On February 23rd president Obama sent plans to Congress to close down the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba-- a promise initially made during his campaign for presidency. The prison, which currently houses a mere 91 prisoners, cost an estimated $455 million for the year 2015 alone, which works out to be about $4 million per detainee.
While closing the prison is not only expected to save nearly half a billion dollars in the U.S. budget, it will also bring to a close a very dark chapter in United States history which few people seem to comment on or recognize. The prison at Guantánamo Bay has been the site for massive human rights violations carried out by the U.S. government during the War on Terror. Amnesty International, an organization that works to expose and prevent human rights abuses, has entire pages dedicated to Guantánamo, citing the abuses that have and continue to occur there. "These men have been subjected to a wide range of interrogation tactics that constitute ill-treatment, including stress positions, sensory deprivation, prolonged isolation, the use of 20-hour interrogations, hooding during transportation and interrogation, stripping, forcible shaving, and 'using detainees individual phobias (such as fear of dogs) to induce stress"' (Amnesty International).
Donald Trump, arguably the most controversial candidate of this election cycle, unsurprisingly had a few choice words in response to president Obama's plan to close the prison:
Not only did Trump promise that if elected Guantánamo would remain open, but he assured to his cheering supporters that he would fill it up with "some bad dudes" and keep the place running on the cheap.
Trump then goes on the suggest that we get Cuba to take over the prison and have them reimburse us, because "we're probably paying rent". Not only are Trump's comments on the closing of Guantánamo absolutely ridiculous--they also show his out right ignorance and lack of knowledge of U.S. relations with Cuba. We have in fact not paid a single dime in rent to Cuba for the past 50 years for the land that we use at Guantánamo Bay. Each year, a check for $4,085 is written by the U.S. government for rent and each year, it is not cashed by the Cuban government who refuses (rightfully so, in my opinion) to recognize the legitimacy of the lease.
A few months ago Trump suggested we have Mexico provide the money and man power to build a wall on our southern border. Now he wants Cuba to take over Guantánamo Bay. It seems the next logical move in his political career would be to ask every country of the world to pay off a portion of the U.S. national debt.
