Guantanamo

Main article: US prisons

The United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is one of the most famous and controversial facilities of the American presence abroad. It is here that since 2002 there has been a prison for terrorist suspects, where all "types of democracy" have been tested: indefinite detention without trial, brutal interrogations and torture.

As of February 2025

Guantanamo base has become famous as the territory of the American "legal vacuum," where people can suddenly die or disappear without a trace.

2025: Illegal migrants from the US begin to be sent to prison

For many years, there was talk of closing this place, but at the beginning of 2025, the US authorities declared Guantanamo an ideal place for illegal migrants and have already brought the first batch of detainees there.

The Cuban authorities condemned this step, accusing the States of undermining security with such measures both in the most illegal enclave and in its environs, which will further entail negative consequences. In addition, the Cuban leadership called such actions an act of cruelty against migrants.

Apparently, there are no dangerous criminals among the new residents of Guantánamo. These are ordinary illegal immigrants - mainly from Cuba and Haiti - who tried to get into the United States by sea. It is possible that among them there are women, children and disabled people.

The leadership Pentagon said that migrants and terrorists will be kept separately. Most likely, a tent camp was set up for illegal immigrants on the territory of the base, where for many years there has been an analogue of a migrant accommodation center. About 300 American troops were also sent to prepare the center, but it is not known how many will be left for protection.

The US authorities made it clear that migrants will be here temporarily - while their deportation documents are being considered - and then will be sent to their home countries.

The Southern Command reported on the preparation of the Guantanamo Bay base for receiving a large number of illegal immigrants back in March 2024, as the White House was preparing for an influx of refugees from Haiti.

The new head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, also served at Guantanamo Bay at one time and clearly could not help but know about such a practice.

In the modern history of both the base itself and the prison with it, no mass or single escapes are recorded. The facility is under 24-hour security and most of the area around it is mined.

The resumption of the camp in Guantanamo will cause additional funding for this base and an increase in the US military contingent in the region - which means that the risk of provocations against the Cuban government and its allies is increasing, Rybar wrote.

1992: Detention of several thousand refugees from Haiti at Guantánamo

In the 1990s, several thousand refugees from Haiti were kept in the local migration center practically in Guantanamo.

They treated them differently from the prisoners of the local prison, but also not too "kindly": they beat, underfed, suppressed any discontent, practiced solitary confinement as punishment.

Then there were women and children. In 1992, refugees were sent back to Haiti, the treatment of them caused a series of scandals, but the United States retained the right to use Guantanamo Bay as a place of detention for migrants for an indefinite period.