Guantanamo repurposed: Trump moves to use notorious facility as migrant detention hub

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - An exterior view of the Pentagon’s new prefabricated high-tech court complex in this file picture dated January 8, 2008 at Guantanamo Bay naval base called ‘Camp Justice’ comprised of temporary structures. President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will hold migrants at the notorious Guantanamo military detention facility in Cuba as part of his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. — AFP pic

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 — President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will hold migrants at the notorious Guantanamo military detention facility in Cuba as part of his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

While it is primarily known for holding suspects accused of terrorism-related offences, Trump ordered the preparation of a 30,000-person “migrant facility” that he said will be used to “detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people.”

Below, AFP examines key facts about Guantanamo.

Decades of detention

The Guantanamo Bay military prison was opened in January 2002 on a US Naval base on a coastal spit of land in south-eastern Cuba, leased from Havana under a treaty dating back to 1903.

The detention facility was set up after the September 11, 2001 attacks under the administration of then-president George W. Bush to deal with prisoners who were termed “enemy combatants” and denied many US legal rights.

Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden both sought to close the facility, but Congress has opposed efforts to shutter Guantanamo and it remains open to this day.

Past detention of migrants

The New York Times reported in September 2024 that the Guantanamo military base had also been used for decades by the United States to detain migrants intercepted at sea, but in an area separate from that used to hold those accused of terrorism.

A relatively small number of migrants have been detained at the facility — the Times reported that just 37 migrants were held there from 2020 to 2023 — but that could increase dramatically following Trump’s announcement.

Trump has launched what his second administration is casting as a major crackdown on illegal migration, trumpeting immigration raids and arrests and deportations on military aircraft.

15 remaining inmates

Of the roughly 800 people detained on suspicion of militant activity or terrorism-related offences who have been held at Guantanamo since early 2002, only 15 inmates currently remain, following the release of a number of detainees toward the end of Biden’s administration.

Three of the 15 are eligible for transfer, three are eligible for a review for possible release, seven are facing charges and two have been convicted and sentenced, the Defense Department said earlier this month when it announced the release of 11 Yemenis who had been held there.

Notorious detainees

Guantanamo houses several accused plotters of the 9/11 attacks, among them self-proclaimed mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Its inmates also include the man accused of masterminding the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. He was captured in 2002 and transferred to Guantanamo in 2006.

Human rights concerns

The conditions at Guantanamo Bay have prompted consistent outcry from rights groups, and UN experts have condemned it as a site of “unparalleled notoriety.”

Among the controversies to emerge from Guantanamo was the practice of force-feeding inmates on hunger strike. The US military defended it as a necessary medical treatment, but critics likened it to torture.

Dubbed “enteral feeding,” the process involves inserting a tube up an inmate’s nose and into his stomach, then pumping in liquid nutrient. — AFP