Obama plans up to 18 more Guantanamo prisoner transfers before leaving office: source
U.S. President Barack Obama participates in his last news conference of the year at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
U.S. President Barack Obama participates in his last news conference of the year at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
By Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama plans to transfer as many as 18 more prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison before leaving office, a source close to the matter said, further shrinking the inmate population but still far short of meeting his longtime pledge to close the facility.
The Obama administration notified Congress it intends to send the detainees, nearly a third of the remaining 59 held at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, to at least four countries, including Italy, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20, the source said.
The notification came just before this week's deadline, which by law requires Obama to give Congress 30 days' warning before moving prisoners out of Guantanamo. It will be the last in a flurry of recent transfers aimed at leaving as few inmates as possible for the next administration.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guantanamo-idUSKBN1492P0
