US mulls using Guantanamo to host Haiti migrants – CNN — RT World News

The United States may use the notorious Guantanamo Bay military facility in Cuba to process migrants fleeing violence in Haiti, CNN reported, citing an unnamed US official.

Washington is preparing for a mass exodus from the island country, according to radio news. Haiti, which is just over 300 kilometers from the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, has seen increasing violence in recent months.

Armed criminal gangs have overrun its capital, Port-au-Prince, leading to the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Tuesday.

The Guantanamo Bay facility is home to a US military prison for terrorism suspects, which was opened by the Bush administration after the September 11 attacks in 2001. There have been numerous reports and testimonies of prisoner abuse, while Amnesty International has described the camp as “A symbol of torture, rendition and indefinite detention without charge or trial.”.

The naval base also houses a Migrant Operations Center that houses migrants picked up by the Coast Guard in the Caribbean. The facility is not part of the prison.

President Joe Biden's administration is considering plans to expand the migrant center's capacity in light of a potential wave of migrants from Haiti, CNN reported.

According to the broadcaster, the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring the situation on the island. “Irregular migration flows” A DHS spokesperson told CNN the number of people across the Caribbean currently remains low. The spokesman added that the United States is returning or returning migrants intercepted at sea to the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The United States has witnessed a rise in immigration rates, especially from its southern border. In December, more than 225,000 migrants attempted to cross the border from Mexico, the highest monthly total recorded since 2000, CNN reported.

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