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Pentagon to Send Guantanamo Inmates to Other Countries Soon

Thursday, March 31, 2016 7:39 am | < 1 Minute Read

In this Feb. 2, 2016 photo, military personnel enter Camp 6 at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After 14 years, the detention center appears to be winding down despite opposition in Congress to President Barack Obamas intent to close the facility and confine the remaining prisoners someplace else. (AP Photo/Ben Fox) — Military personnel enter Camp 6 at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (AP Photo/Ben Fox)

The Pentagon has notified Congress that it plans to transfer about a dozen prisoners held in the Guantanamo military prison to at least two other countries, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, the latest move in President Barack Obama’s push to close the facility.

The first of the transfers is expected to take place in the next few days and the others will occur in coming weeks, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Among the group will be Tariq Ba Odah, a Yemeni man who has been on a long-term hunger strike, the official said.

Some 91 prisoners are currently held in the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Despite congressional resistance, Obama is seeking to shutter the facility before he leaves office in January.