Give Guantanamo Back To Cuba," Chavez Tells US
20:54 EST Thursday, January 29, 2009
BELEM (AFP)--The U.S. should hand Guantanamo back to Cuba, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday as he attended the World Social Forum.
U.S. President Barack Obama "has to give the territory of Guantanamo to the Cubans," he said.
Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo echoed the sentiment, saying, "Guantanamo is Cuban. It should go back to its roots."
Obama has said he wants to close the U.S.'s notorious military prison in Guantanamo within a year, and has reached out to countries around the world to take into detention the suspected Islamic extremists being held there.
The U.S., which took control of Guantanamo Bay under a 1903 treaty with Cuba, hasn't indicated it wishes to return the territory.
Previous U.S. President George W. Bush ordered it used as a prison facility to hold suspects taken in Afghanistan believed to have links with the Taliban, Al Qaeda or other militant organizations.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-29-09 2054ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
