WHAT
IS HAPPENING WITH THE UNITED STATES NAVAL BASE IN GUANTÁNAMO, IN THE EAST OF
CUBA?
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The United States is illegally maintaining a naval base in Cuba against
its people's will. This
facility is in Guantánamo Bay, one of the island's biggest bays. It is 64 kilometers from Santiago de Cuba, the country's
second most important city, and 920 kilometers from the capital, Havana.
The base covers an area of 117.6 square kilometers (49.4 on dry
land, with the rest made up of water and marshes).
It has a coastline of 17.5 kilometers.
The bay has good attributes in terms of depth, security and
capacity but it currently lacks strategic importance.
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The
Platt Amendment - a disgraceful law that the United States Congress imposed on
the first Cuban constitution at the beginning of the 20th century under the
threat that the island would remain under military occupation if it was not
accepted - established the obligation to give up pieces of territory for the
powerful neighbor's military facilities. There
was no delay in that demand being put into practice.
In December 1903, the United States took possession "in perpetuity"
of Guantánamo Bay, through the imposition of a one-sided treaty.
After that and for more than half a century, the base encouraged
prostitution, gambling and drugs and constituted a center for open intervention
into Cuba's internal affairs.
Since
the triumph of the revolution in 1959, the base has been a source of provocation
and aggression, both from the troops in the enclave and from counter-revolutionaries
who found refuge there, many after having committed murders and other crimes. In
1961, personnel from the base caused the beating to death of a Cuban worker and,
less than a year later, a humble fisherman was kidnapped, tortured and murdered.
Two Cuban soldiers were murdered, in 1964 and 1966 respectively, by shots fired
from that United States facility. There have been many violations of the
airspace, sea and land, alongside different provocations such as shots being
fired, stones being thrown, insults being hurled and many others.
The
exercises of the United States troops have caused irreparable environmental
damage to the surroundings. They
have even stationed nuclear submarines there.
Violating even the illegal treaty that the United States brandishes in
order to maintain its military presence, the base was made into a refugee camp,
mostly for Haitians, in 1994, and it is
still used occasionally for this purpose.
Faced
with such facts, Cuba has invariably adopted a firm and calm attitude.
It has not let itself be provoked or intimidated.
The soldiers of the Border Brigade, a unit of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces in charge of defending this artificial border, are examples of
professional training, courage and discipline.
The
highest Cuban authorities have frequently declared that they will not accept any
kind of negotiation regarding this illegally occupied territory except the
unconditional withdrawal of the foreign troops quartered there against the
express will of the Cuban people. The
Cuban government has also earnestly ratified that it will not try to recover its
legitimate rights by the use of force and will patiently wait until justice
prevails sooner or later.
