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Posts Tagged ‘Guantanamo Bay’

President Obama Dia 2 : Shutting Down Gitmo

11:25 am By Maegan La Mala · Controversia|Cuba|Justice|Politics · 1 Comment

22 Jan 2009

Yesterday, I wrote how President Obama suspended some trials of Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Obama will signed executive orders not just shutting down Gitmo within a year, but also other U.S. secret prisons globally.

Some polls are showing mixed public reaction to the expected undoing of Bush detention policies. My question is why? If the United States really wants to clean up it’s global image then it needs to get rid of these centers that amount to torture camps and function outside the rule of law that so many are fond of talking about.

I’m still waiting for Obama to call for a suspension to ICE raids.

Via / NYT

Obama’s First Order of Business : Suspension of Gitmo Trials

11:25 am By Maegan La Mala · Cuba|Justice|Politics · Comments Off

21 Jan 2009

The new Obama administration is making some positive moves already. President Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases and a judge granted the request on Wednesday in the case against a young Canadian.

When defense lawyers did not oppose the move, a judge froze the proceedings against Canadian Omar Khadr, who was captured at age 15 and is accused of murdering a U.S. soldier with a grenade during a firefight in Afghanistan.

Also potentially impacted is the death penalty case against five prisoners accused of plotting the September 11th 2001 plane attacks.

Via / Yahoo! and The Latin Americanist

Guantanamo Bay Iguanas Protected. Detainees, Not So Much

4:14 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Cuba|Justice|Politics · Comments Off

29 May 2008

Ruby%201.JPG Something is seriously wrong when animals inside Guantanamo Bay are protected but the people detained inside Guantanamo Bay are not.

U.S. law protects endangered iguanas on the naval base, but the Supreme Court is struggling to determine whether it also applies to the 305 men imprisoned there.

What escapes the analysis of most is that the majority of those detained inside of Gitmo are people of color, specifically Arab men, Middle Eastern men. The message is clear, the rights of iguanas are other animals are valued more than the lives of detained men of color.

Via / ACLU Blog

Image Via / Second Chance Reptiles

A Sad Anniversary: 6 Years of Guantanamo

8:49 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Cuba|Politics · 1 Comment

11 Jan 2008

Today marks 6 years since the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba opened with the introduction of 778 prisoners, with no names, only numbers.

The administration labeled the men imprisoned at Guantánamo “illegal enemy combatants” who were to be held until the “cessation of hostilities” in the “war on terror” — in other words, forever.

While there may very well be people imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, the fact remains is that little is known about why the people that are there are there. U.S. citizens and the world at large are just to accept the fact that these guys are dangerous and we are to pay no mind to pesky little concepts like due process, human rights, and international law.

Guantanamo Hunger Strike Hits Week 2

8:06 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Activism|Cuba|Immigration|Justice · Comments Off

8 Aug 2007

Guantanamo Bay is known for its U.S. military prison containing so-called “terrorists” but currently it is also housing Cubans who are in a legal limbo that keeps them out of the U.S. mainland and outside of Cuba while being technically within its geography.

Since July 29 the Cuban migrants have been on a liquid only hunger strike in protest against the U.S.’s decision to keep them off the U.S. mainland. According to what is commonly known as the U.S’s wet-foot-dry-foot policy, Cubans who make it to U.S. soil are generally allowed to stay, while those caught at sea are sent home.

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