Carol Rosenberg
@carolrosenbergnyt.bsky.social
Journalist. New York Times beat reporter covering the court, prison and other aspects of life at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay. Former Miami Herald Middle East correspondent. About how to reach me here: https://www.nytimes.com/by/carol-rosenberg.
Latest: The new judge in Guantanamo's 9/11 case declines to cancel this month's hearing. Focus is to let defense and prosecution lawyers question him for possible disqualifying ethical conflicts.
Defense lawyers wanted a delay while the federal court decides the plea deal appeal.
Defense lawyers wanted a delay while the federal court decides the plea deal appeal.
December 2, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Latest: The new judge in Guantanamo's 9/11 case declines to cancel this month's hearing. Focus is to let defense and prosecution lawyers question him for possible disqualifying ethical conflicts.
Defense lawyers wanted a delay while the federal court decides the plea deal appeal.
Defense lawyers wanted a delay while the federal court decides the plea deal appeal.
This exploration also includes an assist with annotated segments of videos, stills. tinyurl.com/boatstrikest...
November 26, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This exploration also includes an assist with annotated segments of videos, stills. tinyurl.com/boatstrikest...
It’s packout day at Camp Justice at Guantánamo Bay. The war court is dark pending the arrival of three military judges on Dec. 13 for pretrial hearings in the death penalty cases the week before Christmas.
November 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
It’s packout day at Camp Justice at Guantánamo Bay. The war court is dark pending the arrival of three military judges on Dec. 13 for pretrial hearings in the death penalty cases the week before Christmas.
Also, the flags are back up to the top across the installation after honoring the memory of Dick Cheney for more than a week, like this.
November 21, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Also, the flags are back up to the top across the installation after honoring the memory of Dick Cheney for more than a week, like this.
Latest: The three military judges have consolidated all three hearings scheduled for December into a single week, Dec. 15-19. The two new judges handling the 9/11 defendants will share the big court. The Cole case will have pretrial motions in the little courtroom next door.
November 21, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Latest: The three military judges have consolidated all three hearings scheduled for December into a single week, Dec. 15-19. The two new judges handling the 9/11 defendants will share the big court. The Cole case will have pretrial motions in the little courtroom next door.
Good morning from Camp Justice at Guantánamo Bay, where the flags are at half-mast across the installation for Dick Cheney. At the war court today we expect testimony related to prosecution efforts to use double hearsay at the eventual USS Cole trial.
November 20, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Good morning from Camp Justice at Guantánamo Bay, where the flags are at half-mast across the installation for Dick Cheney. At the war court today we expect testimony related to prosecution efforts to use double hearsay at the eventual USS Cole trial.
In court now, the Cole case judge has scheduled testimony this week from Ali Hamza al Bahlul, a convict here serving life as a former Al Qaeda propagandist. It's related to whether Mr. Bahlul's past statements can be used at the Cole trial, if the prisoner refuses to testify.
November 19, 2025 at 8:09 PM
In court now, the Cole case judge has scheduled testimony this week from Ali Hamza al Bahlul, a convict here serving life as a former Al Qaeda propagandist. It's related to whether Mr. Bahlul's past statements can be used at the Cole trial, if the prisoner refuses to testify.
Good morning from U.S. Navy base Guantanamo Bay, where you can still spot traces of the damage left by Hurricane Melissa. The USS Cole case hearing starts in a closed session today -- no defendant, no public. It should open for some discussion of pretrial motions later today.
November 19, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Good morning from U.S. Navy base Guantanamo Bay, where you can still spot traces of the damage left by Hurricane Melissa. The USS Cole case hearing starts in a closed session today -- no defendant, no public. It should open for some discussion of pretrial motions later today.
No USS Cole family members, survivors or next-of-kin, came down for this week's hearing. But the prosecutor gave them a mention yesterday in a discussion of the lead defense lawyer's inability to travel to Guantanamo because she's on blood thinners.
November 18, 2025 at 6:41 PM
No USS Cole family members, survivors or next-of-kin, came down for this week's hearing. But the prosecutor gave them a mention yesterday in a discussion of the lead defense lawyer's inability to travel to Guantanamo because she's on blood thinners.
The Cole hearing is in a lunch recess. A prosecutor, John Wells, announced in court today that there's a new Convening Order with the names of 12 primary members (jurors) and 350 alternates.
As in, those are the U.S. military officers who could sit on the eventual death-penalty trial. It's sealed.
As in, those are the U.S. military officers who could sit on the eventual death-penalty trial. It's sealed.
November 18, 2025 at 5:50 PM
The Cole hearing is in a lunch recess. A prosecutor, John Wells, announced in court today that there's a new Convening Order with the names of 12 primary members (jurors) and 350 alternates.
As in, those are the U.S. military officers who could sit on the eventual death-penalty trial. It's sealed.
As in, those are the U.S. military officers who could sit on the eventual death-penalty trial. It's sealed.
Good morning from Camp Justice, where the flags are at half-mast for Dick Cheney above the faded war court emblem. We expect pretrial arguments today in the USS Cole case, including one on whether the jury should see Al Qaeda videos about martyrdom.
Our trial guide: www.nytimes.com/article/uss-...
Our trial guide: www.nytimes.com/article/uss-...
November 18, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Good morning from Camp Justice, where the flags are at half-mast for Dick Cheney above the faded war court emblem. We expect pretrial arguments today in the USS Cole case, including one on whether the jury should see Al Qaeda videos about martyrdom.
Our trial guide: www.nytimes.com/article/uss-...
