A federal judge in New Mexico on Sunday granted a pre-emptive restraining order to block the US government from sending three Venezuelan men detained in the state from being sent to a military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Judge Kenneth Gonzales of the federal district court for New Mexico said during a video conference hearing he was granting the order, said Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the men.
The court did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A court document confirming Gonzales' action was not available by late Sunday.
Azmy is with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which earlier on Sunday said in a written statement the men had filed the motion requesting their possible transfer to Guantánamo be blocked, though there had not yet been an order to send them to the base.
The men have a pending case before a federal court in New Mexico challenging what they said is their unlawfully prolonged detention after they fled Venezuela seeking protection in the US.
The US immigration and customs enforcement agency didn't respond to a request for comment on the men's request to not be sent to Guantánamo, or if they even planned to send the three detainees to the base in Cuba.
US President Donald Trump said in late January his administration planned to create capacity to house up to 30,000 migrants at the US naval base, known for a separate high-security prison used for foreign terrorism suspects.
The Trump administration last week moved to end protection against deportation for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the US
“I fear being taken to Guantánamo because the news is painting it as a black hole. I also see human rights are constantly violated at Guantánamo, so I fear what could happen to me if I am taken there,” Abrahan Barrios Morales, one of the detained Venezuelan men, said in the written statement put out on Sunday by the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday demanded access to migrants flown by the US military to Guantánamo Bay, saying the Trump administration has provided virtually no information about the migrants and the detentions raise questions about violations of US and international laws.
The US department of homeland security has given few details about the migrants sent to Guantánamo in the past week, saying the first cohort of about 10 people comprised alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but declined to provide specifics about criminal charges or convictions.
Reuters
US judge blocks possible transfer of Venezuelan detainees to Guantánamo
Image: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
A federal judge in New Mexico on Sunday granted a pre-emptive restraining order to block the US government from sending three Venezuelan men detained in the state from being sent to a military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Judge Kenneth Gonzales of the federal district court for New Mexico said during a video conference hearing he was granting the order, said Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the men.
The court did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A court document confirming Gonzales' action was not available by late Sunday.
Azmy is with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which earlier on Sunday said in a written statement the men had filed the motion requesting their possible transfer to Guantánamo be blocked, though there had not yet been an order to send them to the base.
The men have a pending case before a federal court in New Mexico challenging what they said is their unlawfully prolonged detention after they fled Venezuela seeking protection in the US.
The US immigration and customs enforcement agency didn't respond to a request for comment on the men's request to not be sent to Guantánamo, or if they even planned to send the three detainees to the base in Cuba.
US President Donald Trump said in late January his administration planned to create capacity to house up to 30,000 migrants at the US naval base, known for a separate high-security prison used for foreign terrorism suspects.
The Trump administration last week moved to end protection against deportation for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the US
“I fear being taken to Guantánamo because the news is painting it as a black hole. I also see human rights are constantly violated at Guantánamo, so I fear what could happen to me if I am taken there,” Abrahan Barrios Morales, one of the detained Venezuelan men, said in the written statement put out on Sunday by the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday demanded access to migrants flown by the US military to Guantánamo Bay, saying the Trump administration has provided virtually no information about the migrants and the detentions raise questions about violations of US and international laws.
The US department of homeland security has given few details about the migrants sent to Guantánamo in the past week, saying the first cohort of about 10 people comprised alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but declined to provide specifics about criminal charges or convictions.
Reuters
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