Obama’s closure of Guantanamo already in sight

The Castro brothers in Cuba extended a warm welcome to Obama into the political limelight. This message was relayed through Argentina‘s President, Cristina Kirchner, who recently returned to Buenos Aires after a brief visit to Havana.

Within 24 hours, Obama has already halted proceedings involving two Guantanamo detainees and intended to close Guantanamo by the end of the year — and likely much earlier.
While most would like to see Gitmo gone as soon as possible, it appears there is a slew of red tape that could slow this process:

  • the decision must be made at the Cabinet level, and Clinton has been reluctant to conform to Obama’s views of Guantanamo in particular
  • the prisoners will be displaced and moved to several other prisons around the world, which still remains a logistical question mark
  • legal actions on all 200+ detainees must first be issued before official closure can occur

Amid the increased attention on Obama, Fidel and Raúl Castro, and Guantanamo, there still remains an awkward silent treatment among all parties. Obama has yet to open talks with Castro (or vice versa) and Gitmo prisoners are showing their displeasure through hunger strikes and complaints of harsh mistreatment.

Right now, Gitmo and relations between America and Cuba as a whole remains a “wait-and-see” endeavor, but with Obama comes a dramatic changing of the guard that could soften the strained emotions all are feeling right now.

[via the New York Times and AFP]

A wrap-up of Cuba news and stories

As my plans to travel there solidify, Cuba has been on my mind — and luckily quite present in the news! Here’s a wrap-up of some of the interesting stories coming from Castro country.

  • Taxis and transportation: Unlike his brother, Raúl Castro is encouraging independent drivers to apply for taxi licenses to improve transportation in major cities in Cuba.
  • Guantanamo hunger strikes reach a two-year high: Despite the looming closure of the Guantanamo prison, close to 50 prisoners are refusing to eat.
  • Fidel is lost but not gone: Venezuelan President and close friend of ailing Fidel Castro says the former Cuban leader, who has not been seen in public since July 2006, will likely stay behind closed doors.
  • Over 10,000 artifacts from Hemingway’s Cuban farm are being digitized: To literary historians’ delight, 2,000 documents, 900 maps, 3,000 photographs, and 9,000 books are being preserved for the Ernest Hemingway Museum in Cuba.
  • Dateline Havana on NPR: I heard a great program on NPR yesterday based on Reese Erlich’s book, Dateline Havana: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Future of Cuba, which touches on such ripe topics as organic farming and traveling musicians.