Is Castro About to Solve Obama’s Guantanamo Problem?

Breitbart reports that as President Obama this week announced the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba – which will signal the official resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries – the Castro regime is insisting that full normalization of relations will require, among other things, the transfer of Guantanamo Bay to Cuba, which the regime defines as “illegally occupied territory.”

Given the nature of the Castro regime, it’s not exactly a stretch of the imagination to assume that if the Obama administration did in fact agree to turn over Gitmo to the Cuban government, the remaining terrorist detainees being held there would be turned loose not long after the base changed hands.

Turning the base over to the Castros would therefore help Obama achieve two misguided policies at once: Solidify normalization of US-Cuba relations without any meaningful concessions, guarantees, or reforms from Havana; and shut down Gitmo along the way.  While it would be an exaggeration to assert that Obama’s Gitmo problem was the reason for premature normalization with Cuba, it’s hard to deny that his Cuba policy could give him an opening to cross Gitmo off his presidential bucket-list and send the detainees back onto the battlefield.

It’s true that the administration stated previously, during negotiations with Cuba earlier this year, that returning Gitmo to the regime was “not on the table.”  But as we’ve seen on Iran and a range of other issues, red lines don’t exactly have a whole lot of meaning with this administration.  Don’t be surprised if Obama eviscerates this one.