Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
The EditorsMarch 05, 2013

Last summer the Pentagon approved tours of the detention operations in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for only a few reporters. America had access from July 15-19, 2013. 

Luke Hansen, S.J., an associate editor, toured Camps Five and Six (where most of the detainees are held), the detainee library, food preparation center, hospital and behavioral health unit.

He also interviewed the commander of U.S. Southern Command, the director of public affairs, two chaplains, a defense attorney, the Muslim cultural adviser, members of the guard force, the senior medical officer and the head psychiatrist.

Here is the latest news and commentary from America:

Morality and Morale: The experience of U.S. soldiers inside Guantánamo Bay, Luke Hansen, S.J. (May 19, 2014)

Defending 'the Worst': An interview with the lawyer of an accused terrorist, Luke Hansen, S.J. (May 19, 2014)

Call Me 'Zak': An insider's view of the detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Luke Hansen, S.J., and David Rose (May 9, 2014)

Viewexclusive photos of the detention facilities.

Watch Luke's report on July 18, 2013, from Camp X-Ray, where the first detainees were held in Guantánamo Bay.


Watch several detainees engaged in prayer on July 17, 2013, during Ramadan, in a communal living area in Camp Six.


Other news and commentary from America on the detention camps at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Editorials

The Torture Report (May 6, 2013)

Obama's Scandal (Oct. 22, 2012)

The Detention Scandal (April 11, 2011)

Rule of Law (July 21, 2008)

From Terror to Torture (Jan. 31, 2005)

Features

Guantánamo Prayers: An 'America' editor goes inside the offshore prison, Luke Hansen, S.J. (July 22, 2013)

Liberty or Death, Margot Patterson (May 20, 2013)

The Path to Closing Guantánamo, Luke Hansen, S.J. (May 10, 2013)

The Man of Sorrows, Anne-Marie Drew (May 6, 2013)

A Permanent Prison? Why Guantánamo might outlast the Obama presidency, Luke Hansen, S.J. (Jan. 16, 2013)

Guantánamo Journal: A Jesuit's week at Camp Justice, Luke Hansen, S.J. (Jan. 7, 2013)

The Prosecution Rests: Why Lt. Col. Darrel J. Vandeveld left Guantánamo (Sept. 26, 2011)

Guantánamo Pilgrimage, Luke Hansen, S.J. (Oct. 25, 2010)

The Rights of Detainees: Prisoners at Guantánamo are entitled to habeas corpus, Brian R. Farrell (Sept. 24, 2007)

Military Commissions

In October 2012 America reported live from the military commissions in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. These are Luke Hansen's daily reflections from the naval base.

Victims' Families Seek 'Justice' at 9/11 Trial  (Oct. 19)

Suffering and Spirit in Guantánamo Bay (Oct. 17)

9/11 Defendent Mourns Father's Death (Oct. 16)

Hearings Resume in 9/11 Trial (Oct. 16)

Arrival in Guantánamo (Oct. 15)

America Reports from Guantánamo (Oct. 12)

Digital Media

A Jesuit in Guantánamo, podcast on Luke Hansen's trip to Guantánamo Bay (Nov. 12, 2012)

Photos from Luke Hansen's trip to Guantánamo Bay (Oct. 14-20, 2012)

Guantánamo Witness, podcast on Luke Hansen's meeting with former Guantánamo detainees (Oct. 25, 2010)

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Leo XIV said, “the church’s social doctrine is called to provide insights that facilitate dialogue between science and conscience, and thus make an essential contribution to better understanding, hope and peace.”
Gerard O’ConnellMay 17, 2025
Spanish Legionnaires carry a large image of the crucified Christ in the rain April 18, 2019, outside a church in Málaga, Spain, during a Holy Week ceremony. (CNS photo/Jon Nazca, Reuters)
Spain’s confraternities often make headlines in the foreign press as their Holy Week processions have become a tourist attraction, demonstrating the complex reality of their fame.
Bridget RyderMay 16, 2025
Beyond a simple affirmation of the pope’s authority, the letter by Arturo Sosa, S.J., called attention to its particular place of importance in the life of the Jesuits.
A destroyed St. Matthew Church is seen June 27, 2022, in the village of Daw Ngay Ku, Myanmar, in eastern Kayah state. Myanmar’s military junta was accused of blowing up the Catholic church with landmines and torching it. A more recent church attack blamed on the junta was the burning down of St. Patrick Cathedral in strife-torn northern Kachin state on March 16, 2025, the eve of the revered saint's feast. (OSV News photo/courtesy Amnesty International)
“I’m glad that there are people still coming through,” Zomi leader Francis Kham says, but refugee resettlement “should be extended to everyone that’s really [facing] the same discrimination.”
Kevin ClarkeMay 16, 2025