Warren, Reed, Leahy, Durbin, Markey, Brown, Sanders, Coons, Merkley, Wyden, Carper Statement on the Defense Department's Response to Their Inquiry About COVID-19 Preparedness at Guantanamo Bay Prison
"The Pentagon's response leaves doubts about the Guantanamo prison's capacity to protect military personnel and detainees from COVID-19 and is a reminder that the United States should work to responsibly close this facility that is inconsistent with our values, does not make us safer, and wastes taxpayer dollars."
Washington, DC -- United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tom Carper (D-Del.), today released the following statement on the Pentagon's response to their request for additional information about the Department's efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among detainees in the prison facility at the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and efforts to protect servicemembers responsible for detention operations and all other military personnel at the base.
"The Pentagon's response leaves doubts about the Guantanamo prison's capacity to protect military personnel and detainees from COVID-19 and is a reminder that the United States should work to responsibly close this facility that is inconsistent with our values, does not make us safer, and wastes taxpayer dollars," wrote the Senators regarding the Pentagon's response to their inquiry.
The senators sent their initial letter after reports of confirmed cases of COVID-19 among U.S. personnel at Guantanamo in March and April, and cited the lack of comprehensive medical infrastructure on the premises and questioned whether Department of Defense coronavirus infection control efforts are enough to protect the health of the 40 detainees at the Guantanamo prison facility, including aging and chronically ill detainees, some of whom retain the mental and physical wounds of torture and may be at greater risk of serious medical complications from COVID-19.
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