Obama administration defends Gitmo transfers

The Obama administration is defending a 2014 decision to transfer six detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Uruguay, after a top Republican raised security concerns.

“I can assure that this administration and Uruguayan government are fully committed to mitigating the potential threat these individuals may pose, as it is strongly in our mutual interest,” Assistant Secretary of State Julia Frifield said in a May 8 letter to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.), first obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

“We have confidence in the arrangements that we have made with the Government of Uruguay. Those arrangements protect the national security of the United States,” she added.

{mosads}Frifield’s letter comes after Royce wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry on April 29, alleging that the transfer to Uruguay “appears to be inconsistent with U.S. law.” Royce said Uruguay “has not taken steps to mitigate the risk” the half-dozen detainees pose to U.S. national security.

Frifield noted that the State Department had already briefed Royce’s staff on the December 2014 transfer and would be willing to provide the same briefing to the lawmaker.

The latest controversy over Guantánamo detainees comes as President Obama has been stepping up his efforts since late last year to shutter the controversial facility and fulfill his 2008 campaign pledge.

Transfers from the facility have reduced the population at Guantánamo to 122 prisoners, the smallest number in years.

The moves infuriated Republican lawmakers, and they are digging in their heels to keep the facility open.

This week, the House will vote on a fiscal 2016 defense policy bill that adds more restrictions on the administration’s ability to transfer detainees housed at the Guantánamo Bay, language the White House opposes.