Guantánamo Bay

Guantánamo Bay is located at the southeastern tip of the island nation-state of Cuba. The bay itself serves as an excellent location for a harbor and port facilities. The name Guantánamo derives from the Taínos, the original inhabitants of the island. In the late 1490s, the Spanish took over the island as it began to develop its colonial possessions in the Western Hemisphere. Due to the role of the United States in Cuba’s national independence movement from Spain in the late 1800s, the United States acquired control of a portion of the bay and its adjoining territory. As a result, the United States built a military base and naval installation at Guantánamo Bay, which it continues to maintain to the present. In addition, following the ...