US defence officials consider Colorado prisons for Gitmo detainees
The Pentagon officials are considering relocating Guantanamo detainees to Colorado State Penitentiary and have started assessing eligibility of the facility.
A team from the US Defense Department began reviewing sites in Colorado on Tuesday as potential alternatives for holding convicts from Gitmo as part of the long-stalled initiative by the US President Barack Obama to close the controversial detention center.
According to Navy Commander Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman, the team planned to assess facilities at the Federal Correctional Complex in Florence and the state penitentiary in Canon City as alternatives for a "limited" number of detainees from Guantanamo.
They are looking at what changes would be needed to the facilities in Colorado to keep the prisoners and to hold proceedings for those facing trial by military commission, Ross said.
The spokesman also added that, “These site visits are informational only. No sites have been selected for holding detainees,”
Officials did not say how many Guantanamo detainees would be under consideration for the transfer, but dozens still remain in the Cuba-based prison.
Among the sites that are being assessed by the Pentagon team is the Supermax in Florence, Colorado, which has been dubbed "Alcatraz of the Rockies," and already holds convicted terrorists.
Despite Obama's promise at the beginning of his term in office, the US holds still 114 prisoners at Guantanamo, including 54 already cleared for release. The rest are either facing trial by military commission or have been specified as too dangerous to release without facing any charges.
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