Publicado por Alma
Torture and abuse of prisoners at the Guantánamo Naval Base, and the legal limbo in which they find themselves has led to international condemnation of the United States. Photo: AFP
| internet@granma.cu/PL
President Barack Obama will shortly exit the White House, without keeping his promise to close the maximum security prison established in 2002 at the Guantánamo Naval Base.
Despite the fact that the U.S. appropriated 117.6 square kilometers of Cuban territory more than 100 years ago, it was not until the beginning of this century that the world’s interest in the site was reawakened, precisely when the illegal base became a prison for Islamic militants, and chilling pictures of the crimes committed there began to circulate on the internet.
International pressure and thousands of voices have been raised to demand the closure of the base, and the issue became part of the agenda discussed by candidates aspiring to the Presidency in the United States.
Obama heeded these demands and said he would close the prison, but once in office, and now just days away from his departure, the commitment remains unfulfilled.
Despite his Nobel Peace Prize and stated intention to normalize relations with Cuba, Obama will be one more President leaving office without resolving one of the main obstacles to a less hostile relationship.
In fact, the Presidential directive on the country’s policy toward Cuba which Obama issued this past October 14, specifically states, «The United States Government has no intention to alter the existing lease treaty and other arrangements related to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.»
Alma Cubanita 