Jane Pusaki, the press secretary of the White House, said on the 12th that President Joseph Biden intends to close the detention center of the U.S.
Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and relevant personnel have begun to evaluate.
At the regular White House press conference, reporters asked “Will Biden close Guantánamo Prison before the end of his term”, and Pusaki replied: “That’s definitely our goal and intention.”
Pushaki revealed that the government carried out relevant work about three weeks ago, and the National Security Council had joined other government departments to “assess the current situation we took over from the previous government.”
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, then-Republican President George W. Bush established Guantánamo Prison, which held about 800 terrorist suspects at its peak, but never formally prosecuted them.
The military prison is notorious for being exposed to ill-treat detainees.
Democrat Barack Obama promised to close Guantánamo Bay and take measures to reduce the number of detainees during his presidency.
Republican Donald Trump overturned his predecessor’s practice and kept prison after taking office in 2017.
Guantánamoo prison currently holds about 40 terrorist suspects, some of whom have been detained since the beginning of the prison.
National Security Council spokesman Emily Horn told Reuters that the National Security Council is working closely with the Department of Defense, the State Department and the Department of Justice to assess the current situation of Guantánamo Prison to “promote the closure” of the prison and consult closely with Congress on related matters.
Reuters and other media reports said that the Biden administration will face the same obstacles encountered during Obama’s presidency if it wants to close Guantánamo Bay, including resistance from Congress and legal restrictions.
Some analysts told the media that how to place terrorist suspects in custody after the closure of prisons is a difficult problem, and the relevant laws do not allow them to transfer to prisons in the United States; the coronavirus epidemic may also drag down plans to close prisons.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at his nomination hearing in Congress in January that the new government is seeking to close Guantánamo Bay. Seven Republican congressmen subsequently issued a joint letter opposing them.
A congressman said on social media that after the release of a suspect in the terrorist activities in Guantánamo prison, he may become a “star” in the eyes of extremist organizations, which in turn poses a greater threat.
