Aside from serving as detention to suspected terrorists on the United States naval base in Cuba, and the new home of the alleged 9/11 mastermind after his capture, the Guantanamo prison unnoticeably raised as the most expensive prison across the world after 18 years of operations.
The suspected mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, did not only gave the United States government a headache on his alleged orchestrated attacks but also made them spend an estimated $161.5 million to house him, as they continue to pursue his trial and death after his conviction.
The U.S.government even planned to give the suspected 9/11 mastermind a COVID-19 vaccine as insurance that he could be alive when they put him on trial.
After his capture in 2003, aside from being the alleged principal architect of the 9/11 attacks, Sheikh Mohammed had confessed as the man behind of the most prolific terror attacks executed by al-Qaeda in the past few decades.
Moreover, the death penalty trial for the 9/11 mastermind was originally set on January 11, 2021. However, due to the current pandemic, it was moved.
According to New York Post, a spokesperson from the Pentagon shared that the delays with the war-crime hearings at the base were due to the lack of vaccinations, which prompted the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs under the Biden administration, Terry Adirim, to sign the January 27 order of vaccinating the suspected terrorists.
However, on Saturday, Defense Department press secretary John Kirby mentioned in a tweet that there are no Guantanamo detainees that have been vaccinated as they paused the plan and move forward.
He also added that they are committed to their obligations in keeping the safety of the troops that is why they are reviewing the force protection protocols.
Read also : Nobel Peace Prize Nominees Include WHO, Climate Advocate Greta Thunberg, Russian dissident Navalny
Estimated Figures
Since it started operations, the annual spending of the Guantanamo prison in housing its prisoners remained unclear, but a report mentioned that it is between $9.5 and $13 million per prisoner annually. There 40 inmates currently detained in the prison.
Some experts stated that it is somehow unreasonable if it will be compared to the $78,000 annual budget per inmate at a supermax prison situated in Colorado, which served as the home of prisoners with the highest risk in the United States.
Based on the calculation of Fox News, using the $9.5 million figure that was reached by NPR in a 2020 report, over his 17 years stay at the Guantanamo prison, the United States has already spent an estimated $161 million for the 9/11 mastermind.
On the other hand, Guantanamo has reportedly cost American taxpayers over $6 billion since its commencement.
In addition, former United States President Donald Trump reacted to the $13 million annual budget per prisoner reported by the New York Times and stated that it is crazy.
A top attorney in 2019 filed a whistleblower complaint against the prison for the alleged 'gross mismanagement' and 'gross financial waste.'
Related article: B-52 Bombers to Serve the US Air Force Indefinitely
