Guantánamo Public Memory Project

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2009: President Obama Signs Executive Order To Close Guantánamo

On his second full day as president of the United States, Barack Obama signs an executive order to close Guantánamo Bay titled “Closure of Guantanamo Detention Facilities.” An inter-agency review force is created to determine which detainees should be tried, released, or relocated.

Obama declares that Guantánamo is to be closed “…as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order.” Or in other words: the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay is set to be closed by January of 2010.