Alcatraz is no longer a prison since 1963. It is a historic site that attracts 1.4 million tourists each year. But for Donald Trump, the place did not say his last word. In a post published on Truth Social, the former president announces that he wanted to reopen and enlarge the famous “rock”, to house the most violent criminals in the country.
A well -oiled com ‘
Barely 24 hours later, he put a layer in front of the press: ” Alcatraz represents something strong, powerful. We need order in this country. Why this idea? Maybe because an old film was on TV the day before. A local TV in Florida – Donald Trump’s resort – broadcast The escape of Alcatrazwith Clint Eastwood, just before the US President published his message. Coincidence? We let you judge.
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Reporter: How did you decide to reopen Alcatraz?
Trump: I was supposed to be a movie maker… Nobody ever escaped. One person almost got there but they found his clothing rather badly ripped up, a lot of shark bites… pic.twitter.com/RxQkJ3hho7
– Acyn (@acyn) May 5, 2025
It is an understatement to say that the idea makes teeth cringe. Cracks specialists are formal: reopening Alcatraz would be a logistics nightmare. “” Frankly, I thought it was a joke », Confides Hugh Hurwitz, an actual ex-director of the Federal Prisons Office, BBC. « Buildings fall into ruins, the cells are too small, there are no cameras or fences. »
And there is the nerve of war: the budget. Already in 1963, running Alcatraz cost three times more than another federal prison. Today, we are talking about more than $ 500 per detainee per day, compared to $ 120 to an average of $ 160. For a maximum capacity of 340 prisoners. We saw more profitable.
Not to mention water, electricity, waste treatment … “” At the time, wastewater was directly rejected in the bay “Recalls Jolene Babyak, daughter of a former director of the prison. “” Now we should evacuate everything by boat. It’s just unfeasible. »
Despite everything, Trump insists. And he is not the first to have had the idea. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration had planned to use the island to accommodate Cuban refugees. Quickly abandoned project. What strikes above all is the announcement effect. Alcatraz evokes films, gangsters, old -fashioned order. The tenant of the White House plays the symbol card, even if it means flirting with the fantasy. As a former park ranger sums it up: ” It’s just an empty shell. But it’s a shell that is talking. »
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