Guantanamo Bay Naval Base area surrounding Guantanamo bay was originally inhabited by the Taíno people. 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". The bay and surrounding areas came under British control during the War of Jenkins' Ear. Prior to British occupation, the bay was referred to as "Walthenham Harbor". The British renamed the bay "Cumberland Bay". The British retreated from the area after a failed attempt to march to Santiago de Cuba. During the Spanish–American War, the U.S. fleet
Guantanamo Bay detention camp forces at Guantánamo Bay. The former Guantanamo detainee Mehdi Ghezali was freed without charge on 9 July 2004, after two and a half years internment. Ghezali has claimed that he was the victim of repeated torture. Omar Deghayes alleges he was blinded by pepper spray during his detention. Juma Al Dossary claims he was interrogated hundreds of times, beaten, tortured with broken glass, barbed wire, burning cigarettes, and sexual assaults. David Hicks also made allegations of torture and mistreatment in Guantanamo Bay, including sensory deprivation, stress positions, having his head slammed into concrete, repeated anal penetration, routine sleep deprivation and