THE first group of illegal migrants has landed in Guantanamo Bay, marking the start of President Trump’s plan to expand detention at the infamous US naval base.
The ten detainees – identified as members of the Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan prison gang – will now be locked up alongside criminals including 9/11 terror suspects.
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They were transferred from Fort Bliss Army base in Texas to the US-controlled territory in Cuba on Tuesday.
Homeland Security officials labeled the group “high-threat,” according to US media reports.
“President Donald Trump has been very clear: Guantanamo Bay will hold the worst of the worst. That starts today,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Trump’s plan, announced last week, involves expanding the base’s migrant detention center to hold up to 30,000 people—doubling the US’s capacity to detain undocumented migrants.
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His administration has vowed mass arrests and deportations as part of a broader crackdown on illegal immigration.
The facility will be run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with US military personnel already on-site setting up tents to house the new arrivals.
Trump, who last month designated the Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, has made clear why he’s sending detainees to the heavily fortified naval base.
“Some of them (the migrants) are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them, because we don’t want them coming back,” he said.
“So we’re going to send them to Guantanamo… it’s a tough place to get out.”
GUANTANAMO’S GRIM REPUTATION
Guantanamo Bay is best known for its military prison, where the US has held terror suspects — including 9/11 suspect plotters — for over two decades.
Human rights groups have repeatedly condemned conditions there, with some detainees held indefinitely without trial.
Although the migrants are housed separately in the Guantanamo Migrant Operations Center (GMOC), past administrations have faced accusations of mistreating detainees at the facility.
Last year, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) claimed that the US was secretly holding migrants in “inhumane” conditions at the base.
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The Cuban government has fiercely opposed the expansion of the facility.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced the move as “an act of brutality,” while reiterating Havana’s long-standing demand that the US return Guantanamo Bay, which Cuba considers “occupied” territory.
The US has used Guantanamo’s migrant detention center for decades—mainly to hold migrants intercepted at sea.
But under Trump’s new policy, it could soon house thousands of detainees from across the US.
What is Guantanamo Bay?
GUANTANAMO Bay (Gitmo) is a US naval base in southeastern Cuba, best known for its military prison, where terror suspects have been held since 2002.
The base, covering 45 square miles, has been under US control since 1903, despite Cuba demanding its return.
Established after 9/11, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp was used to hold suspected terrorists, including alleged al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives.
Detainees have been held without trial for years, with reports of torture and harsh interrogation methods sparking global outrage.
Today, only a few dozen prisoners remain, but it is still a symbol of controversial US counterterrorism policies.
Guantanamo also houses a migrant detention center, used for decades to hold people intercepted at sea.
Trump is now expanding it to detain thousands of undocumented migrants, a move Cuba has condemned as “brutal.”
The US pays Cuba $4,085 per year in rent for the base — money Cuba refuses to cash, as it considers Guantanamo illegally occupied.
