Hello from zip code 09360.

Yes, Guantanamo Bay even has its own zip code, despite not being legally owned by the United States.

Post questions if you want more information about a specific camp, or if anything is unclear. I do not know where these are spatially on the site, because I have been focusing on the history and political formation of GB. Camp America, America North, and Bulkeley are independent of Camp Delta, the primary detention facility (see previous post. Echo and Iguana are part of Camp Delta.

Camp America + Bulkeley Camp America formerly housed US military personnel and civilian contractors working at Guantanamo Bay, consisting primarily of “sea huts” which have replaced the tents formerly used on the site. The sea huts are currently used for storage, administrative, and medical purposes. The camp also contains command post operations and the “downtown”: internet café, souvenir shop, three fast-food outlets, an outdoor movie theater, a Jamaican restaurant, Club Survivor, and a general store/mini-mart. A new gym is located nearer Camp Delta.

Camp America North Current housing camp for base personnel, construction beginning 2002 for North I and 2003 for North II. Contains hard-roof prefabricated housing units for eight residents with kitchenettes and indoor toilets. Additional camp common spaces for personnel.

Camp Echo Camp for pre-commissions detainees, selected for Military Commission by the President. Allows for private access to lawyers. Not solitary confinement; each block building has a steel cage inside with a restroom and table for conversations/interrogations, guarded 24 hours a day by MPs.

Camp Iguana Lower-security facility for juvenile detainees (13 to 15 years old). Comprised of single-story blockhouses divided up into units with a bedroom, living room, bathroom, and kitchenette, with amenities administered as a rewards system (London Sunday Times). Three Afghan juveniles confirmed to have been held at Camp Iguana; they were released in 2004 after widespread international criticism. It is estimated that as many as 40 detainees are currently juveniles, and others were under the age of 18 when they were captured. There is no reported criticism of the treatment of the children detained; criticism has focused primarily on the lack of a prompt determination/trial.

Camp Iguana is currently used to hold those detainees with N-LEC status – “No Longer Enemy Combatants.” The fear is that these detainees may face imprisonment, torture, and other forms of persecution if they are repatriated to their home countries; therefore allowing them to remain at Camp Iguana under protection is considered the safest and most humane alternative for now.

Edit #1 -- This is the oldest article in the NY Times archives that references Guantanamo.

Edit #2 -- The press kit issued to reporters arriving at the base back in 2002, shortly after the decision by President Bush to use the base to house detainees of the war on terror, and the arrival of the first detainees.