HAVANA -- (AP) -- The Cuban government has no opinion on U.S. plans to hold Afghan war detainees at the disputed Guantanamo Bay naval base, the Foreign Ministry in Havana said Sunday.

 A ministry statement said Cuba has no jurisdiction over the base anyway, even though it opposes its presence on Cuban soil -- ``a situation that has remained that way for many years without resolution.''

 ``The Foreign Ministry wants to clarify that the government of Cuba does not have the elements necessary to make a judgment and because of that has not adopted any position,'' the Foreign Ministry said.

 The U.S. military said Dec. 27 it would house an undisclosed number of al Qaeda and Taliban detainees at the base in Cuba's extreme southeast.

 The ministry statement came a day after several Cuban officials, including Vice President José Ramón Fernández, said they personally opposed the U.S. plan, mostly
 because they believe the base should have been closed decades ago.

 The U.S. government first seized Guantanamo Bay in 1898.

 Fernández said that holding detainees at a base that Cuba wants closed shows ``the arrogance of the government of the empire.'' He is one of several vice presidents on Cuba's Council of Ministers, or Cabinet.

 ``Actions of these kind violate the rights of others,'' said Fernández, a retired general.

 Those comments were made during a break in a special session of Cuba's parliament.

 But Sunday's Foreign Ministry statement indicates that Havana does not plan to make the base's use a major issue during a crucial point in Cuba-U.S. relations.

 Next month, American contingents are scheduled to visit the island.

 They include entrepreneurs, members of Congress and leaders of American efforts to eliminate the 40-year U.S. trade embargo against the island.

 Because most Americans support the war against terrorism, Havana does not want to risk alienating potential American allies in its efforts to ease or eliminate sanctions.

                                    © 2001