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where are the prisoners from guantanamo bay

Guantánamo Bay prisoners have mostly come from many different countries , not one place. A Georgetown data project says the prison has held 780 Muslim men and boys from over 49 countries , and a large share came from just a few countries.

Where they came from

  • The detainees have included people from countries across the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and elsewhere.
  • The largest groups were concentrated in a small number of countries, though the source snippet does not list all of them.
  • As of early 2026, Guantánamo still held 15 people in detention, according to a Washington Post opinion piece citing current conditions there.

Important distinction

There are two different Guantánamo stories often mixed together:

  • The long-running military prison for terror suspects, which has held people from many countries.
  • Separate migrant detention use at Guantánamo in recent years, where people were held temporarily and then sent back to the countries they came from.

Quick answer

So, the prisoners from Guantánamo Bay were not from Guantánamo itself ; they were mostly detainees brought there from dozens of other countries.