Where is Guantánamo Bay? Detention camp location, who is sent there, Trump plans and how it was established

Here’s everything you need to know about the facility - including where it is.

Where is Guantánamo Bay?

Guantánamo Bay is located on the eastern tip of the large Caribbean island of Cuba, and occupies around 45 square miles.

Cuba is around 90 miles from the southernmost point of the U.S. state of Florida.

How did America gain control of Guantánamo Bay?

Given that the USA and Cuba have a notoriously fractious relationship, it’s perhaps surprising that the superpower has a territorial foothold on the socialist island.

It dates back to the 1898 Spanish-American war when the U.S. invaded and occupied Cuba during its war of independence against Spain. At that time Cuba was a Spanish colony. In 1901 the Americans made an amendment to the Cuban constitution recognising its sovereignty but allowing the U.S.A. to intervene in the running of the country and establish naval bases on the island. One of those was at Guantánamo Bay, with a never-ending lease that was reaffirmed in the 1903 Cuban–American Treaty of Relations. The 1934 Cuban–American Treaty of Relations scrapped much of the 1903 treaty but maintained America’s control of Guantánamo Bay. The current communist government of Cuba have mantained that the base is illegal ever since they came to power in 1959, but Guantánamo Bay remains in American control to this day.

When did America open the Guantánamo Bay detention camp?

While the American Naval Station Guantanamo Bay has existed for more than a century, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp was only established in January 2002.

It was created by President George W. Bush as part of the Global War on Terror in the aftermath of the attacked on September 11. to hold terrorism suspects and "illegal enemy combatants" during the Global War on Terrorism following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Originally dubbed ‘Camp X-Ray’ it was designed to hold suspected Al-Qaeda members and Taliban fighters, many of whom were captured in Afghanistan. The fact that the camp is not on U.S. soil - so the administration argued - meant that basic protections under the U.S. Constitution or the Geneva Conventions did not apply, meaning ‘enemy combatants’ could be held indefinitely without charge.

Who is held in Guantánamo Bay?

As of this year, around 780 people from 48 countries have been detained at the camp since its creation, nine of whom have died in custody.

Prior to Donald Trump winning the presidency, 39 detainees remained there - 17 are being held indefinitely with no recommendation for transfer, 10 are eligible for transfer if security conditions are met, 10 have been charged with offences and await trial, and two have been convicted.

Why has Guantánamo Bay never been closed?

Constant allegations of torture and human rights violations at the camp has meant there have been regular calls for it to be shut down.

Even George W Bush, who created the camp, said he would like to see Guantánamo Bay closed, but insisted that “it would not be easy”.

President Barack Obama, promised to close the centre, signing an executive order to shut it within a year, but it never happened due to legal challanges and opposition from Republican politicians.

During his first term as President, Donald Trump signed another executive order reversing Obama’s order and pledged to keep the detention centre open.

President Joe Biden also pledged to try to close Guantánamo Bay, but again his plans were stymied.

What are President Trump’s plans for Guantánamo Bay?

Donald Trump recently signed executive order instructing the military to prepare to house 30,000 illegal immigrants at the naval base.

He said the order would “detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people”, adding: “Some of them are so bad, we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back. So we’re going to send them to Guantánamo. This will double our capacity immediately.”

It’s part of the Laken Riley Act, signed by Trump recently which mandates the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes.

What has the response been to President Trump’s Guantánamo Bay plans?

While the plans have been warmly welcomed by his supports, President Trump’s plans have also attracted condemnation and criticism.

Amnesty International said: Guantánamo Bay has been the site of torture, indefinite detention without charge or trial and other unlawful practices by the US government. President Trump should be using his authority to finally close the prison there, not re-purposing the facility for offshore immigration detention.”

Representative Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, said: “Guantánamo is a stain on our nation’s honor. For years, I have advocated for its closure, condemning the abuses and glaring lack of accountability that persist there. This massive expansion into a mass detention camp is morally indefensible & raises significant civil liberties concerns.”

Cuban historian Andrés Pertierra said: “This darkly harkens back to why Guantánamo was chosen to hold ‘war on terror’ detainees in the first place. The US sent Haitian refugees fleeing in the early 90s to Guantánamo because it existed in a legal grey area in international law, limiting their rights and US obligations.”

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said: “This is horrific. We cannot allow this level of dehumanization to become normalized. We need to shut down Guantánamo once and for all.”