White House Reportedly Weighs Holding Future Haitian Migrants at Guantanamo Facility

One of the world’s poorest nations, Haiti has long-suffered from economic hardships. When Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021, the state of the nation worsened. Recently, armed gangs going by the name G9 began seizing control of the country, mainly in Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital city.

The Biden administration is reportedly weighing how to respond to a potential mass exodus of Haitian migrants as the island nation undergoes political unrest, going so far as floating the idea of holding migrants at Guantanamo Bay.

An exclusive report by NBC News revealed that White House officials had various ideas about how to receive the possible influx of migrants, including temporarily holding migrants in a third country or expanding capacity at an already existing facility in Guantanamo Bay.

The Migrant Operations Center at Guantanamo, which exists separate from the prison for terrorist suspects, has housed migrants picked up by the Coast Guard in the Caribbean for over 30 years.

At present, there are plans in consideration that would expand the facility to 400 beds, or roughly double its current capacity. The Biden administration, which received massive criticism for the way it handled an influx of Hatian migrants in 2021, predicts that Haitians will leave in a mass exodus by sea after Haiti’s largest fuel terminal is no longer blocked by violent gangs, according to US officials.

The National Security Council has inquired with the Department of Homeland Security what amount of Haitian migrants would necessitate the US to line up a “lily pad,” their lingo for a third country, to temporarily hold and process migrants who are intercepted at sea, and how many of the migrants a “lily pad” country could handle before becoming overwhelmed, then requiring some to be taken to Guantanamo.

“The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Haiti. We recently delivered Haitian government-purchased security equipment, including tactical and armored vehicles and supplies, that will assist the Haitian National Police in their fight against criminal actors inciting violence,” said a spokesperson for the National Security Council, which has hosted a series of meetings with the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and State about the issue.

Neither the White House, the National Security Council, nor the Department of Homeland Security have publicly commented on the matter.

Some NGOs have predicted that Haiti could be on the verge of societal collapse. Supply shortages, famine, and rampant gang violence have all contributed to the unrest.

The recent blockade around one of the nation’s most critical fuel terminals by the violent G9 gang, has prompted the UN to determine that Haiti has fallen into a “catastrophic phase of hunger,” a first in the country’s history.

Additionally, Haiti is also in the midst of a massive cholera wave brought on by the country’s crumbling infrastructure, which, combined with a lack of clean water, provided the perfect opportunity for the disease to spread.

Earlier this month, the Biden White House dispatched a delegation to help develop strategies for curbing the G9 gang and their corollaries, and has taken steps to impose visa restrictions in an effort to pressure the gang leaders. Earlier Sunday, Haiti’s Ambassador to the US Bocchit Edmond called for the international community to quicken talks on a potential armed intervention on the island in order for Haitian officials to retake control.