The U.S. has been leasing the 45 square miles that the base sits on since 1903. The base shares a 17-mile border with Cuba.
The U.S. pays the Cuban government approximately $4,085 a year for the lease. The last time time Cuba accepted the payment was in 1959.
The lease can only be terminated by mutual agreement.
Approximately 6,000 service members, civilians and contractors work at the base.
Detention Facilities:
In response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and subsequent military operations in Afghanistan, existing migrant detention facilities at Guantánamo were re-purposed to hold detainees in the “war on terror.”
During the administration of President George W. Bush (2001-2009), the U.S. claimed that Guantánamo Bay detainees were not on U.S. soil and therefore not covered by the U.S. Constitution, and that “enemy combatant” status meant they could be denied some legal protections.
Shortly after his inauguration in 2009, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to close the detention facilities within one year. However, the facilities are still open as of 2015.
There are 122 detainees at Guantánamo Bay as of February 2015.
The number of detainees held at Guantánamo since it opened exceeds 750.
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December 31, 2013 – The final three ethnic Chinese Uyghur detainess at Guantánamo Bay are transferred to Slovakia.
February 2014 – Detainee Fawzi Odah files a lawsuit relating to the upcoming completion of U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan. His lawyers argue that to hold detainees after the end of active hostilities is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
May 22, 2014 – U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler lifts a temporary restraining order that had stopped the force feeding of detainee Abu Wa’el Dhiab. Kessler rules that he must be forcibly fed because of the “very real probability that Mr. Dhiab will die.”
May 29, 2014 – Detainee Ghaleb Nassar al Bihani, held since December 2001, is cleared for release.
May 31, 2014 – The United States transfers five Guantanamo Bay detainees to Qatar in exchange for the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. They are: Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Nori, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammad Nabi Omari.
August 21, 2014 – The U.S. Government Accountability Offices declares that the Defense Department broke federal law by exchanging five Taliban detainees for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl without giving Congress the appropriate notice.
October 3, 2014 – U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler orders the release of videotapes showing detainee Abu Wa’el Dhiab being force fed.
November 5, 2014 – Detainee Fawzi Odah is released. He will be repatriated to Kuwait where he will remain in custody for a year, in a rehabilitation program.
December 7, 2014 – Six detainees are transferred to Uruguay, including Abu Wa’el Dhiab, who has been on a hunger strike. Dhiab took his fight against forcible feeding to federal court in the District of Columbia.
