Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

The area surrounding Guantanamo bay was originally inhabited by the Taíno people.[13] On 30 April 1494, Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage, arrived and spent the night. The place where Columbus landed is now known as Fisherman's Point. Columbus declared the bay Puerto Grande.[14] The bay and surrounding areas briefly came under British control during the War of Jenkins' Ear. Prior to the outbreak of the conflict, the bay was referred to as Walthenham Harbor by British cartographers. The British expeditionary force renamed the bay Cumberland Bay. They eventually retreated from the area after an attempt to march to Santiago de Cuba was repulsed by Spanish troops.[14]

During the Spanish–American War, the U.S. fleet attacking Santiago[15] secured Guantánamo's harbor for protection during the hurricane season of 1898. To gain control of the bay, the First Marine Battalion was landed at Fisherman's Point, at the entrance to Guantanamo Bay. After being repeatedly attacked by Spanish forces, the First Marine Battalion, supported by Cuban allies and a U.S. Navy gunboat, attacked and defeated a Spanish force at the Battle of Cuzco Well. The action was highly significant in the U.S. gaining control of the bay.[16] There is a monument on McCalla Hill to one Navy officer and five Marines who died in battle at Guantanamo Bay.[17]

The war ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1898, in which Spain formally relinquished control of Cuba. Although the war was over, the United States maintained a strong military presence on the island. In 1901 the United States government passed the Platt Amendment as part of an Army Appropriations Bill.[18] Section VII of this amendment read

That to enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba, and to protect the people thereof, as well as for its own defense, the government of Cuba will sell or lease to the United States lands necessary for coaling or naval stations at certain specified points to be agreed upon with the President of the United States.[19]

After initial resistance by the Cuban Constitutional Convention, the Platt Amendment was incorporated into the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba in 1901.[20] The Constitution took effect in 1902, and land for a naval base at Guantanamo Bay was granted to the United States the following year.[21]

The 1903 lease agreement, which has no fixed expiration date,[22] was executed in two parts. The first, signed in February, consisted of the following provisions:[21]

1. Agreement – The United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, desiring to maintain the Independence of Cuba, will enter into a lease for lands necessary for US Naval Stations.[23]
2. Article 1 – Describes the boundaries of the areas being leased, Guantanamo Bay and Bahia Honda.
3. Article 2 – The U.S. may occupy, use, and modify the properties to fit the needs of a coaling and naval station, only. Vessels in the Cuban trade shall have free passage.
4. Article 3 – Cuba retains ultimate sovereignty, but during the occupation, the U.S. exercises sole jurisdiction over the areas described in Article 1. Under conditions to be agreed on, the U.S. has the right to acquire, by purchase or eminent domain, any land included therein.

The second part, signed five months later in July 1903, consisted of the following provisions:[24]

1. Article 1 – Payment is $2000 gold coin, annually. All private lands within the boundaries shall be acquired by Cuba. The U.S. will advance rental payments to Cuba to facilitate those purchases.
2. Article 2 – The U.S. shall pay for a survey of the sites and mark the boundaries with fences.
3. Article 3 – There will be no commercial or other enterprise within the leased areas.
4. Article 4 – Mutual extradition
5. Article 5 – Not ports of entry.
6. Article 6 – Ships shall be subject to Cuban port police. The U.S. will not obstruct entry or departure into the bay.
7. Article 7 – This proposal is open for seven months.

SIGNED Theodore Roosevelt and Jose M Garcia Montes.

