Biden administration transfers first detainee out of Guantanamo Bay

The Biden administration made its first transfer of a Guantanamo Bay inmate to his home country as the administration pushes to shutter the facility.

The Department of Defense announced on Monday morning the transfer of Abdul Latif Nasir back to Morocco.

In 2016, the Periodic Review Board process ruled that his detention “no longer remained necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the national security of the United States.”

At that time, the board recommended he be authorized to return home, but officials were unable to complete the process before the Obama administration ended. The Trump administration reaffirmed the Periodic Review Board process on Jan. 30, 2018, but did not complete Nasir’s repatriation.

The review board consists of one senior career official from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and State, along with the Joint Chiefs Staff and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Nasir was captured on Dec. 15, 2001, as one of 52 fighters who were caught trying to escape to Pakistan. He was transferred to U.S. custody on Jan. 21, 2002, and was taken to Guantanamo Bay on May 3 of that year, per a U.S. Department of Defense memo from 2008 released by WikiLeaks.

He met with Osama bin Laden in 1993 and later received training at multiple al Qaeda training camps where he trained in explosives and poisons.

Former President George W. Bush opened the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in 2002, and at its peak, the facility housed nearly 800 detainees, according to NBC News.

President Barack Obama promised to shut down the facility during his campaign, though his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. During his term, however, the number of detainees was reduced from 245 to 41.