The United States on Sunday announced it had transferred six low-level prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to Uruguay, where they will be resettled in the country. It was the largest group of inmates to leave the prison at one time since 2009.
A federal review had recommended all six men be released five years ago, though political pressure in the U.S. and unstable conditions in the men's home countries of Syria, Tunisia, and Palestine delayed their departure. The release brings Guantanamo's prison population down to 136.
"We are very grateful to Uruguay for this important humanitarian action," Cliff Sloan, a State Department official said in a statement, adding that the transfer "is a major milestone in our efforts to close the facility."