A Guantanamo Bay detainee released by President Obama’s administration in 2014 and resettled in Uruguay has gone missing, sparking a warning from one South American airline to employees to be on the lookout.
A spokesman for Avianca Airlines in Sao Paulo, Danilo Alves, said the alert was primarily for airport workers and refused to provide more details, the Associated Press reported.
But as Fox News reported, the alert, initially issued internally at the airline, was then published by an Argentine news portal, Infobae, along with the specification the ex-Gitmo detainee, Abu Wa’l Dhiab, could be using a fake passport. Infobae also cited the source of the alert as Brazil’s anti-terrorism police.
Dhiab was one of six Gitmo detainees released in 2014 and sent to Uruguay. Former Uruguay President Jose Mujica initially welcomed the six into his country, but since, they have caused problems. For example, they complained to an international press the government wasn’t helping them financially, despite the fact they refused to accept employment.
Dhiab has health problems largely due to his long-running hunger strike at Gitmo, Fox News reported. He’s been especially vocal about his dissatisfaction with the Uruguay resettlement, however, and media reports indicated he actually traveled to Brazil several weeks ago to find a better life.
“He has a valid identity card issued by the Ureuguayan government that allows him to go to other countries,” said one Uruguayan authority to AP. “He is not a fugitive from justice.”
But U.S. authorities are actively searching his whereabouts.
The U.S. Embassy in Uruguay said U.S. authorities are “collaborating” with Brazilian and Uruguayan officials to find Dhiab, who hasn’t been seen since June 6.
Dhiab was incarcerated at Gitmo for 12 years on suspicions he was tied to al-Qaida.
