World Prisons
All prisons

United States · Cuba (US naval base) · Guantánamo Bay

Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

Military detentionMaximummaleClosed 2002Under capacity (17%)ModerateHigh
Verified 29 May 2026 · Data dated 1 Aug 2024
Fresh · 1mo ago

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

Step-by-step guidance using the United States system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit
Photograph of Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

Gallery

From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).

  • A detainee bunk and area, at Camp Delta Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (CUB), during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.jpg

    Photo by SSGT Stephen Lewald, USA via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Aerial-view-of-camp-mccallah-airfield-looking-south-which-is-the-main-haitian-20e00e.jpg

    Photo by PHCS D.W. Holmes, II via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Amnesty International 'Close Guantanamo now' demonstration in Norwich, England.jpg

    Photo by Roger Blackwell via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • Australian captive David Hicks was identified from this 2002-01-11 photo by his tattoos - Df-sd-03-18226.jpg

    Photo by Jeremy Lock via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Banana Rat, Guantanamo.png

    Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Cheryl Dilgard via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Captives are said to receive the same standard of care received by Troopers.jpg

    Photo by Spc. Jody Metzger via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Cover of "The Manchester Manual".jpg

    Photo by Spc. Shanita Simmons via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Defense.gov News Photo 030228-N-4936C-016.jpg

    Photo by Seaman David P. Coleman, U.S. Navy via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

US military detention facility on a 45-square-mile US naval base in southeastern Cuba. Holds detainees from the post-9/11 'War on Terror'.

Background

Camp Delta is a permanent American detainment camp at Guantanamo Bay that replaced the temporary facilities of Camp X-Ray. Its first facilities were built between 27 February and mid-April 2002 by Navy Seabees, Marine Engineers, and workers from Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root. It is composed of detention camps 1 through 6, Camp Platinum, Camp Iguana, the Guantanamo psychiatric ward, Camp Echo and Camp No. The prisoners, referred to as detainees, have uncertain rights due to their location not on American soil. There are allegations of torture and abuse of prisoners (§ Prisoner torture).

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

175

Current population

30

Occupancy

17%

Year opened

2002

Closed 2002

Facility profile

Operator

Joint Task Force Guantanamo (US DoD)

Population held

male

Opened

2002

Region

Cuba (US naval base)

Security level

Maximum

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

Operated several camps over time (X-Ray, Delta, Echo, Iguana). Currently operates Camp 7 (high-value detainees) and Camp 5/6 (general population). UN Special Rapporteur has repeatedly called for closure.

Visiting

No family visits permitted. Periodic ICRC monitoring access. Legal visits via approved counsel arrangements.

Mailing

Detainee correspondence routed via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); no direct postal address.

Practical info

Counsel access governed by 'protective order' approved by the Military Commissions.

Known issues

UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism (Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, 2023) documented ongoing cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Notable inmates

  • Abdul Hadi al Iraqi
    1961

    Nashwan Abdulrazaq Abdulbaqi al-Tamir (Arabic: نشوان عبدالرزاق عبدالباقي التامر; born 1961), better known as Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi (Arabic: عبد الهادي العراقي) is an Iraqi member of Al-Qaeda who is now in United States custody at Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. .

  • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
    1965 · terrorist

    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (born 14 April 1965; Urdu: خالد شیخ محمد; sometimes also spelled Shaykh; and known by at least 50 pseudonyms including his initials KSM), is a Kuwaiti-born Pakistani militant, and the former head of propaganda for al-Qaeda.

  • Ahmed Ghailani
    Ahmed Ghailani
    1974 · musician

    Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (Arabic: أحمد خلفان الغيلاني, Aḥmad Khalifān al-Ghaīlānī; born March 14, 1974) is a Tanzanian conspirator of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization convicted for his role in the bombing of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

  • Abu Faraj al-Libbi
    Abu Faraj al-Libbi
    1970 · mujahid

    Abu Faraj al-Libi ( AH-boo FAH-rahj al LEE-bee; أبو الفرج الليبي) (also transliterated al-Libbi) is an assumed name or nom-de-guèrre of Mustafa Faraj Muhammad Muhammad Masud al-Jadid al-Uzaybi (born 1 November 1970), a Libyan alleged to be a senior member of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

  • Omar Khadr
    Omar Khadr
    1986 · jihadist

    Omar Ahmed Said Khadr (Arabic: عمر أحمد سعيد خضر, romanized: ʻUmar Aḥmad Saʻīd Khiḍr; born September 19, 1986) is a Canadian who, at the age of 15, was detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay for ten years, during which he pleaded guilty to the murder of U.S.

  • Abdul Hadi al Iraqi
    1961

    Nashwan Abdulrazaq Abdulbaqi al-Tamir (Arabic: نشوان عبدالرزاق عبدالباقي التامر; born 1961), better known as Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi (Arabic: عبد الهادي العراقي) is an Iraqi member of Al-Qaeda who is now in United States custody at Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. .

  • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
    1965 · terrorist

    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (born 14 April 1965; Urdu: خالد شیخ محمد; sometimes also spelled Shaykh; and known by at least 50 pseudonyms including his initials KSM), is a Kuwaiti-born Pakistani militant, and the former head of propaganda for al-Qaeda.

  • Ahmed Ghailani
    Ahmed Ghailani
    1974 · musician

    Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (Arabic: أحمد خلفان الغيلاني, Aḥmad Khalifān al-Ghaīlānī; born March 14, 1974) is a Tanzanian conspirator of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization convicted for his role in the bombing of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

  • Abu Faraj al-Libbi
    Abu Faraj al-Libbi
    1970 · mujahid

    Abu Faraj al-Libi ( AH-boo FAH-rahj al LEE-bee; أبو الفرج الليبي) (also transliterated al-Libbi) is an assumed name or nom-de-guèrre of Mustafa Faraj Muhammad Muhammad Masud al-Jadid al-Uzaybi (born 1 November 1970), a Libyan alleged to be a senior member of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

Showing 9 of 12. Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Guantánamo Bay

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

23/100
Moderate concern23/100
Overcrowding
0/30
Oversight reports
12/30
Structural flags
5/15
Death signals
0/15
Conditions text
6/10

What the score is responding to:

  • · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
  • · Substantial documented known-issues record
  • · Severe-conditions keyword in sources

Compared to other facilities in United States

7324 peers
Conditions risk scorethis: 23/100 · peers avg: 2/100 (+896%)

Higher risk than 99% of peer facilities in United States.

Occupancythis: 17% · peers avg: 93% (82%)
Capacity (beds)this: 175 · peers avg: 559 (69%)

Reports

  • UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism (Fionnuala Ní Aoláin)26 Jun 2023

    First UN Special Rapporteur visit; concluded the regime amounts to ongoing cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and called for closure.

    source

Data completeness

96%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.