In 1934, the United States unilaterally changed the payment from gold coin to U.S. dollars per the Gold Reserve Act. The lease amount was set at US$3,386.25, based on the price of gold at the time.[25] In 1973, the U.S. adjusted the lease amount to $3,676.50, and in 1974 to $4,085, based on further increases to the price of gold in USD.[26] Payments have been sent annually, but only one lease payment has been accepted since the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro claimed that this check was deposited due to confusion in 1959. The Cuban government has not deposited any other lease check since that time.[27]

During World War II, the base was set up to use a nondescript number for postal operations. The base used the Fleet Post Office, Atlantic, in New York City, with the address: 115 FPO NY.[28] The base was also an important intermediate distribution point for merchant shipping convoys from New York City and Key West, Florida, to the Panama Canal and the islands of Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.[29]

United States–Cuban border, Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

From 1953 to 1959, thousands of Cubans commuted daily from outside the base to jobs within it. In mid-1958, vehicular traffic was stopped; workers were required to walk through the base's several gates. Public Works Center buses were pressed into service almost overnight to carry the tides of workers to and from the gate.

'The Cactus Curtain' is a term describing the line separating the naval base from Cuban-controlled territory.[12] After the Cuban Revolution, some Cubans sought refuge on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. In late 1961, Cuban troops planted an 8-mile (13 km) long, 10-foot (3.0 m) wide[30] barrier of Opuntia cactus along the northeastern section of the 17-mile (27 km) fence surrounding the base in order to prevent checkpoint evasion when moving between the base and Cuba proper.[30][31] This was dubbed the Cactus Curtain, an allusion to Europe's Iron Curtain,[32] the Bamboo Curtain in East Asia or the similar Ice Curtain in the Bering Strait.

The curtain forms part of a "no man's land" that encircles the base.[30] This area is complete with perimeter patrols, outposts featuring sandbags, and watchtowers,[12] and has been complemented with barbed wire fences, minefields, and cacti.[30] Apart from the cacti, both U.S. and Cuban troops erected, maintained, and otherwise manned these defenses, primarily to prevent checkpoint evasion and possible invasion from the other side.[30]

U.S. Marines stack up landmines for disposal in July 1997.

U.S. and Cuban troops placed some 55,000 anti-personnel and anti-tank land mines across the "no man's land" around the perimeter of the naval base,[30] creating the second-largest minefield in the world, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere.[12] Initially, the mines were laid down by US troops, who also laid down signs stating that the landmines were "precautions" and should not be viewed as "aggressive".[30] In response, Cuban troops also laid down their own mines, with both sides completing their minefields in 1961.[30] Between 1961 and 1965, landmine explosions resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people, including as the result of engineering accidents and late-night partygoers.[30] On 16 May 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered the demining of the American field. They have since been replaced with motion and sound sensors to detect intruders on the base. The Cuban government has not removed its corresponding minefield outside the perimeter.[33][34]

During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the families of military personnel were evacuated from the base. Notified of the evacuation on 22 October, evacuees were told to pack one suitcase per family member, to bring evacuation and immunization cards, to tie pets in the yard, to leave the keys to the house on the dining table, and to wait in front of the house for buses.[35] Dependents travelled to the airfield for flights to the United States, or to ports for passage aboard evacuation ships. After the crisis was resolved, family members were allowed to return to the base in December 1962.[36]

From 1939, the base's water was supplied by pipelines that drew water from the Yateras River about 4.5 miles (7 km) northeast of the base. The U.S. government paid a fee for this; in 1964, it was about $14,000 a month for about 2.5 million U.S. gal (9,000 m³) per day. In 1964, the Cuban government stopped the flow. The base had about 14 million U.S. gal (50,000 m³) of water in storage, and strict water conservation was put into effect immediately. The U.S. first imported water from Jamaica by barge, then relocated a desalination plant from San Diego (Point Loma). When the Cuban government accused the United States of "stealing water," base commander John D. Bulkeley ordered that the pipelines be cut and a section removed. A 38 in (97 cm) length of the 14 in (36 cm) diameter pipe and a 20 in (51 cm) length of the 10 in (25 cm) diameter pipe were lifted from the ground and the openings sealed.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the base had problems with alcohol and racial tension.[12] Harassment and strip searches also became a regular occurrence for Cuban workers on the base.[30]

United States training ship Monongahela, around 1903

Several old guns from the USS Monongahela (1862) have been salvaged and placed around the base. The old warship served as a storeship at Guantanamo until destroyed by fire on 17 March 1908. A 4-inch (100 mm) gun was salvaged from her wreck and put on display at the Naval Station. Since the gun was deformed by the heat from the fire, it was nicknamed "Old Droopy". A similar gun, possibly also salvaged from the Monongahela, is on display near the Bay View Club on the Naval Station.

