Six men detained at Guantanamo for more than a decade were transferred Sunday to Uruguay, whose leftist leader made the "humanitarian" gesture to help President Barack Obama fulfil his long-delayed promise to close the US military prison. The Pentagon said 136 detainees now remain at the US naval base in Cuba, of whom 67 have been approved for release by Obama's government and that of his predecessor, George W. Bush.
Among the inmates transferred Sunday was Syrian prisoner Jihad Diyab, 43, who had staged a hunger strike and requested a US court to order prison officials to stop force-feeding him.
The six - including three other Syrians, a Palestinian and a Tunisian - received an "approved for transfer" from US authorities and left the military base on a US Air Force plane at 12:00 am (0500 GMT) Sunday, Pentagon spokesman Myles Caggins told AFP.
The men are all in their 30s and 40s and were among the first to arrive in Guantanamo in 2002. "We are very grateful to Uruguay for this important humanitarian action, and to President (Jose) Mujica for his strong leadership in providing a home for individuals who cannot return to their own countries" because of conflicts or the threat of torture, special envoy for Guantanamo closure Cliff Sloan told AFP. He called the transfer "a major milestone in our efforts to close the facility."
The men arrived in Uruguay Sunday morning and were taken to a military hospital for check-ups, reported weekly newspaper Busqueda, which first broke the story of the negotiations for their transfer.
Mujica announced in March that Uruguay would take in the inmates. He has said they will have the freedoms of any other resident, including the right to travel.
The transfers, which had initially been due to take place in August, were delayed for political reasons. By the time Washington was ready, the South American country was in the midst of an election campaign to choose Mujica's successor, making the issue a political hot potato.
But after his Broad Front (FA) party secured another five years in power with the election of his ally Tabare Vazquez in a runoff vote last Sunday, Mujica pressed ahead with the deal.
Mujica, a former leftist guerrilla known for legalising marijuana, giving most of his salary to charity and living in a run-down farmhouse, has said he sympathises with the transferred inmates because of the 13 years he spent as a political prisoner.
The Pentagon's envoy for the closure of Guantanamo, Paul Lewis, said he always visits countries where detainees may be sent before a final decision on a transfer is taken.
"Security is always top of mind prior to any decision to transfer a detainee, and each detainee is closely reviewed by six departments before he is eligible for transfer," he said.
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