Guantánamo Bay

This article is about the body of water. For the U.S.-operated military prison, see Guantanamo Bay detention camp. For the U.S. Naval base, see Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. For other titular locales and uses, see Guantanamo (disambiguation).
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 (). 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 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.[1] The current Cuban government considers the U.S. presence in Guantánamo to be illegal and the Cuban-American Treaty to have been procured by the threat of force in violation of international law.[2]

The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, established in 1898, surrounds the southern portion of the bay. Since 2002 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.

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References

  1. ↑ http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/dip_cuba002.asp
  2. ↑ De Zayas, Alfred. (2003.) The Status of Guantánamo Bay and the Status of the Detainees.

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