According to Politico, a U.S.-based digital newspaper, Juba offered to accept more deportees from the United States in exchange for favourable action on the two demands. The report, citing diplomatic correspondence and anonymous sources familiar with the matter, reveals a previously undisclosed diplomatic effort by South Sudan’s leadership to secure concessions from the Trump administration.
“The East African nation has urged the Trump administration to lift sanctions on one of its top officials, according to three people familiar with the matter and diplomatic correspondence viewed by Politico,” the outlet reported. The sources were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions and the ongoing nature of the negotiations.
In April this year, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) renewed sanctions against Bol Mel and his construction firm, Winners Construction Company Limited. The decision, issued on April 17, 2025, marked a continuation of sanctions initially imposed in December 2017 during Donald Trump’s first term as president.
The renewed measures also target other business entities linked to Bol Mel, including Thai South Sudan Crusher, Aggregates and Building Materials Company (ABMC), and Home and Away Limited. U.S. authorities have accused the companies of corruption and mismanagement of public funds.
During a recent diplomatic mission to Washington, a delegation led by South Sudan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Monday Semya Kumba, also urged U.S. officials to reverse sweeping visa restrictions imposed on South Sudanese nationals by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in April.
The delegation further requested the reactivation of a dormant bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to allow the country to conduct international transactions in U.S. dollars. Central to the discussions was a plea for American support in the prosecution of Riek Machar, who has been in detention since March.
However, according to Politico, the Trump administration has rejected all of the requests, signalling continued mistrust between Washington and Juba. Relations between the two countries have been tense in recent years, strained by South Sudan’s prolonged civil conflict, allegations of authoritarian rule, and persistent human rights violations.
Machar, the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), was arrested following violent clashes in March between the White Army—an ethnic militia allegedly loyal to him—and government forces. The confrontation led to the killing of General Majur Dak and 24 of his bodyguards. The incident was a serious escalation in an already fragile peace process.
The detention of Machar, who played a central role in the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, has dealt a blow to the implementation of the peace accord. The SPLM-IO remains a key signatory to the agreement, and its continued house arrest has triggered growing concern among regional and international actors.
Calls for Machar’s release have intensified, but the government in Juba has remained noncommittal.
