President Trump has ordered the reopening of the infamous Alcatraz prison in the San Francisco Bay to “house America’s most ruthless and violent offenders”.
The federal prison at Alcatraz, known as “The Rock”, housed notorious criminals such as Al Capone, the mob leader, before it closed in 1963 and turned into a popular tourist site.
“REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!”, Trump posted on the Truth Social platform. “When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm.”
He wrote: “Today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ.”
Alcatraz has been run by the National Parks Service since its closure and is visited by 1.5 million people every year
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The island, which sits less than two miles offshore, was first developed in the mid-19th century and one the original structures included a lighthouse.
Alcatraz was difficult to escape from due to its remote location, strong security measures, and the treacherous waters of San Francisco Bay. While 36 inmates attempted escapes, none were thought to have been successful, resulting in capture, death by drowning, or being shot during the escape.
It has long been part of the cultural imagination and has been the subject of numerous movies, including The Rock starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage as well as Escape from Alcatraz.
Clint Eastwood, the actor, on the set of the 1979 film Escape From Alcatraz
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The prison was closed because it was too expensive to continue operating, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website, in large part due to its island location as everything from fuel to food had to be brought by boat.
“Alcatraz closed after 29 years of operation” due to soaring costs, the bureau states on its website. “An estimated $3-5 million was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open. That figure did not include daily operating costs — Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison.”
It has since been run by the National Parks Service and receives about 1.5 million visits a year.
A spokesperson for the BOP said that the agency “will comply with all presidential orders”. The spokesperson did not immediately answer questions from the Associated Press regarding the practicality and feasibility of reopening Alcatraz.
The bureau currently has 16 penitentiaries performing the same high-security functions as Alcatraz, including its maximum-security facility in Florence, Colorado, and the US penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, which is home to the federal death chamber.
The order comes as Trump has been clashing with the courts as he tries to send accused gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, without due process.
Trump has also directed the opening of a detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold up to 30,000 of what he has labelled the “worst criminal aliens”. His administration detained just 300 migrants over two months, but has since flown them all out. The failed operation cost taxpayers at least $16 million, Sara Jacobs, the US representative, told ABC News.
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