US transfers Guantanamo detainee to Belize after sentence served

The United States has transferred a Guantanamo Bay prisoner to Belize after he completed a sentence, as President Joe Biden’s administration says it still plans to eventually close the facility in Cuba.

Majid Khan was moved after entering a plea agreement in 2012, which the White House said Thursday he honored.

“We transferred Mr. Khan to Belize after he finished serving his sentence at that Guantanamo Bay detention facility,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday at the White House. “We remain dedicated to a deliberate and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population at Guantanamo Bay and ultimately closing the facility.”

The State Department is looking for options to transfer detainees to third-party countries, she said. Jean-Pierre acknowledged reports that other detainees could soon be transferred but said she had nothing to share.

After Khan’s transfer, 34 detainees remain in Guantanamo Bay, according to the Defense Department. Of them, 20 are currently eligible for transfer.