From our friends at RefuseFascism.org:
Just in the last 3 days:
- Rumeysa Oztark, a Tufts graduate student, was abducted by Trump’s thugs. ICE disappeared her, terminated her visa, and is holding her captive — one of at least nine pro-Palestine students abducted.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio called them “lunatics” and brags about revoking 300 foreign student visas for pro-Palestinian advocacy.
- Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem traveled to El Salvador to use kidnapped Venezuelan men as props a in fascist propaganda film to demonize immigrants.
SILENCE = COLLABORATION
No! For the lives of people here and around the world, we must not be silent. We must refuse to go along with their fascist agenda and not capitulate to their economic blackmail and terrorizing arrests. No! We must fill the streets and town squares in rising numbers — not stopping until we become millions — not relenting until this regime is no longer able to implement its program. More on protests at RefuseFascism.org.
Upcoming: Close Guantanamo NOW Global Vigils: Wednesday April 2
from Andy Worthington’s report on March 5 vigils see, above, campaigners in San Francisco
In a post urging support for the vigil, entitled, “Close, Not Repurpose Guantánamo”, Curt Wechsler of the World Can’t Wait stated,
“U.S. defense secretary Pete Hegseth, assigned to Guantánamo active duty from 2004 to 2005, has called it a ‘perfect place’ to house undocumented immigrants. He shamelessly promoted the intensification of anti-immigrant policies during a visit to the naval base last week. Migrants cannot be lawfully held at Guantánamo, concluded a group of US senators in a recent letter to President Trump: ‘Noncitizens inside the United States are entitled to numerous protections under U.S. immigration law and the U.S . Constitution.’ This month’s vigil calls for the release of illegally held ‘war on terror’ prisoners and an end to the transfer of immigrants to off-shore detention camps.”
Important to note, that, while preparing to enlarge facilities at Guantanamo for an enormous tent city to hold immigrants, the Trump regime has outsourced to Bukele’s horrendous prison in El Salvador so far the holding of almost 300 Venezuelan detainees air-lifted there despite a U.S. judge’s order to stop this illegal move. As described in New York magazine:
“Once they are inside, it becomes apparent how brutal the conditions will be. The new prisoners are forced to kneel inside a massive processing hangar, then ordered to shout their names for the camera before guards shave their heads. They are changed into white uniforms and herded toward a series of 80-person cells, where they will be locked for 23∏ hours a day, with overhead lights that are never turned off. ‘The only furniture is tiered metal bunks with no sheets, pillows, or mattresses,’ CNN reported after a visit in February.”
From our friends at the Guantanamo Survivors Fund:
Whether Guantanamo torture survivors return home or are resettled elsewhere, most face significant hurdles to resuming a normal life. Your donation helps the Guantanamo Survivors Fund provide short-term support for survivors’ most urgent needs such as medical care, rent and food, prosthetics, and other vital necessities.
Protests in Cuba against the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo
On February 26, 2025, over 50,000 Cubans assembled in Mariana Grajales Coello Revolution Square in Guantánamo City to protest against U.S. foreign policy and to assert Cuba’s sovereignty over its territory. This mass demonstration was a direct response to the Trump administration’s initiative to transform the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay into a detention center for approximately 30,000 deported migrants labeled as dangerous criminals. The presence of the U.S. Naval Base Guantánamo Bay has long been a point of contention for Cubans, as it is a violation of their sovereignty and a symbol of enduring U.S. imperialism.
The recent proposal to expand its use for detaining migrants has intensified these sentiments, leading to widespread public outcry. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez emphasized that the naval base’s existence contravenes international law and undermines Cuba’s territorial integrity. In addition to opposing the base’s expansion, protesters condemned the ongoing U.S. economic blockade, which has severely impacted Cuba’s economy and the well-being of its citizens.
