Construction of Guantanamo Bay detention camp

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison located within the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base on the southeastern coast of Cuba. It was opened in January 2002 after the United States launched its war in Afghanistan, in order to hold people captured in the so-called war on terror. Because the base is outside the United States mainland, the government argued that ordinary American courts had limited authority there, an argument that the Supreme Court later partly rejected. Many detainees were held for years without trial, and reports of harsh interrogation methods drew widespread criticism from human rights groups and foreign governments. Successive presidents have promised to close the camp, but it has remained open, with a reduced number of detainees.

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