U.S. won’t return Guantanamo to improve ties with Cuba

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration says it won’t return the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay as part of efforts to improve relations with Cuba.

Roberta Jacobson, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America, also says the U.S. will continue funding radio and television broadcasts opposed by the Cuban government.

Cuba has declared Guantanamo a condition for a resumption of normalized ties between the countries after a half-century of enmity. It also has long chafed at the U.S.-created Radio Marti and TV Marti.

Those issues, however, aren’t likely to stand in the way of the restoration of U.S.-Cuban diplomatic relations.

Jacobson was testifying Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.