Cactus Curtain

Cactus Curtain is the name of the line separating Guantánamo Bay from Cuba proper.

History

After the Cuban Revolution, some Cubans sought refuge on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. In fall 1961, Cuba had its troops plant an 8-mile (13 km) barrier of cactus along the northeastern section of the 28 kilometer 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 [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,940656,00.html Yankees Besieged - TIME] ] and the Bamboo Curtain in East Asia.

U.S. and Cuban troops placed 75,000 land mines across the "no man's land" between the U.S. and Cuban border, creating the second-largest minefield in the world, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. On May 16 1996, U.S. president Bill Clinton ordered their removal. They have since been replaced with motion and sound sensors to detect intruders. The Cuban government has not removed the corresponding minefield on its side of the border. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1731704.stm |month=28 December |year=2001 |title=Destination Guantanamo Bay |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=2006-03-15]

References