Aerial view of Guantánamo Bay

Guantánamo Bay (Spanish: Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay located in Guantánamo Province at the south-eastern end of Cuba (19°54′N, 75°9′W). Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment Guantánamo is the easternmost province of Cuba. Its capital is also called Guantánamo. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and is surrounded by steep hills creating an enclave cut off from its immediate hinterland. The hinterland is the land or district behind the borders of a coast or river

The United States assumed territorial control over Guantánamo Bay under the 1903 Cuban-American Treaty, which granted the United States a perpetual lease of the area without the Cuban Government reacting. The Cuban-American Treaty was signed on February 16, 1903 by the first President of Cuba Tomás Estrada Palma, and on February 23, 1903 The current Cuban government considers the U. S. presence in Guantánamo to be illegal, arguing that the Cuban-American Treaty violates Article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which declares a treaty void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force in violation of international law. The Cuban-American Treaty was signed on February 16, 1903 by the first President of Cuba Tomás Estrada Palma, and on February 23, 1903 Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (or VCLT) codified the pre-existing Customary international law on treaties, with some necessary Article 4 of the same document states that Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties shall not be retroactively applied to any treaties made before itself. The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (or VCLT) codified the pre-existing Customary international law on treaties, with some necessary ^[1]

The southern portion of the bay is surrounded by the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, established in 1898. Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common For the past several years the base has hosted a detainment camp for suspected militant combatants from Afghanistan and from around the world, but specifically not for captives taken in Iraq, who qualify for POW status. The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp is a controversial United States Detention center operated by Joint Task Force Guantanamo since 2002 in Guantanamo Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics.

History

Map of Cuba with location of Guantánamo Bay indicated.

See also: Timeline of Guantánamo Bay

The bay is located in Cuba and was originally named Guantánamo by the Taíno. Noteworthy Events of Guantánamo Bay. Timeline 30 April 1494 &mdash Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. Christopher Columbus landed at the location known as Fisherman's Point in 1494 naming it Puerto Grande. Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer ^[2] On landing, Columbus's crew found Taíno fishermen preparing a feast for the local chieftain. When Spanish settlers took control of the island, the bay became a vital harbor on the south side of the island. The bay was briefly renamed Cumberland Bay when the British seized it in 1741 during the War of Jenkins' Ear. The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748 British Admiral Edward Vernon arrived with a force of eight warships and 4,000 soldiers with plans to march on Santiago de Cuba but was resisted by local guerrilla forces and withdrew. Edward Vernon ( "Old Grog") (12 November 1684 &ndash 30 October 1757 was an English naval officer Santiago de Cuba is the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island nation of Cuba ^[2]

During the Spanish-American War, the U. S. fleet attacking Santiago needed shelter from the summer hurricane season; 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 U.S. 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. Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The 1898 invasion of Guantánamo Bay happened June 6 &ndash June 10, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, when American and The U. S. government obtained a 99-year lease that began on February 23, 1903, from Tomás Estrada Palma, a Cuban-born citizen, who became the first President of Cuba. A 99-year lease was under historic Common law, the longest possible term of a Lease of Real property. In International law, a concession is a territory within a Country that is administered by another entity than the State which holds Sovereignty Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting Tomás Estrada y Palma ( Bayamo, July 9, 1832 – Santiago de Cuba, November 4, 1908) was a Cuban Political The newly-formed American protectorate incorporated the Platt Amendment in the Cuban Constitution. In International law, a protectorate is a autonomous territory that is "protected" by a stronger state or entity hense the protector which engages to protect The Platt Amendment was a rider appended to the Army Appropriations Act, a United States federal law passed on March 2, 1901, which 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. The Cuban-American Treaty was signed on February 16, 1903 by the first President of Cuba Tomás Estrada Palma, and on February 23, 1903 ^[3]

After the Cuban Revolution of 1959 which brought Fidel Castro to power, then-President Dwight Eisenhower insisted the status of the base remained unchanged, despite Cuban objections. The Cuban Revolution refers to the revolution that led to the overthrow of the United States proxy ruler General Fulgencio Batista 's regime on January 1, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general

A 1934 treaty reaffirming the lease granted Cuba and its trading partners free access through the bay; modified the lease payment from $2,000 in U. S. gold coins per year, to the 1934 equivalent value of $4,085 in U. S. dollars; and made the lease permanent unless both governments agreed to break it, or the U. S. abandoned the base property. ^[4] Since the Cuban Revolution, the government under Fidel Castro has cashed only one of the rent checks from the U. S. government, and only because of confusion in 1959 in the heady early days of the leftist revolution. The remaining uncashed checks made out to "Treasurer General of the Republic" (a position that ceased to exist after the revolution) are kept in Castro's office stuffed into a desk drawer. ^[5] The United States argues that the cashing of the single check signifies Havana's ratification of the lease — and that ratification by the new government renders moot any questions about violations of sovereignty and illegal military occupation. It is countered, however, that the 1903 and 1934 lease agreements were imposed on Cuba under duress and are unequal treaties, no longer compatible with modern international law, and voidable ex nunc pursuant to articles 60, 62, and 64 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Ex nunc is a Latin phrase meaning from now on. Used as a legal term to signify that something is valid only for the future and not the past ^[6]

In Popular Culture

Guantánamo Bay is one of the key locations in Thomas Steadman's "Flames of the West".

The 1992 film A Few Good Men with Jack Nicholson as the Guantanamo base commander centers around an incident occurring on the base. A Few Good Men is a play by Aaron Sorkin, first produced on Broadway by David Brown in 1989 John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22 1937) is an American Actor, internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals

The 2008 film Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is about two young men escaping Guantanamo Bay prison after being falsely accused of terrorism. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is the 2008 Comedy film Sequel to the 2004 film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion

See also

• Guantánamo Bay detention camp
• Cuba-United States relations
• Platt Amendment: Document claimed to guarantee U. The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp is a controversial United States Detention center operated by Joint Task Force Guantanamo since 2002 in Guantanamo Cuba and the United States of America have had an interest in one another since well before either of their independence movements The Platt Amendment was a rider appended to the Army Appropriations Act, a United States federal law passed on March 2, 1901, which S. Navy lease in Cuba
• Flora and fauna of Guantánamo Bay
• Guantánamo Province
• Akrotiri and Dhekelia

Wikisource links

• Texts of United States - Cuban agreements and treaty of 1934

References

External links

• Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Guantánamo Detainees
• Joint Task Force Guantánamo — Official website
• U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay — The United States' oldest overseas Naval Base
• Guantánamo: U.S. Black Hole
• All-Party Parliamentary Group on Guantanamo Bay (APPG-GB)
• Hicks to Serve 9 Months in Terrorism Case
• UN Human Rights Council report on Human rights violations and the situation of detainees at Guantánamo Bay
• On its Sixth Anniversary, Calls Resound Worldwide for Closure of Guantanamo Bay Prison (Democracy Now! 11 January 2008, Amy Goodman & Juan Gonzalez)
• Guantanamo: A Look Back at Six Years of Imprisonment, Torture and Suicide (Democracy Now! 11 January 2008, Amy Goodman & Juan Gonzalez)

Maps and photos

• Cuba-Pictures.com — Guantánamo Province photos with the view from Mirador de Malones
• Google Maps
• Photos From Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by Brad Beckett
• Virtual 3D Walk-through of Camp Delta (from the Art project Zone*Interdite)
• Cuba.com