US plans Guantanamo camp for Cubans fleeing Trump's own oil blockade

A U.S. general revealed to Congress that the American military stands ready to establish “a camp at Guantanamo” to detain Cubans attempting to escape the humanitarian crisis caused by the Trump administration’s own oil blockade.

”We are prepared for a humanitarian crisis”

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, General Francis Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), responded to a question from Republican Senator Tom Cotton about military preparedness for a possible “humanitarian crisis in Cuba.”

“Senator, yes we are prepared,” Donovan declared. “SOUTHCOM has an executive order to be prepared to support the Department of Homeland Security in a mass migration event. They would take the lead, we would follow.”

The general specified this would include using the Guantanamo military base, where “we would set up a camp to deal with those migrants or any overflow from any situation in Cuba itself.”

30,000 beds for refugees of their own blockade

Trump signed an executive order during his first month in office directing the Pentagon to “expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay to full capacity,” meaning scaling the facility up to more than 30,000 beds.

The base, which houses a prison infamous for extrajudicial torture of detainees during the War on Terror, was designated under Trump’s order to hold “high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.”

But now Donovan suggests it may be used to hold Cubans fleeing chaos and deprivation following Trump’s own acts of economic warfare.

The perverse circle of imperialism

The irony is devastating: The United States deliberately creates conditions for a humanitarian crisis in Cuba through an oil blockade that cuts 90% of energy supply, then prepares to detain refugees from that same crisis in a concentration camp.

As Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, explained: “People don’t have reliable access to drinking water, hospitals can’t operate safely, basic goods are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, and garbage is piling up in the streets.”

Numbers from the manufactured crisis:

• 16 hours of daily blackouts throughout Cuba
• 340% increase in dangerous maritime crossings
• 300,000 Cubans in legal limbo in the United States
• 5,169 record deportations under Trump in 2026

Voices against the war machine

Erik Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, emphasized that the possible “mass migration event” described by Donovan only comes “as the US starves Cuba of energy and food.”

“Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are to blame for any refugee crisis from Cuba, as the US intentionally harms civilians with an oil blockade,” Just Foreign Policy declared.

Immigration journalist Arturo Dominguez explained that “What Donovan essentially said was, ‘We’re ready to accommodate the flow of refugees by putting them in camps.’” He added that “the way these military goons jump right in to ‘accommodate’ atrocity is beyond the pale.”

Public opinion against the blockade

Trump’s Cuba blockade is unpopular with the American public, according to a YouGov poll released this week. Just 28% of adult U.S. citizens said they approved of the U.S. blocking oil shipments to the country, while 46% opposed it.

The same survey found that just 13% want the U.S. to use military force to attack Cuba, while 61% would oppose it.

As Just Foreign Policy stated: “The American people do not want their government to starve Cubans and cause a ‘mass migration event.’”

The fate of families in limbo

While Washington plans detention camps, 300,000 Cubans remain in legal limbo on U.S. territory, many with asylum cases that could be dramatically strengthened by this evidence of manufactured persecution and humanitarian crisis.

For Cuban families separated by sea and cruel policies, the prospect of their loved ones ending up in detention camps at Guantanamo represents a Kafkaesque nightmare: escaping an island under siege only to be imprisoned by the very ones who created the conditions of their flight.

Frequently asked questions

How many beds will the Guantanamo camp have? The Trump administration plans to expand facilities to more than 30,000 beds to detain Cuban refugees.

Why will Cubans need to flee? Trump’s oil blockade has cut 90% of Cuba’s energy supply, causing 16 hours of daily blackouts and collapse of basic services.

What does American public opinion say? 46% of Americans oppose the oil blockade, while 61% reject the use of military force against Cuba.

What is the legal situation of Cubans in the US? Approximately 300,000 Cubans are in legal limbo, many with pending asylum cases that could be strengthened by this manufactured crisis.

---

Related articles: Cuban deportations reach 427 in 2026 • USCIS freezes asylum approvals • Uruguay hosts record 22,000 Cubans • Cuba releases 51 prisoners after Vatican negotiation • Federal lawsuit seeks to expedite Cuban residencies