WASHINGTON: Despite their strong desire to shut down the notorious andinfamous Guantanamo Prison setup by the powerful US military establishment,the two consecutive US Presidents could not close it under pressure frommilitary elite.
Now US President Donald Trump is preparing to reverse an Obama-era orderto shut down the infamous military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,according to a report by Politico, a political news website in WashingtonDC.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order to rescind the 2009 directivegiven by then-President Barack Obama intended to shut the camp, eitherduring his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night or in the dayssurrounding it, the report said.
But Trump’s order will be largely symbolic in nature, as Obama was neverable to make good on his own directive by failing to transfer theGuantanamo Bay’s prisoners and close the camp during last years of hispresidency.
However, Obama did move nearly 200 Guantanamo inmates to the custody ofother countries from the island. Only 41 detainees now remain in thefacility, set up in 2002 as part of the US war on terror.
Last year, Trump said he would consider sending terror suspects whoallegedly committed their crimes on US soil to the military prison.
But the Trump administration has no intention to expand the detentioncamp’s population, according to the report.
Earlier this month, dozens of activists held a rally outside the WhiteHouse to protest against the Guantanamo Bay prison, while urging an end to“indefinite detention.” – Agencies