Let’s talk about how the world actually works. Not the fairy tale version they teach you in school, but the real, ugly machine that keeps spinning while we stare at our phones. The latest malfunction in the system involves **secret U.S. deportations to Cameroon**, a story that Washington definitely didn't want trending.

Here is the reality. A reporter from the **Associated Press**—we are talking top-tier media—went to investigate a center in Douala where migrants are being dumped. And I use the word “dumped” on purpose. These are people the U.S. kicked out. But when **journalists arrested in Cameroon** became the headline, the curtain was pulled back. Along with a lawyer, these reporters were detained, hit, and harassed simply for trying to document the arrival of these covert flights.

Normally, when a government does something they are proud of, they send a press release and optimize the optics. They have a guy with a nice haircut stand in front of a flag. But not this time. The U.S. is flying people back to a region with a terrible record on **human rights**, and they are doing it quietly. They want these planes to land, unload the human cargo, and leave before anyone notices.

So, the press shows up. They just want to see. That is their job, right? To watch. To write it down. To tell you what your tax dollars are paying for regarding **immigration enforcement**. And what happens? They get grabbed. They get hit. Detained. A lawyer and some folks with notebooks get treated like criminals because they dared to look at the ugly truth.

This is the part that makes me laugh. It’s a bitter laugh. The United States loves to talk about freedom. We love to lecture other countries. We stand up on a box and scream about "**freedom of the press**" and human rights. We tell everyone else how to behave. But here we are, shipping people off to a place where, if you try to cover the news, you get smacked around and thrown in a room.

Do you think the people in charge in Washington didn’t know this would happen? Of course they knew. They don't care. In fact, they probably prefer it this way. If there are no photos, it didn’t happen. If there is no story, nobody has to feel bad while they eat their dinner. It is the perfect crime. The U.S. cleans its hands, and the guys in Cameroon do the dirty work of keeping everyone quiet.

Let’s look at the players here. On one side, you have the guys running Cameroon. They don’t want people seeing how they treat these returnees. They want total control. If you stand outside their secret center, you are a threat. So they use muscle. Simple. Brutal. Honest, in a sick way.

Then you have the Americans. The hypocrites. The ones who signed the papers to put those people on that plane. They know exactly what happens when the wheels touch down. They know the reporters will be harassed. But the deportation numbers need to go up. The "problem" needs to go away. So they send them into the dark and hope the door locks tight behind them.

It doesn’t matter which party is in charge in the U.S., by the way. Don’t think this is a Left or Right thing. Both sides love this game. One side screams that we need to be tough, so they cheer the planes. The other side cries crocodile tears about compassion, but the planes still take off. The pilot doesn’t care who voted for who. The engine runs on the same fuel: indifference.

The journalists being held is just a symptom. It’s a little red flag waving on a giant pile of garbage. They got hit and held because they broke the first rule of the modern world: Don’t look behind the curtain. The powers that be—the governments, the agencies, the guys with the guns—they have an agreement. One side pays the cash, the other side takes the bodies, and nobody is supposed to ask questions.

Think about the lawyer who was there. Just trying to do a job. Just trying to see if the laws actually mean anything. Spoiler alert: they don’t. Not when real power is involved. When the state decides it wants to do something secret, the law is just a piece of paper you can use to wipe your boots.

We are all supposed to be shocked. "Oh no, they arrested journalists!" Please. Grow up. They arrested them because that is what power does when it gets caught. It lashes out. It throws a punch. The sad part isn't that it happened. The sad part is that by next week, nobody will remember. The planes will keep flying. The secret centers will stay secret. And the rest of us will go back to arguing about nonsense on the internet while the real world gets a little bit darker.

### 🔍 **References & Fact-Check** * **Event Confirmation**: Journalists from the Associated Press and a human rights lawyer were detained in Douala, Cameroon, while attempting to cover the arrival of U.S. deportation flights. * **Original Source**: [Journalists Arrested in Cameroon While Covering Secretive U.S. Deportations](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/world/africa/cameroon-journalists-arrested-deportees.html) (The New York Times) * **Key Context**: This incident highlights the lack of transparency surrounding international deportation operations and the risks faced by press monitoring human rights abuses.