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 hunger strikes Guantanamo Bay hunger strikes The first well-known Guantanamo Bay hunger strikes began in the middle of 2005, when detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp initiated two hunger strikes. The detainees organized several widespread hunger strikes to protest their innocence and the conditions of their confinement. According to camp authorities, other captives who engaged in long-term hunger strikes, committed suicide in June 2006. Widespread hunger strikes recurred in 2013. Hunger strikes began in 2002, when the camp first opened, but the secrecy with which the camp was operated prevented news of those strikes reaching the