By 2006, only two elderly Cubans, Luis Delarosa and Harry Henry, still crossed the base's North East Gate daily to work on the base, because the Cuban government prohibited new recruitment since 1959. They both retired at the end of 2012.[37] At the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2013, Cuba's Foreign Minister demanded the U.S. return the base.[38][39][40][41][42]

Access to the Naval Station is very limited and must be pre-approved through the appropriate local chain of command with the Commander of the station as the final approval. Since berthing facilities are limited, visitors must be sponsored indicating that they have an approved residence for the duration of the visit.[48]

Resident units

• Headquarters, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay
• Customer Service Desk (CSD)[49]
• Joint Task Force Guantanamo[49][50][11]
  • Headquarters, JTF Guantanamo
  • Joint Detention Group
  • Joint Intelligence Group
  • Joint Medical Group
  • U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Detachment Guantanamo Bay
  • AFN Guantanamo Bay radio and television unit
• Marine Corps Security Force Company[49]
• Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic Detachment Guantanamo Bay[49]
• Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay[50]
• Navy Supply[49]
• Navy Security Forces
• SEABEE Detachment
• U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Detachment Guantanamo Bay

Assigned units

• Fleet Composite Squadron Ten (VC-10) (1965–1993)[50]
• U.S. Marine Corps Ground Defense Force (GDF) (1971–2000 [Redesignated as Marine Corps Security Forces Company on 1 Sep 2000])[50][11]
• Naval Security Group Activity (Company L) (1966–2001)[50][51]
• Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity (SIMA) (1903–1995)[50][52]
• Fleet Training Group (FTG) (1943–1995)[50][53]

Homeported watercraft

• YC 1639 (open lighter)[54][55][56]
• Leeward (YFB-92) (ferry boat)[54][57]
• Windward (YFB-93) (ferry boat)[54][58]
• YON 258 (non-self propelled fuel oil barge)[54][59]
• USS Wanamassa (YTB-820) (large harbor tug)[54][60]
• LCU 1671 and MK-8: landing craft used as an alternate ferry for transportation to areas inaccessible by the primary ferry and for moving hazardous cargo.[61]
• GTMO-5, GTMO-6 and GTMO-7 (50-ft. utility boats): used for personnel transportation during off-ferry hours.[61]

Civilian contractors

Besides servicemembers, the base houses a large number of civilian contractors working for the military. Many of these contractors are migrant workers from Jamaica and the Philippines, and are thought to constitute up to 40% of the base's population.[62]

Major contractors working at NSGB have included the following:

• KBR
• Schuyler Line Navigation Company (SLNC)
• Satellite Communication Systems Incorporated
• Centerra
• EMCOR
• Islands Mechanical Contractor
• Munilla Construction Management
• RQ Construction
• MCM Construction
• J&J Worldwide Services

Ocean transportation is provided by Schuyler Line Navigation Company, a U.S. Flag Ocean Carrier. Schuyler Line operates under government contract to supply sustainment and building supplies to the base.[63]

There are two airfields within the base, Leeward Point Field and McCalla Field. Leeward Point Field is the active military airfield, with the ICAO code MUGM and IATA code NBW.[64] McCalla Field was designated as the auxiliary landing field in 1970, but was no longer a viable airfield by the 1990s.[50]

Leeward Point Field was constructed in 1953 as part of Naval Air Station (NAS) Guantanamo Bay.[65]

Leeward Point Field has a single active runway, 10/28, measuring 8,000 ft (2,400 m).[64] The former runway, 9/27 was 8,500 ft (2,600 m). Currently, Leeward Point Field operates several aircraft and helicopters supporting base operations. Leeward Point Field was home to Fleet Composite Squadron 10 (VC-10) until the unit was phased out in 1993. VC-10 was one of the last active-duty squadrons flying the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.

