Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
Encyclopedia : G : GU : GUA : Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
- This article is about the body of water. For the US Naval base, see Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
- For other titular locales and uses, see Guantanamo (disambiguation).
Guantánamo Bay (Spanish: Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay located in Guantánamo Province at the south-eastern end of Cuba ().
The southern portion of the bay is surrounded by the United States Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, a naval base established in 1898. Recently, the base has begun to host a detainment camp for militant combatants collected from both Afghanistan and Iraq. The Guantánamo Bay detainment camp—in fact, even the U.S. presence in Guantánamo—is against the will of the Cuban government and considered by it to be an illegal occupation of the area. The Cuban government strongly denounces the treaty on grounds that it violates article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. However, this article declares a treaty void only if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force in violation of international law (see below). While the United States may have applied political pressure to Cuba in 1903, there was no use of force or the threat of its use. [[Citing sources citation needed]]
History
See also Timeline of Guantánamo BayThe bay was originally named Guantánamo by the Taíno. Christopher Columbus landed at the location known as Fisherman's Point in 1494. The bay was briefly renamed Cumberland when the British took it in the first part of the 18th century during the War of Jenkins' Ear. In 1790 the British garrison at Cumberland died of fever as had a previous British force [link], before they could attack Santiago by land [link].
During the Spanish-American War the U.S. fleet attacking Santiago needed shelter from the summer hurricane season. Thus Guantánamo with its excellent harbor was chosen for this purpose. The Marines landed successfully with naval support; however, as they went inland Spanish resistance increased to the point at which Cuban scouts were needed to assist the United States Marines.
The US Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, sometimes called "GTMO" or "Gitmo", covers 116 km² (about 45 square miles) on the western and eastern banks of the bay. It was established in 1898, when the United States obtained control of Cuba from Spain at the end of the Spanish-American War, following the 1898 invasion of Guantánamo Bay. The U.S. government obtained a perpetual lease that began on February 23, 1903, from Tomás Estrada Palma, an American citizen, who became the first President of Cuba. The newly formed American protectorate incorporated the Platt Amendment in the Cuban Constitution. The Cuban-American Treaty held, among other things, that the United States, for the purposes of operating coaling and naval stations, has "complete jurisdiction and control" of the Guantánamo Bay, while the Republic of Cuba is recognized to retain ultimate sovereignty.
See also
- Guantánamo Bay detainment camp
- Cuba-United States relations
- Platt Amendment: Document claimed to guarantee U.S. Navy lease in Cuba
- Flora and fauna of Guantánamo Bay
- Guantánamo Province
- Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Wikisource links
External links
U.S. sources
Official U.S. military website
- [NSGtmo.navy.mil] — "U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay Cuba: The United States' oldest overseas Naval Base"
Official website of the cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- [www.cubaminrex.cu] — "Guantánamo: US Black Hole"
Maps and photos
- [Cuba-Pictures.com] — Guantánamo Province photos with the view from Mirador de Malones
- [Google Maps]
- [Photos] by Brad Beckett
- [Virtual 3D Walkthrough of Camp Delta (from the Art project Zone*Interdite)]
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