Leaving Guantánamo

last updated 8 January 2015

Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

The Bush administration is trying to clear out most of the suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, leaving only the most dangerous prisoners at the controversial detention camp. The U.S. hopes to transfer all but 164 of the 510 prisoners to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The Afghan government also might take custody of another 350 detainees being held near Kabul. Human-rights groups have accused the U.S. of violating the Guantánamo prisoners’ rights by denying them access to civilian courts. A Defense Department official said it wasn’t the criticism that sparked the change; the U.S., he said, simply doesn’t want to be “the world’s jailer.”