McCalla Field was established in 1931[65] and remained operational until 1970. The airfield was named for Bowman H. McCalla, who was a United States Navy admiral in charge of the Battle of Guantánamo Bay. The current field was expanded in 1941 when the original grass runway was replaced.[66] Naval Air Station Guantanamo Bay was officially established 1 February 1941. Aircraft routinely operating out of McCalla included JRF-5, N3N, J2F, C-1 Trader,[67] and dirigibles.

The airfield was deactivated in the 1970s and was used to house Cuban and Haitian refugees beginning in the 1990s.[68] Sometime between 1996 and 2001, the refugee camps were dismantled and the area became a collection of abandoned buildings.[69] McCalla Field is now listed as a closed airfield. The USN aviation assets are now located across the bay at Leeward Point Field.

After the events of September 11, the area was reevaluated as a possible location for a detention facility.[69] Camp Justice is now located on the grounds of the former airfield.

The area consists of 3 runways: 1/19 at 4,500 ft (1,400 m), 14/32 at 2,210 ft (670 m), and 10/28 at 1,850 ft (560 m).

The airport resides at an elevation of 60 ft (18 m) above mean sea level.

The entrance to Camp 1 in detention camp's Camp Delta

Beginning in the last quarter of the 20th century, the base was used to house Cuban and Haitian refugees intercepted on the high seas. In the early 1990s, it held refugees who fled Haiti after military forces overthrew president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. These refugees were held in a detainment area called Camp Bulkeley until United States district court Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. declared the camp unconstitutional on 8 June 1993. This decision was later vacated. The last Haitian migrants departed Guantanamo on 1 November 1995.

Beginning in 2002, following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, started in response to the September 11 attacks, a small portion of the base was used to detain several hundred individuals with ties or suspected ties to Islamic terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Taliban. These detainees were not afforded POW status or facing formal charges but instead designated enemy combatants; assigned to confinement in Camp Delta, Camp Echo, Camp Iguana, and the now-closed Camp X-Ray. In litigation regarding the availability of fundamental rights to those imprisoned at the base, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that the detainees "have been imprisoned in territory over which the United States exercises exclusive jurisdiction and control."[70] Therefore, the detainees have the fundamental right to due process of law under the Fifth Amendment. A district court has since held that the "Geneva Conventions applied to the Taliban detainees, but not to members of Al-Qaeda terrorist organization."[71]

On 10 June 2006, the Department of Defense reported that three Guantanamo Bay detainees took their own lives. The military reported the men hanged themselves with nooses made of sheets and clothes.[72] A study published by Seton Hall Law's Center for Policy and Research, while making no conclusions regarding what actually transpired, asserts that the military investigation failed to address significant issues detailed in that report.[73]

On 6 September 2006, President George W. Bush announced that alleged or non-alleged combatants held by the CIA would be transferred to the custody of Department of Defense, and held at Guantanamo Prison. Of approximately 500 prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, only 10 have been tried by the Guantanamo military commission, but all cases have been stayed pending the adjustments being made to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld.[74]

In January 2009, President Obama signed an executive order directing the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year.[75] This plan was thwarted for the time being on 20 May 2009, when the United States Senate voted to keep the prison at Guantanamo Bay open for the foreseeable future and forbid the transfer of any detainees to facilities in the United States. Senator Daniel Inouye, a Democrat from Hawaii and chairman of the appropriations committee, said he favored keeping Guantanamo open until Obama produced a "coherent plan for closing the prison."[76] Consequently, Obama decided to postpone difficult decisions on the details for at least six months.[77][78] On 7 March 2011, Obama issued a new executive order permiting indefinite detention of Guantánamo detainees.[79] This decision was codifed into federal law by provision added to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.[80]

36 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay.[81] In early February 2021, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden declared his intention to shut down the facility before he leaves office.[82] In July 2021, an additional detainee was released.[83]

In June 2022, an Afghan prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay for about 15 years without trial was released.[84]