Latino USA: 15 Days in Guantánamo

Hear the story of Juan, a 30 year old construction worker, “who has no criminal record in the United States other than unauthorized entry.”  Based on a photo with friends near an antique train and a tattoo he got “when he was 16 years old because it looked like a tattoo of one of his favorite reggaeton artists,” U.S. immigration officers declared Juan to be a member of the gang Tren do Aragua.

Juan was transported “on one of the first flights of migrants that the administration sent to one of the world’s most infamous prisons: Guantánamo Bay.”  He “tells Latino USA about the harrowing 15 days he spent there—days that, he says, felt like being buried alive.” (bold added).

This interview reveals just how extreme the current immigration initiatives in fact are. Juan talks about restraint chairs, little food, thoughts of suicide concerns, inhumane conditions, and more.

Along with others, Juan was returned to Venezuela in February. He is seeking to reconstruct his life there.  The nightmares of his treatment haunt Juan.

The story refers to the Trump administration’s “war on immigrants.”

KJ