No, Obama wasn't arrested and held in Guantanamo Bay in 2019

What is the claim?

Posts on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) have claimed that a video shows former U.S. President Barack Obama at Guantanamo Bay detention camp, sometimes referred to as GITMO, in 2019 after his supposed "arrest." The video shows the former U.S. president standing quietly in a prison cell, looking at his surroundings.

One such post was shared with the caption, "THIS IS A VIDEO OF BARACK OBAMA WHEN HE ENTER GITMO JAIL ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 WHEN HE WAS ARRESTED" and amassed more than 400,000 views. Archive links of such posts are here, here, and here.

Posts claiming that the video shows Obama arrested and being held in Guantanamo Bay prison. (Source: X)

However, Obama was never arrested, and the video is not from the U.S. military prison Guantanamo Bay.

What is the truth?

Using a Google search, we found extended versions of the video on YouTube that showed that it was actually from Obama's visit to Robben Island Prison in South Africa, where former South African president Nelson Mandela had been incarcerated. 

The Guardian (archived here), on July 2, 2013, published an extended version of the video titled "Barack Obama 'humbled' by visit to Nelson Mandela's Robben Island jail." This version of the video also shows Obama and his wife, Michelle, walking around the prison complex and meeting with others. He can also be seen writing in a large guestbook on a stand in the video: "On behalf of our family, we're deeply humbled to stand where men of such courage faced down injustice and refused to yield."

The Associated Press (archived here) also uploaded a longer version of this video on July 1, 2013, titled "Raw: Obamas Visit Mandela's Prison." The video's description states that Obama and his family visited Robben Island on June 30, 2013. This video also shows Obama in the prison cell and walking around freely in the complex.

More footage of the visit to the prison is on the YouTube channel of The Obama White House (archived here). 

Further, there are no credible reports of Obama ever being arrested or locked up in the Guantanamo Bay detention center at any point.

Nelson Mandela was arrested and sentenced to life in prison by the apartheid South African government in 1964 for his role in the activities of the African National Congress. He spent 18 years in the Robben Island prison and was later released unconditionally in 1990. Mandela went on to become the first democratic prime minister of South Africa. Obama's visit to the prison where Mandela was held came when the leader was critically ill in hospital. Mandela died on December 5, 2013.

The verdict

The footage does not show Obama being held in Guantanamo Bay detention center after an alleged arrest. It shows a 2013 visit undertaken by the Obamas to a prison where Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years. The video is being shared with false claims.