Guantanamo Bay

Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, listens during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, in July 2013.

National

Outgoing ACLU Director Reviews Tenure Fighting National Security Battles

6:46pm August 11, 2016

by NPR Staff

Jameel Jaffer of the ACLU Center for Democracy says the Obama administration made progress on issues such as CIA black sites. But the record is mixed on surveillance, drones and other issues.

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A detainee cell in Camp 6 inside the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in February.

After 9 Detainees Transferred From Guantanamo, The Number Held There Drops To 80

9:06am April 17, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The group transferred to Saudi Arabia represented just over 10 percent of the population that remained at Guantanamo. It's another step toward Obama's goal of shuttering the facility by next year.

Crew members of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham load supplies while docked in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2015. The U.S. and Cuba have restored diplomatic relations, but the U.S. says it remains committed to keeping the base.

Obama's Cuba Visit Raises The Question Of Guantanamo Bay's Future

3:06pm March 21, 2016

by David Welna

The Americans have had it for more than a century, longer than any other U.S. military base abroad. Obama wants to close down the detention facility. So what are the plans for the military base?

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President Obama has recently vowed again to close the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which has been used to detain prisoners from the invasion of Afghanistan and the War on Terror since early 2002.

The Case For Closing — And Keeping Open — Guantanamo

11:28am March 06, 2016

by NPR Staff

President Obama recently announced a plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Three people with close ties to the issue share their views on whether or not to close the detention center.

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President Obama, flanked by Vice President Biden (left) and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, delivers a statement on the Guantanamo Bay detention camp on Tuesday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

National

Obama Says Guantanamo Prison Doesn't Help U.S. Security, 'It Undermines It'

2:21pm February 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

The president calls the facility in Cuba "a stain on our broader record." The administration's plan to close the prison isn't expected to go very far in Congress.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl leaves a military courthouse Tuesday in Fort Bragg, N.C. Bergdahl was arraigned on charges of desertion and endangering troops stemming from his decision to leave his outpost in Afghanistan in 2009.

National

Bowe Bergdahl Defers Entering Plea At Arraignment

1:58pm December 22, 2015

by Laura Wagner

In his first appearance before a military judge on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, Bergdahl did not enter a plea. "The accused wishes to defer for reflection," his lawyer said.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl To Face Court-Martial For Desertion

8:02pm December 14, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban for five years after he left his base in Afghanistan in 2009, could be sentenced to life in prison.

A guard tower stands at the perimeter of Camp Delta in the Guantanamo Bay detention center on March 30, 2010. On Sunday, the Pentagon announced five Yemeni detainees had been transferred to the United Arab Emirates.

U.S. Transfers 5 Guantanamo Detainees To The United Arab Emirates

9:02pm November 15, 2015

by Camila Domonoske

Four of the detainees had been cleared for transfer since January 2010; the other was approved last year, the Pentagon said Sunday night. The transfer leaves 107 detainees at Guantanamo.

Crew members of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham load supplies while docked in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, earlier this year. The U.S. and Cuba have restored diplomatic relations, but the U.S. says it remains committed to keeping the base.

Despite Better U.S.-Cuba Relations, Guantanamo Set To Stay In U.S. Hands

9:26am September 07, 2015

by David Welna

The U.S. has controlled the naval base for more than a century and sends Cuba an annual rent check of just over $4,000. And each year since the Castros took over, the Cubans have refused to cash it.

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Dawn at the now closed Camp X-Ray, which was used as the first detention facility for al-Qaida and Taliban militants who were captured after the Sept. 11 attacks at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.

6 Yemeni Prisoners Released From Gitmo

1:05pm June 13, 2015

by Scott Neuman

It is the first such release in five months from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the first to be approved by Defense Secretary Ash Carter.