Prisoner Releases Turn Guantanamo Inmates Into $6 Million Men
- Per-inmate costs spiraling higher as detainees transferred out
- Obama, supporters using price in arguing to close prison camp
Activists in orange jump suits participate in a rally in front of the White House in Washington to demand the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp on Jan. 11, 2016.
Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Remember the 1970s TV series "The Six Million Dollar Man?" The U.S. now has 61 of them, all at the Guantanamo Bay military prison that President Barack Obama wants to close.
As the U.S. draws down the prison population by transferring inmates to friendly nations, the cost of housing terrorism suspects at the detention facility in Cuba has climbed to about $6 million per person, according to an analysis of Defense Department figures. That’s produced a politically convenient byproduct for an administration determined to close the site: sticker shock.