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
Camp Echo (Guantanamo Bay) Camp Echo (Guantanamo Bay) Camp Echo is one of seven Guantanamo Bay detention camps associated with Camp Delta, the prisoners' camp, at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, run by the United States military. The maximum-security facility is used to hold detainees in solitary confinement, as well as for interrogations by the military. Housed here are also detainees scheduled for Military Commissions, and those considered "high value detainees" by the Defense Department. In addition, detainees are brought here for private consultation with their attorneys. Camp Echo consists of separate one-story buildings, each a cell divided into two rooms by mesh grates.