US Senators Introduce Legislation to Ban Return of Guantanamo Bay to Cuba

A group of US senators filed legislation to prevent the United States from returning the Guantanamo Bay, which houses a major US naval base, to the Cuban government, Senator Kelly Ayotte said in a press conference on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — She argued that the naval base at Guantanamo Bay is "very strategic" for the US attack submarine fleet and Washington’s drug interdiction efforts.

"I introduced legislation yesterday with three other of my colleagues that would prohibit the transfer [of the naval base] back to Cuba," Ayotte stated.

The United States originally leased the land for the Guantanamo Bay naval base in 1903. Since the 1959 revolution in Cuba, the Fidel and Raul Castro governments have demanded the return of Guantanamo Bay, arguing the United States is occupying sovereign Cuban territory.

The Obama administration renewed diplomatic ties with Cuba in 2015 and is currently pushing for an end to the 50 year trade embargo on the neighboring island nation. The administration has stated repeatedly it is not negotiating the return of the Guantanamo Bay to Cuba.