US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said he believed detainees still held at the Guantánamo Bay prison camp should have been executed for crimes committed against US citizens.
Speaking to reporters in Tampa, Florida, after visiting the US military base in Cuba, Hegseth was asked why the 15 remaining detainees at Guantánamo Bay had not been executed in order to deliver justice for victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
"These Gitmo detainees should have been executed, in my mind, personally, a long time ago, for the crimes of what they committed against the American people," he said.
According to Pentagon figures released in early 2025, only two of the 15 remaining detainees have been convicted by military tribunals, while proceedings against seven others are still ongoing.
The detention facility at Guantánamo Bay was established by the United States after the September 11 attacks and at one point held nearly 800 prisoners. Suspected Islamist militants were detained there for years, in some cases without trial, and allegations of torture drew widespread international criticism.
Efforts by several US administrations to close the prison have long faced obstacles, including difficulties in finding countries willing to accept remaining detainees. Human rights groups continue to criticize both the detention of the remaining prisoners and the use of military tribunals.
The Guantánamo Bay military base is located on the south-eastern coast of Cuba. The territory has been under US control since 1903 due to a controversial lease agreement. Since the Cuban Revolution under Fidel Castro in 1959, Cuba has considered the indefinite contract to be invalid.
