Will the U.S. Return Guantanamo to Cuba?

Guantanamo Bay
In this Feb. 2, 2016 photo, a detainee is seen in the communal area inside Camp 6 in the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. President Barack Obama’s administration is working to reduce the number of men held at Guantanamo as it prepares to ask Congress to close it down. Now, with the population at its lowest level since it opened in January 2002, there are more empty cells than full ones, fewer prisoners than there are doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to care for them. Ben Fox / AP Photo
Guantanamo Bay
In this Feb. 2, 2016 photo, a detainee is seen in the communal area inside Camp 6 in the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. President Barack Obama’s administration is working to reduce the number of men held at Guantanamo as it prepares to ask Congress to close it down. Now, with the population at its lowest level since it opened in January 2002, there are more empty cells than full ones, fewer prisoners than there are doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to care for them. Ben Fox / AP Photo

Will the U.S. Return Guantanamo to Cuba?

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President Obama has laid out a new plan to close the US prison at Guantanamo. His plan has led some to question whether the president is considering returning the land to Cuba. Cuba has asked for its return and President Obama will be making a trip there in March. The U.S. has leased Guantanamo Bay from Cuba since 1903. The agreement, known as the Platt Amendment, gives the US jurisdiction there. Two of the 2016 presidential candidates, both Cuban Americans, have raised concerns about the U.S. returning Guantanamo to Cuba. Alberto Coll, professor of law at DePaul University and director of the Latin American Studies program, joins us to talk about debate around Guantanamo.

Guest: Alberto Coll is a professor of law at DePaul University and director of the Latin American Studies program.