Pentagon scouts Colorado sites for alternative Gitmo prisoner holding areas
US News
Pentagon scouts Colorado sites for alternative Gitmo prisoner holding areas
A team of Pentagon officials began scouting sites in Colorado on Tuesday as potential alternatives to hold prisoners from Guantanamo Bay as part of the long-stalled effort to close the controversial detention center on the U.S. base in Cuba. The team planned to assess facilities at the Federal Correctional Complex in Florence and the state penitentiary in Canon City as alternatives for a “limited” number of detainees from Guantanamo. Also being surveyed are the disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina.
Alcatraz of the Rockies
Nickname of Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
President Obama has sought to close Guantanamo since taking office but has been thwarted by Congress, which has banned transferring prisoners to the U.S. and placed restrictions on sending them abroad. The Obama administration is seeking to lift the ban but faces opposition in Congress, including from members opposed to moving prisoners to their districts. Human rights groups and detainee advocates say they also object to continuing to hold prisoners indefinitely without charge at any location.