Our trial guide: www.nytimes.com/article/uss-...
Good morning from Camp Justice at Guantanamo Bay. Col. Matthew Fitzgerald, the war court judge, has set a noon start for these pretrial hearings in the USS Cole bombing case. Defense lawyers have been meeting with the defendant, catching up for lost communications during the government shutdown.
November 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Good morning from Camp Justice at Guantanamo Bay. Col. Matthew Fitzgerald, the war court judge, has set a noon start for these pretrial hearings in the USS Cole bombing case. Defense lawyers have been meeting with the defendant, catching up for lost communications during the government shutdown.
For my colleagues who wondered if the hurricane brought down the obsolete hangar (shown here in 2008 and 2019 file photos) where the Pentagon hosted press operations for a decade...
It's still standing. And clean as a whistle.
It's still standing. And clean as a whistle.
November 16, 2025 at 10:39 PM
For my colleagues who wondered if the hurricane brought down the obsolete hangar (shown here in 2008 and 2019 file photos) where the Pentagon hosted press operations for a decade...
It's still standing. And clean as a whistle.
It's still standing. And clean as a whistle.
Update: The judge in the USS Cole bombing case has canceled his pretrial hearing for that week as well. The war court will not reopen Nov. 10-14. No word yet on how the chamber, compound handled the storm.
(old file photos)
(old file photos)
October 31, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Update: The judge in the USS Cole bombing case has canceled his pretrial hearing for that week as well. The war court will not reopen Nov. 10-14. No word yet on how the chamber, compound handled the storm.
(old file photos)
(old file photos)
This thing picked up power and speed.
October 26, 2025 at 3:27 AM
This thing picked up power and speed.
The last 15 detainees there are housed in a two-story prison building called Camp 5, pretty solid. Here are a couple of 2011 photos of the building put out by the military before they shut down transparency.
October 25, 2025 at 3:50 PM
The last 15 detainees there are housed in a two-story prison building called Camp 5, pretty solid. Here are a couple of 2011 photos of the building put out by the military before they shut down transparency.
The latest projected tracks from the National Weather Service have Melissa hitting Jamaica as hurricane, and also eastern Cuba. It looks like Guantanamo Bay is just below that M, signifying a projection of a major hurricane.
October 25, 2025 at 2:46 PM
The latest projected tracks from the National Weather Service have Melissa hitting Jamaica as hurricane, and also eastern Cuba. It looks like Guantanamo Bay is just below that M, signifying a projection of a major hurricane.
With no migrants at Guantanamo Bay and a possible Hurricane Melissa headed for Cuba, ICE is evacuating its workers from the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba. So far the 4,000 regular residents of the offshore outpost are staying put. A brief report:
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...
October 24, 2025 at 7:16 PM
With no migrants at Guantanamo Bay and a possible Hurricane Melissa headed for Cuba, ICE is evacuating its workers from the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba. So far the 4,000 regular residents of the offshore outpost are staying put. A brief report:
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...
The National Hurricane Center says something's expected to form later today over the central Caribbean. "Interests in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba should monitor the progress of this system as there is a risk of heavy rain and flooding, strong winds, and rough surf later this week."
October 21, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The National Hurricane Center says something's expected to form later today over the central Caribbean. "Interests in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba should monitor the progress of this system as there is a risk of heavy rain and flooding, strong winds, and rough surf later this week."
Update: The military has been able to restore water to a dormitory that ICE has used as a secondary detention site for “low threat migrants” at Guantánamo Bay, administration notifies the court. A water line broke more than a month ago.
October 15, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Update: The military has been able to restore water to a dormitory that ICE has used as a secondary detention site for “low threat migrants” at Guantánamo Bay, administration notifies the court. A water line broke more than a month ago.
Declassified: Fragments of a graphic cable about 2002 circa torture in a CIA black site.
Alarmed co-workers reported it, triggering investigations that allowed critics of the program to cast it as out of control, and eventually contributed to its being shut down.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/u...
Alarmed co-workers reported it, triggering investigations that allowed critics of the program to cast it as out of control, and eventually contributed to its being shut down.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/u...
October 13, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Declassified: Fragments of a graphic cable about 2002 circa torture in a CIA black site.
Alarmed co-workers reported it, triggering investigations that allowed critics of the program to cast it as out of control, and eventually contributed to its being shut down.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/u...
Alarmed co-workers reported it, triggering investigations that allowed critics of the program to cast it as out of control, and eventually contributed to its being shut down.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/u...
Latest: A week later and the facility is still empty. No word back yet from D.H.S. on its future plans for the facility, which recently retrofitted parts of the I.C.E. facility for double occupancy cells. (Pentagon handout photo.)
October 8, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Latest: A week later and the facility is still empty. No word back yet from D.H.S. on its future plans for the facility, which recently retrofitted parts of the I.C.E. facility for double occupancy cells. (Pentagon handout photo.)
*Update: At Justice Department request, the court just put the 15-day response timeline on hold until government goes back to work.
October 8, 2025 at 3:09 PM
*Update: At Justice Department request, the court just put the 15-day response timeline on hold until government goes back to work.
Inching along: A federal appeals court directs the Justice Department to put in writing whether the full court should consider the validity of the overturned plea settlement in the 9/11 case.
October 1, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Inching along: A federal appeals court directs the Justice Department to put in writing whether the full court should consider the validity of the overturned plea settlement in the 9/11 case.
Guantanamo Navy base hospital alert: No cases found on the base but precautions are advised.
September 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Guantanamo Navy base hospital alert: No cases found on the base but precautions are advised.