President Donald Trump voiced concern over the costs of keeping prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
“I think it’s crazy,” he said. “It costs a fortune to operate it and I think it’s crazy.”
The president’s comments were made to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington, D.C. from California. They were detailed in a report posted by The Hill.
The New York Times reported expenses at Guantanamo came to about $540 million last year or roughly $13 million for each of the 40 detainees being held.
Asked about the cost, Trump said: “We’re looking into that.”
Pressed on whether he was looking into closing the detention facility, Trump replied: “We’re looking at a lot of things.”
Trump was critical of Barack Obama and said the former president had pledged to close Guantanamo, but never did.
“He was going to have everybody removed and Guantanamo Bay closed up by the time he left office and he didn’t do that,” Trump said. “He didn’t do that either. So we’re stuck with it.”
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.