Why the New England Patriots plane flew to Guantanamo Bay on Monday
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A New England Patriots team plane flew to notorious military base Guantanamo Bay on Monday as part of a deal with a charter company that sees the franchise's planes work with the Department of Defense.
While Guantanamo has recently been used to detain US deportees under the Trump administration, a Patriots spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the plane 'was not used for any kind of deportation flight and there were no detainees on the plane.' The Kraft Group, owned by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, has also been contacted for comment.
However, the Patriots spokesperson acknowledged that the planes are chartered to the Department of Defense 'to move military personnel as well as other government agencies with no financial gain to the organization.'
'The New England Patriots plane was not used for any kind of deportation flight and there were no detainees on the plane. Under our current charter manager, neither of the Patriots planes have ever been used for that purpose,' the full statement began.
'The team planes are operated by a professional charter company when they are not in use by the team. This company manages all logistics, bookings, and operations independently. The New England Patriots organization is not involved in, nor does it approve, sanction, or coordinate the uses of the aircrafts when they are chartered for non-team purposes.
'The charter company uses the Patriots planes as part of their inventory when chartering to the Department of Defense to move military personnel as well as other government agencies with no financial gain to the organization.'
Notably, the Patriots signed an agreement last year with Omni Air International, with the company hired to operate the team's two Boeing 767-300 passenger aircrafts 'for team travel and other charter flights including humanitarian and goodwill flights on behalf of the Kraft family,' a press release says.
However, an investigation from the University of Washington Center for Human Rights in 2022 alleged that a Patriots team plane flew three deportation flights to Honduras.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Patriots for further comment regarding that reporting.
Flight records posted to Bluesky first publicized Monday's trip, which began at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport around 6 a.m before landing in Cuba a few hours later.
Records indicate that the plane was grounded for four hours and then returned to to Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso.
Both of the Patriots team planes are painted in team colors and have the words Patriots written on them.
The military prison in Guantanamo Bay was opened in 2002 under then-President George W. Bush.
Recently, it has also been used as a place to detain immigrants sent to Salvadoran mega-prison CECOT as President Trump continues his mission of mass deportations.
Kraft, in a previous interview with The Breakfast Club, said he had been a 'social friend' of Trump's in the 90's and admitted to donating to his campaign.
However, he said he was 'very upset' by the January 6 attacks on the Capitol in 2021 and hasn't spoke to him since.
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