“The United States is grateful to the Government of Uruguay for its willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility,” the statement published on the department’s website stated, adding that the humane treatment measures were observed during the transfer.
US media identified the six men as four Syrians, a Tunisian and a Palestinian. According to the statement of the Defense Department, there are currently 136 detainees left at the center down from some 245 in 2009.
US President Barack Obama signed an order for the closure of the Guantanamo in 2009, after promising to shut the camp down during his election campaign, describing it as a "sad chapter in American history". The closure has not taken place so far.
The prison, located in Cuba, has been the subject of harsh criticism by rights groups, governments and media since its establishment in 2002. Numerous reports by health workers, inspectors and former detainees said the conditions at the camp were cruel and inhumane, and included the use of torture.
