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President Barack Obama announced plans to close the controversial U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay Tuesday, hoping to honor a unfulfilled campaign promise in his last year in office.
Previous attempts to close the facility have been blocked by provisions included in annual defense authorization laws.
Meanwhile, the leading Republican presidential candidates oppose Obama’s stated plan to close the prison, which is still awaiting congressional approval.
Here's where the candidates stand on the issue of Guantanamo Bay:
Donald Trump
“I would leave it just the way it is, and I would probably fill it up with more people that are looking to kill us,” he said in an interview that aired Sunday on “Election Central with Rita Cosby” on WABC radio.
Marco Rubio
Meanwhile, in response to Obama's announcement, Rubio said Tuesday that he would not shut down Guantanamo Bay if elected, calling the prisoners “enemy combatants.”
“If we capture a terrorist alive, they are not getting a court hearing in Manhattan. They are not going to be sent to Nevada,” Rubio said. “They are going to Guantanamo and we are going to find out everything they know.”
Ted Cruz
Earlier this month, during his electoral campaign Ted Cruz told his supporters that the decision to close Guantanamo would be “irresponsible.”
"I'd like to see as many terrorists as possible take up permanent residence in Gitmo," he said. "Listen on Gitmo, this president, what he is doing is profoundly irresponsible," Cruz said. "He is releasing dangerous terrorists, I think he want to close Gitmo before he leaves which I think makes no sense what so ever," Cruz said.
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