KABUL (Pajhwok): The new US government has promised closing the infamous Guantánamo Bay detention centre in Cuba, a media report said on Saturday.
Asked at a news briefing if the prison would be shut by President Joe Biden, the White House press secretary replied: “That’s certainly our goal and our intention.”
CNN quoted Jen Psaki as saying the National Security Council was initiating an inter-agency review to assess the situation the Biden administration had inherited from the previous government.
Ex-president Barack Obama had pledged to close the jail, but failed to honour his promise. Donald Trump, his successor, pave the ground for sending new inmates to the facility.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby indicated Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s support for closing the detention facility.
Also present at the news conference, he said: “The secretary believes Guantánamo Bay should be closed. He fully supports the administration’s desire to do that…”
Currently, the jail houses about 40 prisoners. At one point, it held almost 680 inmates suspected of having ties with Al-Qaida and the Taliban.
PAN Monitor/mud
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