The entrance to Camp 1 in Guantanamo Bay’s Camp Delta. (Wikipedia Kathleen T. Rhem)

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON –  PENTAGON –   The once-secretive unit inside the Guantánamo Bay detention center has been shut and the prisoners moved to an adjacent facility, the U.S. military said Sunday.  The Camp 7 Unit, infamously referred to as “Black sites”, opened in 2006 to hold prisoners from CIA detention facilities who were allegedly subjected to harsh interrogation techniques according to the AP.   The U.S. Southern Command said in a statement the move is an effort to “increase operational efficiency and effectiveness.”   According to U.S. Southern Command, the  Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay (JTF-GTMO) has, safely and without incident, transferred all detainees from Camp VII to Camp V. The transfer consolidated all 40 detainees from three to two detention facilities.  Five of the prisoners who were held at Camp 7 were charged with war crimes for their alleged involvement in planning and supporting the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the AP reported. 

“The Commander of U.S. Southern Command directed the consolidation which will increase operational efficiency and effectiveness, while reducing operational cost.  This adjustment does not compromise force protection, safety, or the mission to provide safe, legal and humane care to, and custody of the detainees at JTF-GTMO.”

-U.S. Southern Command statement  Apr. 4, 2021

Secretary of Defense Austin “fully supports”  President Biden’s desire to close GTMO detention facility: Pentagon Press Secretary 

(Photo credit: Gary Raynaldo  ©Diplomatic  Times)   Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby briefs reporters at the Pentagon in Washington DC  Apr. 5, 2021 

President Joe Biden said in February he will seek to close the prison on the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay following a review process, resuming a project begun under the Obama administration. Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby, at a press briefing Monday at the Pentagon,  addressed the issue of the GTMO Unit 7 closure and Biden’s vow to shutter the detention facility. 

“In GTMO, the Secretary of Defense fully supports President Biden’s desire to close the detention facility there. The thinking behind that, the process of reviewing how to do that is being led by the National Security Council and by the White House. The Secretary provides his view, his counsel. But clearly, the Secretary agrees that it’s long past time to close that detention facility.”

-Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby