Chairman Ros-Lehtinen Leads Congressional Delegation Trip to U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Washington, DC – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, was joined by U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Ted Yoho (R-FL) and George Holding (R-NC) on a Congressional Delegation trip to U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay.

The lawmakers met with the top Officers of the Naval Station and its tenant commands, including Joint Task Force-Guantanamo (GTMO), which oversees and runs the detention center. They also met with many men and women in uniform fulfilling the U.S. mission at Guantanamo Bay. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

“The U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay is so much more than the detention center; It is a strategically important military base and our only permanent base in Latin America and the Caribbean. Yet, since President Obama announced his changes to our Cuba policy, the administration has been seeking to play down the importance of the Naval Station. Returning GTMO to the Castro regime would be the ultimate concession to the ruthless dictator and the final stroke in the President’s misguided and dangerous Cuba policy, and Congress must not allow this to happen.

“From humanitarian operations and emergency response, to drug and weapon interdiction and so much more, GTMO allows us to maintain a permanent presence in the region in order to protect and promote our national security interests.

“The President’s plan to close the detention center at GTMO is naive and dangerous. We’ve already heard testimony from his Special Envoys on Guantanamo Closure and Guantanamo Detention Closure that some of the individuals we have released not only went back to fighting against us, but have American blood on their hands. There can simply be no justification to release these dangerous prisoners when we know that many of them will go back and join the fight. Congress must prevent the President from closing the detention center and retuning the base to the Castro regime.”