International
Guantánamo expresses criticize its use to detain migrants: “It’s a black hole”
The Yemeni Mansoor Adayfi spent 14 years in Guantánamo and ended up released without charges. Along with him, 15 other former inmates criticize that the Donald Trump Administration has expanded the use of the naval base to detain undocumented migrants: “No one deserves to be thrown into a system created to erase them,” they say in an open letter.
“Guantánamo is not just a prison: it is a place where the law is deformed, dignity is stripped of and suffering is hidden behind barbed wires. We live it. We know the metallic noise of the doors, the weight of the shackles and the silence of a world that looked away,” says that letter to which EFE had exclusive access.
The letter is promoted by Adayfi, coordinator of the Guantánamo Project within CAGE International.
Guantánamo, as he adds in an interview with EFE, “is a black hole. It can’t be called a prison or detention center because that means there are certain rights.”
Therefore, in his opinion, we should not focus on the treatment that newcomers may have, but on why they send them there in the first place and stop it: “Guantánamo is one of the greatest human rights violations of the 21st century,” he emphasizes from Serbia.
Its London-based organization says it challenges the “state oppression” inspired by the “War on Terrorism” launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. (11S), where about 3,000 people died.
CAGE International defends the right to due process and in the past has criticized attempts to tarnish its reputation for the cases it leads.
Trump made the decision to expand the use of Guantánamo on January 29 with an executive order to enable 30,000 beds at that naval base in Cuba for undocumented migrants.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) has been operating there for years a detention center managed independently of the prison for suspected jihadism, but until now it had only received a limited number of people intercepted at sea, mostly from Haiti and Cuba.
“This order not only allows injustice, it guarantees it. Detaining migrants in Guantánamo denies them constitutional protections, trapping them in the same legal limbo that we endure. This deliberate ambiguity allows abuse, just as it happened with us. We know firsthand what happens with a system designed to break people,” say the former hostages.
Among them are the Moroccan Ahmed Errachidi, the Algerians Lakhdar Boumediene and Sufyian Barhoumi, the Tunisian Hisham Sliti or the British Tarek Dergoul, Moazzam Begg, all repatriated without charges.
For the signatory group, sending migrants to Guantánamo is not a matter of security.
“It’s about power and control and using the darkness of Guantánamo to hide another injustice,” they add.
Earlier this month, a group of 15 human rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), actually asked the Government for access to migrants sent there, denouncing a lack of transparency about their legal situation.
The first prisoners arrived in Guantánamo in 2002, as part of that ‘War on Terrorism’ launched by former Republican President George W. Bush (2001 – 2009) after 11S. Of the nearly 780 that there were, there are 15, of which only two are convicted.
For the ex-prisoners who support the letter, not closing that prison or taking into account its legacy has allowed both injustices to continue and “its expansion.”
Trump promised to send there “the worst illegal criminal immigrants who are a threat to the American people.”
“We refuse to allow others to be swallowed by the same nightmare that we endure. No one deserves to be thrown into a system created to erase them. We will not stop talking or fighting. We will not allow the horrors of Guantánamo to be repeated,” say the former inmates.
His message is clear. Not only do they want the prison to be closed and the executive order revoked, they also warn the Trump Administration that justice will be done. “Someday he will be accountable.”
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International2 days agoMexico reports 64 dead, 65 missing after devastating central region floods
-
Central America2 days agoGuatemala arrests first escaped gang member after Barrio 18 prison break
-
International5 days agoMaría Corina Machado calls 2025 Nobel Peace prize a victory for venezuelan people
-
International2 days agoVenezuela calls for continued global pressure to secure ‘just peace’ for Palestine
-
International2 days agoPope Leo XIV to skip COP30 in Brazil but plans future visit, Lula confirms
-
International5 days agoNetanyahu says Trump deserved 2025 Nobel Peace prize
-
International4 days agoPeruvian president Jerí leads prison raids to tackle organized crime
-
International4 days agoVenezuela launches ‘Independence 200’ defense plan amid U.S. naval presence
-
Central America2 days agoFraijanes II prison in Guatemala reports gradual escape of 18th Street gang inmates
-
International15 hours agoSheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
-
International2 days agoHeavy rains leave dozens dead in Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz
-
International15 hours agoArmed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
-
International15 hours agoVenezuelan media faces fresh restrictions after reporting on opposition leader’s Nobel win
-
International15 hours agoCaracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win