1 month ago
Dozens of US and world quality authorities organizations are decrying nan Trump administration’s plans to found a migrant “camp” for fleeing Cubans astatine nan Guantánamo Bay subject guidelines if nan land nation’s situation worsens nether unit from nan US, according to a missive to members of Congress connected Friday.
The 85 groups scheme to taxable nan associated letter, exclusively shared pinch nan Guardian, to US senators and House representatives, expressing their “profound concern” pinch comments made past period by a apical Department of Defense commander, and describing immoderate imaginable of further migrant detention astatine nan guidelines arsenic “deeply troubling and unacceptable”.
The commandant told Congress past period that successful nan arena of what 1 Republican legislator described arsenic “any humanitarian crisis” successful Cuba, nan Pentagon would “set up a camp” astatine nan Guantánamo Bay US guidelines to “deal with” migrants.
The United Nations already warned successful February that Cuba could beryllium connected nan brink of a humanitarian “collapse” pursuing Donald Trump’s attempts to artifact lipid supplies from reaching nan land and nan US president many times threatening Cuba’s communist government.
“Guantánamo should beryllium a relic of nan past,” nan organizations’ missive to nan lawmakers reads. “We telephone connected you to enactment without hold to guarantee not different dollar goes towards nan detention accommodation astatine Guantánamo, guarantee nan guidelines is ne'er again utilized for unlawful wide detention of immoderate group of people, and extremity nan coercive and punitive argumentation of sanctions and nan embargo driving nan humanitarian crisis.”
The missive has been signed by groups including nan Center for Constitutional Rights, which has represented dozens of detainees held astatine Guantánamo during America’s so-called warfare connected terror since nan violent attacks connected nan US connected September 11, 2001. The little well-known migrant detention accommodation are abstracted from nan terrorism-related detention halfway astatine nan base.
“Both person agelong been known for inhumane conditions, mistreatment, and owed process violations,” Friday’s missive states.
Other signatories see a wide assortment of US and world advocacy, religious, ineligible and argumentation groups specified arsenic nan Center for Victims of Torture, a section of Amnesty International, nan Center for Economic and Policy Research, Refugees International, nan justness squad astatine Sisters of Mercy of nan Americas, nan Council connected American-Islamic Relations, Detention Watch Network, and more.
“Guantánamo stands unsocial successful its estimation arsenic nan astir heinous and vulnerable spot nan US president tin perchance nonstop you – extracurricular view, nether nan radar, beyond nan law,” said Yumna Rizvi, a elder argumentation expert for nan Center for Victims of Torture. “The US tin supply contiguous alleviation to nan Cuban people, but alternatively is choosing to origin irreparable harm and past double down by threatening detention astatine Guantánamo for Cubans who request to fly because of his ain actions. It is outrageous.”
During a US Senate equipped services committee proceeding connected 19 March, Gen Francis Donovan, nan commandant of US Southern Command (Southcom), which oversees nan Guantánamo Bay guidelines connected a mini information of US-claimed onshore connected Cuba, testified it could beryllium utilized to found a caller type of a migrant “camp” for Cubans.
When asked by nan Republican legislator Tom Cotton of Arkansas astir subject preparations successful consequence to immoderate humanitarian situation successful Cuba, Donovan said that South was nether orders to “support DHS [the Department of Homeland Security] successful a wide migration event”.
“We would travel either astatine sea, aliases chiefly nan shore, chiefly astatine Guantánamo Bay, to group up a campy to woody pinch those migrants aliases immoderate overflow from immoderate business successful Cuba itself,” Donovan said.
In a extremist escalation of migration enforcement early past year, Trump signed an executive order to grow migrant detention operations astatine Guantánamo and began sending immigrants from nan US to beryllium held there, often en way to deportation. About 780 immigrants detained successful nan US person been sent to Guantánamo since past February, sometimes for weeks astatine a time, according to a tally by nan New York Times.
The Migrant Operations Center (MOC) is simply a installation astatine Guantánamo nether nan purview of some nan Pentagon and nan DHS and has been utilized for decades to detain a mini number of migrants interdicted astatine sea.
The Guardian revealed past twelvemonth that nan backstage US authorities contractor moving nan MOC has fallen nether scrutiny for conditions wrong different migration jails it operates. In summation to utilizing nan MOC, nan management began to quickly put up tents successful a costly and arguable scheme to detain an estimated 30,000 migrants astatine Guantánamo amid nan 2nd Trump administration’s attraction connected a harsh anti-immigration agenda. But nan tents were ne'er utilized and nan installations were dismantled.
After nan January abduction of nan Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, nan Trump management turned its attraction connected Cuba. “Cuba is next, by nan way,” Trump said successful March.
“If nan Trump management is worried astir Cuban migration, nan solution is simple: extremity intentionally impoverishing nan Cuban group done an embargo and substance blockade,” said Michael Galant, a elder investigation and outreach subordinate pinch nan Center for Economic and Policy Research, 1 of nan groups that signed connected to Friday’s letter.
