The chairmen of two powerful House committees on Friday urged President Obama not to cede control of the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as the administration works to normalize relations with Havana.
“When it comes to this critical military asset, we ask that the administration refrain from negotiating the status of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay with the Castro regime,” Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) wrote in a letter to the president.
The pair cites comments that Cuban President Raúl Castro made at a recent conference suggesting relations between the Cold War enemies would not be mended until the U.S. returns the Navy base at Guantánamo to Cuban custody.
Havana has demanded the land be returned for decades.
“These demands should be rejected, and the United States should maintain control of this base for the foreseeable future,” Thornberry and Royce said.
In December, the Obama administration and Castro announced a deal to ease trade and travel restrictions, as well as talks to re-establish normal diplomatic relations that could lead to a U.S. Embassy in Havana.
Defense and State department officials have said they do not foresee the thaw in U.S-Cuba relations affecting the arrangement the two nations have on the prison. The U.S. leases the land and it can only be terminated by mutual agreement.
Thornberry and Royce said they “remain very concerned” the White House may enter into negotiations over the base without consulting lawmakers.
They noted that former deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations in December that lawmakers would be notified of any change on U.S. policy to Cuba, only to have the president announce the shift days later.
Last month Blinken, who is now the deputy secretary of State, said he “regrets” not informing Congress ahead of time.
The new missive comes as the president is in the midst of a renewed push to shutter the detention facility, an effort that has roiled congressional Republicans.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee are due to visit the prison later this month.