Michael Parmly, ex-representative of the United States in Cuba, suggested to President Barack Obama that the Guantánamo military base be returned to the island's authorities, along with other recommendations mentioned in a 26 page report which the news agency Reuters had access to and which will be published shortly at the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs.

Entering the Guantánamo province, Cuba. (Photo: Ángel Baldrich)

The negotiation of an agreement with Cuban President Raúl Castro about the naval base could contribute to the establishment of a direct relationship with the Cuban government and with Cuban citizens, thinks Parmly, who was Chief of Mission of the United States Interests Section in Havana between 2005 and 2008.

Most of the prisoners at Guantánamo could be moved to jails on United States soil, while the most problematic cases would stay on the island, notes Parmly.

According to the diplomat, the naval base is a “historic anomaly”:

The current partisan tensions on the (Capitol) Hill ensure that it would be an uphill climb, but it is the thesis of this paper that a similar bold step, akin to the Panama Canal, is called for regarding Guantánamo.