Mexico’s Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente stated on Tuesday that Mexico will not permit the U.S. to send Mexican migrants to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for detention. Instead, Mexico prefers to receive the migrants directly.
The Mexican government has sent a diplomatic note to the U.S. embassy to communicate its stance.
This follows a statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who confirmed that the Trump administration had started flying detained illegal migrants from the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay, although she did not specify their nationalities.
Leavitt said, “The first flights from the United States to Guantanamo Bay with illegal migrants are underway,” and mentioned that President Trump, along with others, had committed to utilizing Guantanamo Bay for migrants who have violated immigration laws and committed serious crimes against U.S. citizens.
President Donald Trump has pledged to expand the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to house up to 30,000 migrants labeled as “criminal illegal aliens.” The U.S. military base has faced global criticism for its past treatment of detainees.
A flight from Fort Bliss to Guantanamo Bay reportedly carried about 12 migrants, with another flight leaving on Monday. These migrants will be kept in the facility, which was established after 9/11 to detain terrorism suspects. They will be separated from the existing 15 detainees, including those involved in the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel condemned the U.S. action, calling it an “act of brutality” and criticizing the U.S. for detaining migrants at Guantanamo Bay, which he referred to as “illegally occupied territory”.
