Guantanamo could take in more prisoners - US commander

WASHINGTON, March 5 (KUNA) -- A top US military commander said the Guantanamo Bay detention center could accommodate "a couple dozen" more prisoners if the Trump administration chooses to send them.
"We have the ability to receive more detainees, should the decision be made to send them," Admiral Kurt Tidd, commander of US Southern Command told reporters late Monday. He noted there are currently less than 50 detainees being held at the controversial military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and "that number could probably go up." Asked about the possible number of new detainees it could receive, Tidd said, "Without any additional resources, probably a couple of dozen but beyond that, we would need to increase the size of the guard force." In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reversing his predecessor Barack Obama's unsuccessful 2009 directive to close Guantanamo. In his State of the Union speech, Trump said captured fighters for the so-called Islamic State would in "many cases" end up there.
It has not received any new inmates since 2008 but while running for presidential election, Trump pledged to load the facility with "bad dudes". (END) hy.gb