Moroccan Abdul Latif Nasser First Detainee Out Of Guantánamo

The Biden administration has transferred a Moroccan detainee from the US military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Morocco for the first time since President Biden took office, signifying a renewed attempt to reduce the facility's population – and possibly close it entirely.

Abdul Latif Nasser, a 56-year-old Moroccan citizen, had been cleared for release by a parole-like board in 2016, but he was kept at Gitmo for another five years. He spent a total of 19 years at Guantánamo without being charged, making him one of Gitmo's "forever prisoners" who are held indefinitely.

Nasser's transfer was approved near the end of President Barack Obama's administration, which had promised to close Guantánamo, but President Donald Trump took office before Nasser could be released. With Trump's arrival in the White House, the prisoner transfer procedure effectively came to a standstill, with Trump promising to "load [Guantánamo] up with some nasty people."

But the Biden administration has quietly begun to pick up where Obama left off by clearing additional prisoners for transfer and, now, sending one home.