Montevideo, April 09 (teleSUR-RHC) Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez said on Wednesday that the United States should pay for the costs of the six former prisoners of Guantanamo Bay prison, which Uruguay has received as refugees.

“Uruguay gave them asylum, but the U.S. government is the one who should cover all the costs so that the life of these citizens is a dignified one,” said Vazquez.

Former President Jose Mujica gave asylum to the six men who had never been charged, yet were detained by the U.S. for years in the Guantanamo prison.

Vazquez said he would raise the issue with Obama during Friday’s meeting in the Summit of the Americas in Panama. He also said he was concerned about how the ex-prisoners were adapting to life in Uruguay. “I put myself in their shoes and it must be difficult for those who come from another part of the world, with other cultures and religions … to start a life in a foreign country,” said Vasquez. Vazquez also said Uruguay would not be accepting any more former prisoners of Guantanamo.