Federal Court Blocks Potential Transfer of 3 Detained Venezuelans to Guantanamo

The Venezuelan nationals have a pending court case challenging their prolonged detention in New Mexico, their lawyers said.

The first flight of high-threat illegal immigrants is prepared for transport from Fort Bliss, Texas, to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba on Feb. 4, 2025. Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

A federal court on Feb. 9 granted a request to temporarily block the possible transfer of three Venezuelan men from a detention center in New Mexico to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba amid the federal government’s efforts to expand the detention of illegal immigrants at the naval base.

The three men, currently held at Otero County Processing Center in New Mexico, filed a Feb. 9 motion seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent a possible transfer.