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By Kelsey Warner | Additional research by Spencer Baker
In the fallout of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. entered a new age of warfare. The war on terror presented a nebulous threat with non-state actors and dangerous, asymmetrical warfare. The Department of Defense faced the question of how the applied to the new type of armed combatants. The 20th-century legal framework regarding armed conflict did not account for 21st-century international terrorism.
As a solution to these modern-day difficulties, a detention facility was created on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Founded in 1903, the naval station has been used for training and a variety of U.S. missions and operations. This strategically placed station in the Caribbean Sea became the center of international controversy as individuals were detained and processed by the Guantanamo military commissions.
These military commissions compensated for a lack of existing Geneva Conventions or U.S. guidelines on how to deal with those accused of war crimes in an undefined conflict. The and of the Guantanamo detention policies have been questioned since its creation. Despite (and even an ) for its closure, this controversial and secretive facility continued operation under both former President and President .
compiled a list of 26 key facts and figures about the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Due to the secrecy of the program, much data on it isn鈥檛 conclusive. Since some sources contradict each other, we鈥檝e noted where discrepancies exist. Key sources for our research include the New York Times鈥� project 鈥溾�� and the (ACLU), which has advocated for the .
1/4/2002
On Jan. 4, 2002, the U.S. Southern Command was directed to at Guantanamo Bay. Detainees on Jan. 11, 2002. The base changed in the following months with the addition of more detainees and expanded facilities.
1 Refusal
In January 2016, one Guantanamo detainee approved for resettlement . Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bwazir, detained since 2002, was reportedly 鈥渇rightened鈥� about leaving the facility.
3 Supreme Court Cases
Three cases involving detainee rights have gone before the U.S. Supreme Court: Rasul v. Bush, Boumediene v. Bush (which included the habeas petition Al Odah v. United States) and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. These cases addressed of the Guantanamo military commissions.
5 Prayer Times
Loudspeakers at the detention facility broadcast the traditional Muslim call to worship .
8 Percent al-Qaida Affiliated
Eight percent of Guantanamo detainees were 鈥渃haracterized as al-Qaida fighters鈥� in a that analyzed 517 detainees.
9 Deaths
have died in custody at Guantanamo Bay. In 2006, three detainees in their cells on the same day, leaving suicide notes written in Arabic.
9-Year Hunger Strike
Although many prisoners held at Guantanamo have participated in hunger strikes, stopped eating in February 2007 and was force-fed for nearly a decade. On April 16, 2016, he was transferred to .
15 Children
A report by used information from Wikileaks documents to conclude that 15 Guantanamo detainees were captured as minors. In contrast, another claimed there have been 22 individuals under the age of 18 detained at Guantanamo.
15 Years Old
At 15 years old, was the youngest detainee to come to Guantanamo Bay after being captured in Afghanistan. In 2012, he was transferred to Canadian custody and later .
46.8 Square Miles
The United States leases of land and water at Guantanamo Bay. These rights originally came from the , which resulted from the American occupation of Cuba that began during the Spanish-American War.
58 Countries
Guantanamo detainees have been transferred to 58 identifiable countries, according to the . Out of the 691 transfers, 10 have been transferred to an 鈥�.鈥�
80 Detainees
Eighty detainees are at Guantanamo. The U.S. recently transferred to Saudi Arabian custody on April 16, 2016. The majority of the remaining detainees are citizens of Yemen.
89 Years Old
At the time of being taken into custody, was the oldest detainee at 89 years old. He was transferred to Afghanistan in October 2002.
111 Returned to Terrorist Activities
According to a , 111 detainees released under Bush reengaged in terrorist or insurgent activities. Another 74 detainees are 鈥渟uspected of reengaging.鈥� The report defines these activities as planning, conducting or financing terrorist operations.
158 Obama Transfers
Under President Obama, have been transferred, repatriated or resettled. In the first days of his presidency, Obama signed , which set a year deadline for closing the detention facility. This deadline passed due to with the other branches of government and difficulties regarding transferring detainees.
242 Detainees
At the beginning of Obama鈥檚 presidency, there were left in the camp. During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama stressed his goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. He : 鈥淚t’s time to better protect the American people and our values by bringing swift and sure justice to terrorists through our courts and our Uniform Code of Military Justice.鈥�
532 Bush Transfers
The Bush administration transferred before January 2009. The peak of the Guantanamo detainee population occurred in 2002. In 2007, President Bush : 鈥淚t should be a goal of the nation to shut down Guantanamo.鈥�
779 Total Detainees
There have been a total of held at the Guantanamo prison since its opening in 2002. Out of this population, 220 are .
2,000 U.S. Personnel
There are stationed at Guantanamo to staff the prison. With 80 current detainees, this amounts to roughly 25 staff members to every one detainee held.
$4,085 Per Month
In order to lease the land at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. pays Cuba $4,085 each month. In 2007, former Cuban President that Cuba, in protest of American occupation, has refused to cash the checks for decades.
$17,000 Flight
In 2013, the Navy commercial flights from the U.S. to the Guantanamo base. The alternative option for lawyers or family members seeking to visit the base would have been a $17,000 charter flight. This order was . currently operates flights three times a week for less than $1,000 round trip.
$744,000 Soccer Field
The Guantanamo facilities include a 28,000-square-foot recreational space with a soccer field and gravel track, constructed in 2012. This project came with a , which was, according to Rear Admiral David Woods, mostly due to importing equipment to the base and lack of 鈥渙pportunity to capitalize on the local economy.鈥�
$2.7 Million Per Detainee
The cost of the Guantanamo Bay facilities amounted to for each inmate in 2013, according to Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington. The ACLU said the 2013 figure is closer to per detainee. President Obama estimated a cost of approximately .
$35 Million Cable
The Department of Defense awarded a to a Texas company to build a fiber-optic cable from Florida to the Guantanamo base. This would solve the internet shortages and upgrade telecommunications for the naval base.
$445 Million
The Guantanamo in 2015 was approximately $445 million. The Department of Defense estimated that the Pentagon would save at least $140 million annually if the detainees were transferred to a facility on U.S. soil.
$5.242 Billion
The total cost of running the Guantanamo detainment facility up to the end of 2014 was calculated to be . Put in perspective, this figure is higher than the .
