Trump Admin Is Using Guantanamo Cells That Held Al Qaeda Suspects To Keep Migrants With Possible Gang Ties

The Donald Trump administration has placed ten migrants with potential gangs ties in the same prison where Al Qaeda suspects have been held.

Defense officials confirmed the transfer to The New York Times, marking a contrast between the group and others set to be housed in a separate migrant facility on the base, claiming the former were too dangerous to stay with others.

How length of the detention for the Venezuelans remains unclear. According to a Defense Department statement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is holding the men temporarily while officials determine whether they will be deported to Venezuela or sent to another destination. The statement emphasized that the measure is intended to ensure "the safe and secure detention of these individuals until they can be transported to their country of origin or other appropriate destination."

The individuals, believed to be members of Venezuelan-born gang Tren de Aragua, were flown from El Paso, Texas, to Guantánamo on Tuesday, when the first military plane arrived in the enclave located in Cuba. "The worst of the worst have no place in our homeland," Customs and Border Protection said in a social media publication when announcing the development.

The Guantánamo Bay base has historically housed both wartime detainees and migrants, though the groups have remained in separate facilities. Migrants have traditionally been under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, while suspected terrorists have been detained by the Defense Department. The Venezuelan migrants are now held at Camp 6, a medium-security prison with communal areas for dining and recreation, located within the base's detention zone.

Camp 6 is separate from Camp 5, a maximum-security prison that currently holds all 15 wartime detainees in U.S. custody, including individuals accused of planning the September 11 attacks. Both facilities are located on the populated side of Guantánamo Bay, while the migrant tent city under construction is on the opposite side of the water.

The Associated Press detailed that there are currently some 300 service members tasked with operating facilities in Guantanamo Bay, and that figures will vary depending on the needs at a given time.

Marines and soldiers destined specifically to deal with the prepared surge in detainees began arriving last weekend, with The New York Times reporteing that the first wave of Marines arrived on February 1 from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, with 50 more Marines arriving the following day. Plans showed ix designated tent camps for more than 11,000 migrants, with the largest of being able to house more than 3,000 people at once.

Although preparations continue to take place in order to build more tent cities, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in late January that about 6,000 deportees could be housed "on the golf course."