| Caribbean American AG Makes First Caribbean Visit |
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| Written by CaribWorldNews |
| Tuesday, 24 February 2009 09:19 |
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While no news reporters were allowed on the Holder trip, the visit which included five other aides was set to involve talks with officials about detention and interrogation practices. Holder also was slated to discuss case histories of specific detainees and the charges that were pending, before Obama suspended military commissions as part of a top-to-bottom review of U.S. policy toward terror suspect detainees, Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller said. `He’s being briefed on case histories and discussing the charges that were pending for detainees before the suspensions,` Miller said. `He’s touring all the buildings and the expeditionary legal complex which houses the military courtrooms.` Holder was accompanied by Matthew Olsen, who is acting assistant attorney general for the National Security Division. Holder named Olsen Friday as the executive director of the Guantanamo Review Task Force which will recommend whether the 245 remaining detainees should be removed to other countries, be released, be tried on criminal charges in civilian courts in the United States or should be tried before military courts. Also traveling with the attorney general were his chief of staff Kevin Ohlsen and counselor Amy Jeffres, Associate Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and Alan Liotta from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Holder was scheduled to arrive back in Washington late Monday night, and the Justice Department said it will have no further information on his trip for at least a day or two. Some 245 detainees are at Guantanamo and a big question mark remains over their future if the site is closed. Holder`s visit comes as Democrats in Congress are set to vote on a measure that will allow people of Cuban descent to visit their relatives in Cuba once a year for an unlimited duration and spend up to $170 a day. Visitors could include first cousins, aunts and uncles rather than parents, siblings and grandparents. Under strict policies on Cuba, President Bush had capped visits to once every three years for no more than 14 days and travel spending limited to $50 per day. |