Tag: Gitmo

Trump announces plan to ‘run’ Venezuela

VenezuelaTrump announced that the US would "run" Venezuela, following a strike on the country that led to the capture and transfer to the US of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores. In a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump emphasized the recent decline of Venezuela's oil industry, stating that US oil companies would spend billions to repair the country's infrastructure and bring in foreign exchange. Claiming to be acting in the interest of bringing "peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela," he added that the US would be prepared to "stage a second and larger attack" if necessary. Maduro's vice president Delcy Rodriguez, now sworn in as interim president, has offered no indication of acquiescence in Trump's plans. (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

Trump orders expansion of Gitmo migrant facility

GitmoPresident Trump has ordered the construction of a 30,000-bed facility to hold migrants at the notorious US naval facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as part of his mass deportation campaign. The US base has been used to house terrorism suspects since 2002, becoming synonymous with torture and unlawful imprisonment. The US has secretively detained refugees and migrants intercepted at sea at Guantánamo Bay for decades, but the facility has not previously been used for people apprehended on US soil or at this scale. (Photo: Spc. Cody Black/WikiMedia via Jurist)

US transfers 11 Guantánamo detainees to Oman

GitmoThe US Department of Defense (DoD) announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison to Oman, marking a significant step in reducing the population of the detention facility. The DoD stated that the Periodic Review Board "determined by consensus" that the detention of the Yemeni prisoners under the law of war was no longer necessary, as they did not continue to pose a significant national security threat. With this transfer, the DoD reduced the number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay by more than half, leaving only 15 in the detention center. (Photo: Gino Reyes/Wikimedia Commons)

US transfers Guantánamo detainee to Tunisia

GitmoThe Pentagon announced that the US has repatriated Guantánamo prisoner Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi to Tunisia after more than two decades in detention. His transfer was delayed by years due to political instability in Tunisia, where he has been convicted in absentia by a military anti-terrorism tribunal. Of the 12 Tunisians who have been detained at Guantánamo, al-Yazidi, 59, was the only one still held there, with the others having been transferred to Tunisia or to third countries. There now remain 26 prisoners at the Guantánamo facility. (Photo: Spc. Cody Black/WikiMedia via Jurist)

DoD to transfer two Guantánamo Bay prisoners

GitmoThe US Department of Defense announced the transfer of Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Bin Amin and bin Lep arrived at Guantanamo in September 2006. The US accused the men of planning attacks in California and facilitating terrorist operations in Indonesia. Both men pled guilty to several offenses, and are to serve the remainder of their terms in Malaysia. Days earlier, Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, accused in a 2007 attack in Mombasa, was turned over to Kenya. With the transfer of the three men, 27 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay—down from a maximum of 780. However, President Biden has failed to live up to his pledge to close the facility by the end of his term. (Photo: Pixabay via Jurist)

US Defense Secretary overturns 9-11 plea deal

PentagonUS Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rejected a controversial plea deal that would have prevented three accused 9-11 terror attack planners from facing the death penalty. The move came after a letter to the families of 9-11 victims revealed that accused co-conspirators Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid Bin 'Attash and Mustafa al Hawsawi had pled guilty to orchestrating the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives on Sept. 11, 2001. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was representing Mohammed and others facing the death penalty for the 9-11 attacks, had lauded the initial plea agreement, stating it was the "right call" and the "only practical solution" after nearly 20 years of pre-trial litigation. But the deal immediately provoked controversy, spurring US lawmakers to demand answers from the White House, which denied any involvement in the negotiations. (Photo: Pixabay via Jurist)

UN documents torture of Gitmo detainee

GitmoThe UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released a report finding that Afghanistan, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the US all participated in human rights violations against Abd al-Rahim Hussein al-Nashiri, the man accused of involvement in the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. Al-Nashiri is currently held at Guantanamo Bay, though he is said to have been previously detained in the territories of each of these countries. The report contains graphic descriptions of "enhanced interrogation techniques" used by the US Central Intelligence Agency, including prolonged forced nudity, sleep deprivation, physical beatings, waterboarding, prolonged forced standing while chained, restrictive confinement in a small box, exposure to cold temperatures, and forced rectal feeding after prolonged food deprivation. (Photo: Pixabay via Jurist)

Watching the Shadows
Gitmo

UN experts condemn Gitmo on grim anniversary

AlbertaThe legislature of the oil-producing Canadian province of Alberta invoked the controversial Alberta Sovereignty Act in response to federal environmental policies. The provincial legislature passed a resolution resolving to "urge the Government to use all legal means necessary to oppose the implementation and enforcement of the Federal Initiative in Alberta." The initiative refered to is Canada's proposed Clean Energy Regulations, which the resolution says would have "an extreme chilling effect on investment" in Alberta's electricity energy sector. Premier Danielle Smith introduced the Sovereignty Act in November 2022, asserting that Albertans no longer wanted "Ottawa to…interfere in our constitutional areas of jurisdiction," and proclaiming a right to provincial non-compliance. (Photo of Alberta's shale oil fields by Kris Krug, via The Tyee)