Guantanamo Bay: A Perpetual Stain on the U.S. Human Right Record
When current President Barack Obama took to the campaign trail back in 2008, one of his largest and most poignant campaign promises was the closure of the detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The facility has been condemned not only by our current president, but by the United Nations during a review of Human Rights in the United States. In addition to the concerns over treatment of detainees, operation of the facility is incredibly expensive, and is doing the United States no favors when it comes to relations with Cuba. The detention center in Guantanamo Bay needs to be shut down as soon as possible. Guantanamo Bay, popularly referred to as “Gitmo” currently houses sixty-one detainees. Some of them are being held without charges, simply on suspicion of terrorist activity. The cost of operating Gitmo has gone down as a number of detainees have been released or transferred, but just last year the cost of operation was $445 million, nearly $7.3 million per
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The lease can only be terminated through mutual agreement of both parties. Now, Cuba’s current president, Raul Castro made it clear last year that he’s more than interested in the return of the land that houses our sixty-one remaining detainees. In fact, Cuba’s government has been demanding it’s return since 1959. What’s even more important is that the U.S. is sending annual checks to Cuba in payment for Guantanamo, that Cuba has not cashed. President Obama has expressed his disinterest in returning the land, which now contains the Naval Station that became the detention center, to a communist state. However, in light of recent positive relations with the Cuban government, including a lift on a decades-old travel ban and easing of sanctions, the evacuation and return of the land would only serve to further future beneficial relations with a potential