WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US President Barack Obama has pledged on Monday to move ahead with transferring detainees and closing the notorious US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“We have to keep living up to our values and move ahead on our plan including safely transferring detainees to finally close the detention center at Guantanamo,” Obama said. “We are not going to stop making effort to do that.”
In February, Obama sent a plan to the US Congress outlining the way to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and transfer the remaining 91 prisoners. Of the detainees still at the prison, 36 have been approved for transfer, but remain incarcerated.
The closure of the detention center, which is leased by the United States from Cuba, and the transfer of its prisoners to the United States, has been hampered by legal obstacles, as well as significant resistance from Congress.
