Guantanamo Bay Naval Base geography of Windward Point is such that there are many coves and peninsulas along the bay shoreline providing ideal areas for mooring ships. "Cactus Curtain" is a term describing the line separating the naval base from Cuban-controlled territory. After the Cuban Revolution, some Cubans sought refuge on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. In the fall of 1961, Cuban troops planted an barrier of "Opuntia" cactus along the northeastern section of the fence surrounding the base to stop Cubans from escaping Cuba to take refuge in the United States. This was dubbed the "Cactus Curtain", an allusion to Europe's Iron Curtain,
Guantanamo Bay detention camp suicide attempts Guantanamo Bay detention camp suicide attempts The United States Department of Defense (DOD) had stopped reporting Guantanamo suicide attempts in 2002. In mid-2002 the DoD changed the way they classified suicide attempts, and enumerated them under other acts of "self-injurious behavior". On January 24, 2005 the U.S. military revealed that in 2003, there were 350 incidents of "self-harm". 120 of those incidents of self-harm were attempts by detainees to hang themselves. Twenty-three detainees participated in a mass-suicide attempt from August 18 to 26, 2003. A number of incidents happened after a change in command at the camp in 2003 resulted