How much do you know about the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay?

Answer: Cuba
Following the 1898 Spanish-American War, the U.S. negotiated with the new Republic of Cuba to lease what became the Guantanamo Bay naval base. In 1903, Cuba agreed to lease 45 square miles in exchange for $2,000 in gold coins per year. The U.S. agreed to use the base as a coaling and naval station (not as a prison). In a 1934 “Treaty Between the United States of American and Cuba” the rent was recalculated on what $2,000 in 1903 gold coins would be worth in 1934, or roughly $4,085 — a fixed amount the U.S. has paid ever since.

Answer: 780
President George W. Bush, who opened the detention center, transferred about 540 detainees out of there during his presidency. President Obama transferred nearly 200. President Biden only needs to transfer the remaining 30.

Answer: 2002
President George W. Bush opened the Guantanamo Bay detention center in January 2002 to interrogate men and boys suspected of having connections to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The US has since claimed that any non-US citizens suspected of supporting al Qaeda could be imprisoned at Guantanamo indefinitely as “military combatants.”

Answer: Muslim
The US has targeted Muslim men and boys in its so-called “war on terror” that started after 9/11. Guantanamo has been used to detain Muslims offshore in order to avoid the requirements of U.S. law.

Answer: Many have been tortured, held in solitary confinement, and experienced other human rights violations
Guantanamo has become notorious because of the torture and other abuses that took place there. The continued indefinite detention of these men without charge or trial is itself an ongoing human rights violations.

Answer: 9
The nine men who died in custody were Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif , Ali Abdullah Ahmed, Abdul Rahman Ma'ath Thafir al Amri, Awal Gul, Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh al Hanashi, Abdul Razzaq Hekmati, Inayatullah, Mana Shaman Allabardi al Tabi, and Yasser Talal al Zahrani). The youngest, Yasser Talal al Zahrani, was 21. The eldest, Abdul Razzaq Hekmati, was 69.

Answer: 12
The vast majority of the 780 men and boys detained at Guantanamo over the years were never charged with even a single crime. More than half of the remaining detainees are being detained without charge, some for nearly 20 years.

Answer: More than $500,000,000
The costs of maintaining the Guantanamo prison exceed $540 million per year – $18 million annually per prisoner remaining. It is believed to be the most expensive prison on earth.

Answer: 16
An internal review board staffed by US national security agencies have determined that 16 of the remaining men could be safely transferred out of Guantanamo to other countries. Some, like Toffiq al-Bihani, have been cleared for release for more than a decade, yet remain imprisoned because the US has not made arrangements for their transfer.

Answer: George W. Bush
By the end of his presidency, George W. Bush and his Secretary of State, Colin Powell, agreed the Guantanamo prison should be closed. Congress mounted significant opposition to the plan after President Obama took office and announced his intention to close the notorious prison. President Trump, for his part, promised to keep Guantanamo open and “load it up with some bad dudes” but did not actually add to its population.