U.S. To Now Detain African, Asian, European and…

U.S. To Now Detain African, Asian, European and Caribbean Nationals At Guantanamo Center

U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay (Credit: AFP / Sylvie LANTEAUME)

Internal government records from the Trump administration reviewed by CBS News show the military base is now holding detainees from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean.

The U.S. naval base in Cuba is currently detaining nationals from China, Jamaica, Liberia and the United Kingdom, with the total number of immigration detainees at the facility clocking in at 54, according to the documents.

Two U.S. officials told the outlet that most of the detainees are considered "high-risk" by immigration authorities, meaning they have serious or violent criminal histories, have been disruptive in custody, or are believed to have gang affiliations.

Those classified as high-risk are housed in Camp VI, a part of the facility that also holds suspects of terrorism in a separate section. Detainees considered low-risk—individuals with no serious criminal background beyond civil immigration violations—are held at the Migrant Operations Center, a barracks-style complex traditionally used for migrants intercepted at sea.

As of early this week, Camp VI held 41 detainees, while the Migrant Operations Center housed 13, according to a Defense Department official.

The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department declined to answer questions about the detainees' legal status or whether they are expected to be deported.

As noted by the outlet, the transfers had not been publicly disclosed prior to the report. However, there were indications. In June, Politico reported that federal officials were evaluating thousands of detainees from several countries for potential relocation to Guantanamo, although Leavitt publicly denied those reports in a post on X.

This story is Fake News. Not happening. https://t.co/cxzPLkql0S
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) June 11, 2025

President Donald Trump announced early in his administration plans to open an immigration detention center at the Guantanamo Bay facility, which sought to hold up to 30,000 migrants described as "the worst." However, the facility has primarily housed individuals from Latin American countries such as Venezuela, often ahead of formal deportation proceedings.

The first group of immigration detainees arrived at the naval base in February. By April, the Defense Department had spent $21 million on transfers, averaging more than $26,000 per flight hour.

According to U.S. officials who spoke to The Washington Post, several detainees' home countries said they would accept the return of their citizens, but DHS claimed those governments did not act quickly enough to facilitate the transfers.

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