CCI promotes the worldwide development of charter cities, semiautonomous zones designed to be exempt from the regulations and taxes of the nations in which they’re located. The freedom cities idea pushed by CCI and other groups fits this mold: tech hubs that would be exempt from some federal laws. Adherents to this movement argue that these arrangements drive innovation and prosperity. But as New Republic contributor J.J. Anselmi explained back in March, there’s not much innovation to be had—freedom cities are little more than spit-shined reboots of the “company towns” of yesteryear. Nevertheless, the president has proven receptive to the idea, and the groups have claimed that his inner circle is engaging with their proposals.
“This parcel of federal land on the Caribbean coastline presents a striking opportunity to reimagine American governance and reassert U.S. global leadership.”
More controversially, CCI proposes to do something very akin to what the Emiratis are best known for doing—erecting a labor economy that more readily resembles modern-day slavery. The big selling point for its GITMO haven suggests that the hypothetical city could house migrants who wish to move to the U.S., keeping them under surveillance for a “probationary period” while “evaluating their contributions to the local economy and society.”
“The site’s location close to the Cuban mainland offers an added symbolic advantage,” the report emphasizes: “A thriving free-market enclave next to a stagnating Communist regime.”
CCI promotes the establishment of these kinds of projects worldwide. It was an early champion of Próspera, a charter city in Roatán, Honduras, which is currently engaged in a legal battle with the Honduran government over its continued existence. It is also involved in several city projects in Africa, including one in Nigeria called Itana. Próspera and Itana have both received funding from Pronomos Capital, a venture capital firm backed by Thiel and Andreessen, whose right-leaning Silicon Valley faction has grown in influence since Trump entered the White House.
CCI didn’t comment on whether the Guantánamo proposal had been presented to anyone in government.
Margulies says this myth is “part of the imagined reality of Guantánamo.” “You would not be able to create as a matter of law this regulation-free zone where you could do whatever you want simply because you’re in Cuba.”
Due to a legal arrangement ratified in the aftermath of the 1898 Spanish-American War, Cuba retains sovereignty over Guantánamo Bay, but the U.S. exercises complete jurisdiction. However, Supreme Court rulings in the 2000s on the rights of Guantánamo detainees upheld the right of U.S. courts to intervene there.
Margulies called the migration element of the proposal “just dystopian.” “It contemplates the creation of a place where human beings exist solely to demonstrate their capacity to participate in a neoliberal experiment,” he added. “That’s just horrific.”
His efforts to build up the prison presage a difficult road ahead for the freedom city advocates. In February, Trump ordered an existing migrant detention facility at Guantánamo to be expanded to hold 30,000 people. However, the plan encountered hurdles almost immediately, not least of which was the sheer expense of expanding the facility’s capacity. Some tents set up for the expansion have since been removed, and migrants transported there have since been returned to U.S. facilities or deported elsewhere.
While it’s unclear whether the plan has any die-hard supporters within the administration, Hansen says it has one thing going for it: It is “classically Trumpian” in its bombast and hubris.
“And it would collapse. The idea would collapse because it’s legally impossible, because it’s logistically impossible, because it would be horrifically expensive. But he doesn’t really care about that.”
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