The United States has been in discussions with Uruguay for several months over an arrangement that would see the South American country receive migrants deported from the US, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Uruguay's foreign ministry acknowledged the talks are ongoing but stressed no deal has been finalised, and that the negotiations are not confined to Cuban nationals — though Cubans are understood to be the primary group the US has in mind. A senior Uruguayan official cited Uruguay's demand for immigrant labour and its desire to strengthen ties with Washington as reasons for the country's interest, despite the political distance between the left-leaning Frente Amplio government of President Yamandú Orsi and the current US administration. Uruguay (a small nation of 3.4 million people known for comparatively open immigration policies) would join Paraguay and Ecuador, which have already signed similar third-country deportation agreements with the State Department; human rights groups have criticised such arrangements, documenting abuses against Cuban and other nationals transferred under deals that were never made public.