US sends Army reservists with law enforcement training from Puerto Rico to Guantanamo

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The guard force at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is getting reinforcements from Puerto Rico.

A spokesman for the U.S. Army Reserve says 125 soldiers from a military police company based in Puerto Rico will be heading to Guantanamo to work inside the detention center. Army Maj. Carlos Cuebas says many members of the unit have civilian law enforcement experience, including work as police or prison guards.

Cuebas said Wednesday that the soldiers have already left the U.S. island territory for 30 days of training in Texas before they go to Guantanamo.

These are tense times at the U.S. base in Cuba. The military says 103 of the 166 prisoners are on hunger strike to protest their conditions and indefinite confinement. The strike began in February.