Haitians to Gitmo?

Fox News has the story that the Obama administration is considering housing Haitian refugees at Guantanamo Bay, the detention facility and Naval base the U.S. military keeps in eastern Cuba. The United States has already moved some Americans who were in Port-au-Prince to the island. It sounds crazy — but actually isn’t the worst idea. ...

Fox News has the story that the Obama administration is considering housing Haitian refugees at Guantanamo Bay, the detention facility and Naval base the U.S. military keeps in eastern Cuba. The United States has already moved some Americans who were in Port-au-Prince to the island.

It sounds crazy — but actually isn’t the worst idea. Gitmo is the closest U.S. base to Haiti, just 200 miles from Port-au-Prince. The United States has spare capacity, and Haitians desperately need the help.

Plus, in a strange historical recurrence, the detention facility at Gitmo was actually built up to house Haitian refugees during the 1991-1994 Aristide crisis.

Annie Lowrey is assistant editor at FP.
Tag: Haiti

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