Hegseth: Guantánamo detainees should have been executed long ago

“In my personal opinion, the detainees at Guantánamo should have been executed long ago for their crimes against the American people,” he told reporters in Tampa, Florida.

Hegseth was responding to a question from a journalist who wanted to know why the 15 remaining detainees at Guantánamo Bay were not being executed to bring justice to the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

According to Pentagon data from early 2025, only two of the 15 detainees have been convicted by military courts so far, while proceedings are still ongoing against seven others.

Controversial Guantánamo Military Base

The Guantánamo Bay military base is located on the southeastern coast of Cuba. The territory has been under U.S. control since 1903 due to a controversial lease agreement. Since the victory of the Cuban Revolution under Fidel Castro in 1959, Cuba has considered the open-ended agreement invalid.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States established a controversial detention camp in Guantánamo. At times, nearly 800 people were held there. Suspected Islamist terrorists were detained there for long periods without trial, and some were also tortured.

Efforts by several U.S. administrations to close the prison entirely long failed due to a lack of countries willing to accept the remaining detainees. Human rights groups criticize the continued detention of the remaining men as well as the use of military tribunals against the detainees.