Why Guantanamo Bay is so hard to close episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 9, 2026 · 29 MIN

Why Guantanamo Bay is so hard to close

from If You're Listening · host Australian Broadcasting Corporation

It’s been 25 years since the September 11 attacks, and Guantanamo Bay is still open. But its use as a legal grey zone predates the War on Terror by a decade. In the early 1990s, thousands of Haitians fleeing a coup were held at Guantanamo, including hundreds of HIV-positive refugees held there indefinitely until Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins called it out at the Oscars. A US court ruling from that saga established that America's constitution doesn't apply on the base, because while the US has complete control there under a 1903 treaty, Cuba technically retains sovereignty. That's the same loophole the Bush Administration used when it opened a detention centre there in 2002, and 25 years on, the US still hasn't figured out how to close it.Follow If You're Listening on the ABC Listen app.Check out our series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDTPrMoGHssAfgMMS3L5LpLNFMNp1U_Nq

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 9, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Why Guantanamo Bay is so hard to close

0:00 29:15

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of If You're Listening?

This episode is 29 minutes long.

When was this If You're Listening episode published?

This episode was published on September 9, 2026.

Can I download this If You're Listening episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!