US is laying the groundwork to release prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention center and at least move closer to being able to shut it down.
Guantánamo Bay:
Guantánamo Bay is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is an inlet of the Caribbean Sea.
The strategic importance of the bay is that it is close to the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti that links the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and Panama.
This strategic importance was recognized during the Spanish-American War, in 1898, when U.S. marines landed there.
Since the 1959 revolution, the Cuban government has protested the U.S. presence and periodically has threatened to seize the base.
Often called “Gitmo” by naval personnel assigned there, it is used primarily as a U.S. fleet training base in the Caribbean Sea.
