Reports: US to transfer 4 Gitmo detainees to Saudi Arabia

The United States will soon transfer four detainees at the Guantánamo Bay prison facility to Saudi Arabia, according to reports. 

U.S. officials told Reuters and Fox News that the transfers will take place in the next 24 hours. 

The names and nationalities of the detainees were not immediately clear, although most of the remaining detainees who have been considered for transfer are from Yemen.

{mosads}President Obama is kicking off a final push to cut down on the number of detainees left at the facility in Cuba. He is reportedly hoping to remove 17 or 18 people from Gitmo before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Obama had pledged to close the facility during his presidency, and he released a plan in February 2016 to transfer most prisoners overseas and keep those that remain in a proposed prison on U.S. soil. But he faced fierce opposition from Congress, and lawmakers have barred the administration bringing detainees stateside.

Under current transfer plans, about 40 prisoners are expected to remain once Trump takes office. That figure would include the 10 men who were convicted by military commissions and 27 who have not been charged but are considered too dangerous to release, according to The New York Times.

The president-elect has vowed to keep Guantánamo Bay open, and he previously said on the campaign trail that he wants to “load it up with some bad dudes.” 

On Tuesday Trump tweeted, “There should be no further releases from Gitmo.”  

“These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield,” he wrote. 

When Obama took office, there were more than 240 people detained at Gitmo. The population is currently 59.

In April, nine Yemeni prisoners were transferred to Saudi Arabia.