Gitmo readied for post-Castro refugee rush

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The United States will use its naval base at Guantanamo Bay to house thousands of Cuban refugees should there be another mass exodus when Fidel Castro dies.

Castro’s health, believed by some to be failing while officials Cuban sources said the Cuban leader is not in poor health, has raised concerns of a repeat of the refugee flood into Florida during the 1990s.

The Miami Herald said Thursday that the Pentagon has expanded its plans for two tent cities at Guantanamo Bay large enough to house as many as 45,000 immigrants. Refugees would be taken there after being intercepted at sea and processed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in order to weed out hardened criminals.

The newspaper said shipments of cots and blankets have arrived at the base. When the times comes, they will be set up well away from the brig where accused terror suspects remain held.