A U.S. service member on Feb. 20, 2025, sets up a shower unit at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for housing migrants at the base. (U.S. Navy photo)
WASHINGTON — More than 200 additional troops have been deployed to Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to help support the detention of migrants at the facility, a Defense Department official confirmed Monday.
The additional troops sent to the base in the past week have increased the force there to about 1,000. The new troops are largely logistics-focused forces meant to facilitate feeding and housing the other troops, according to the defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Troops began deploying to Guantanamo Bay in early February to set up migrant detention facilities. President Donald Trump said the base has the capacity to hold as many as 30,000 migrants. The Navy base has been used primarily for the last two decades to detain those associated with the 9/11 attacks.
The first deportation flight arrived Feb. 4 at Guantanamo with 10 migrants, who White House officials said were part of a violent Venezuelan gang, the Tren de Aragua. The once-vacant detention facilities at the base in Cuba are acting as temporary holding places before the migrants are transported to their countries of origin.
Deportation flights destined for Guantanamo Bay have continued for nearly three weeks. At least 14 military flights carrying migrant detainees have landed at the base, according to U.S. Transportation Command, which is responsible for the flights.
Last week, 177 Venezuelan immigrants to the U.S. were returned to their home country after being detained at Guantanamo Bay, The Associated Press reported. Their deportation left Guantanamo Bay with no migrant detainees.
The facilities were not vacant for long.
As of Monday, there were 17 “high-threat” migrants being detained at Guantanamo Bay, the defense official said. The migrants arrived at the prison in Cuba at about 12:45 p.m. local time Sunday, Transportation Command shared to X on Sunday.
But deportation flights to Guantanamo Bay have been paused for at least two days to avoid housing migrants in tents, according to CNN. There is a 50-person cap before migrants must be moved into overflow tents, an official told CNN. The tents do not meet detention standards set by ICE, which is the agency in charge of the migrants.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was slated to visit the base last week, but the trip was postponed to Tuesday.
It is unclear how long troops will be deployed to Guantanamo Bay. Troops have been sent from Joint Task Force Southern Guard, the 6th Marine Regiment, the Army’s 26th and 105th Military Police companies, as well as U.S. Coast Guard members sent by the Department of Homeland Security.
Navy sailors from the USS St. Louis, a littoral combat ship, had their deployment extended to go to Guantanamo Bay to set up migrant detention facilities. The ship returned Monday to its homeport of Mayport, Fla.
