30-Plus Lawmakers Urge Trump to End Guantánamo Migrant Detention as Cuba Strike Fears Rise
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 13
30-Plus Lawmakers Urge Trump to End Guantánamo Migrant Detention as Cuba Strike Fears Rise
4 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 13
More than 30 Democratic lawmakers told the defense, state and Homeland Security secretaries to stop using Guantánamo Bay for migrant detention and explicitly reject any US military action against Cuba.
Their letter argues Trump’s sanctions, fuel blockade and regime-change rhetoric are worsening Cuba’s humanitarian crisis and could drive more Cubans to flee if Washington escalates further.
Guantánamo became a sharper flashpoint after a Pentagon official told Congress in March the base could host a migrant camp during a Cuban “humanitarian crisis” while assisting Homeland Security detention operations.
The lawmakers said detaining displaced Cubans at a military base with a long abuse record would externalize the consequences of US policy; rights groups raised similar alarms last month.
Guantánamo has held migrants before—tens of thousands from Haiti and Cuba in the 1990s—and Trump expanded detention operations there last year, reviving a model critics say was discredited.
As US policy fuels a Cuban exodus, is Guantánamo a solution or a way to hide the consequences?
With the US tightening its blockade on Cuba, could the Caribbean become a new flashpoint for global powers?
After the US military operation in Venezuela, is Cuba truly next on the list for American intervention?
U.S. Lawmakers Call for Closure of Guantánamo Migrant Detention and End to Sanctions Fueling Cuba’s Humanitarian Emergency
Overview
In May 2026, over 30 U.S. lawmakers urgently called on the Trump administration to address rising tensions with Cuba and the worsening humanitarian crisis at Guantánamo Bay. They demanded an end to migrant detention at the facility and a clear rejection of military action against Cuba. Lawmakers linked the surge in Cuban migration to the administration’s ongoing economic pressure, including the embargo and a recent fuel blockade, which they argued is deepening hardship for the Cuban people. Their appeal reflects growing concern in Congress about the administration’s approach and its impact on both migration and regional stability.