photo/Misper Apawu) Broader Context Immigration lawyers and advocates say U.S. deportations to third countries have been used as a legal pathway to remove asylum seekers from the United States and indirectly push them back toward the countries they fled. Rights groups report that such arrangements have moved thousands of people to nearly two dozen nations that are not their home states, many of them developing countries. Equatorial Guinea is an oil-rich nation whose wealth critics say is concentrated in the Obiang family. The president’s son and vice president, Teodoro "Teodorin" Obiang Nguema, has publicly displayed a lavish lifestyle on social media and was allowed to travel to a high-level U.N. meeting in New York after U.S. sanctions against him were lifted — a development that preceded the reported deportations to Equatorial Guinea. A view of Bamy Hotel where migrants are held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Monika Pronczuk)(AP Photo/Monika Pronczuk) The country has been repeatedly criticized by rights groups and foreign governments for a lack of independent media and for allegations of detention, torture and other abuses against critics. Despite those concerns, Equatorial Guinea maintains economic ties with foreign investors, including U.S. companies, and receives some U.S. military training assistance. International Oversight And Legal Help Representatives from the U.N. International Organization for Migration and the U.N. refugee agency visited the hotel in November and told detainees they would return; detainees say the agencies did not follow up. Only one detainee is reported to have been allowed to see a lawyer; his attorney filed a formal request with the prime minister’s office and sought mercy from the vice president, but the asylum claim was denied and other detainees were deported the next day. The U.S. State Department declined to comment on the specifics of the reported agreement, offering a general statement that it remains committed to ending illegal immigration. The government of Equatorial Guinea did not respond to requests for comment. This account is based on interviews with detainees, lawyers and rights advocates and on a reporting visit to Bioko Island. Names have been withheld where sources requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation.Help us improve.