JTF-GTMO
| Joint Task Force Guantanamo | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | November 2002 - present |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch | Joint |
| Part of | United States Southern Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Guantanamo Bay Naval Base |
| Motto(s) | Honor Bound to Defend Freedom |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Rear Admiral Peter J. Clarke |
Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) is a U.S. military joint task force based at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on the southeastern end of the island. JTF-GTMO falls under US Southern Command. Since January 2002 the command has operated the Guantanamo Bay detention camps Camp X-Ray and its successors Camp Delta, Camp V, and Camp Echo, where detained prisoners are held who have been captured in the war in Afghanistan and elsewhere since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The unit is currently under the command of Rear Admiral Peter J. Clarke.
In 1992, the United States established Operation Sea Signal to prepare for a mass migration of refugees from Haiti and Cuba. In 1994, Operation Sea Signal led to the creation of Joint Task Force 160. JTF 160 was responsible for housing and processing more than 40,000 migrants awaiting repatriation or parole to the United States. Camp X-Ray was established to segregate migrants who had committed crimes, such as theft, assault and battery, prostitution and black-market activities, from other migrants and from U.S. civilians and military personnel at Guantanamo. In 1996, Operation Sea Signal came to an end and the military abandoned Camp X-Ray.
In December 2001, after the September 11 terrorist attacks and the United States intervention in Afghanistan, Joint Task Force 160 was reactivated. Camp X-Ray was prepared as a temporary location for the detention of people captured in Afghanistan who were believed to be part of the Taliban or al-Qaeda, neither of which the United States recognized as legal governments. In January 2002, the first detainees were transferred to Guantanamo Bay and housed in Camp X-Ray. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had its first visit to the facility six days later. The ICRC has continued quarterly visits up to 2010.
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