AP PHOTOS: A glimpse into life in Cuba's 2 Guantanamos

[Judi Lynn]

Ramon Espinosa, Associated Press
Updated 9:54 am CDT, Friday, August 3, 2018

GUANTANAMO, Cuba (AP) — While Muslims detained at the U.S. naval station base at Guantanamo Bay bowed their heads in prayer on a recent day, Cuban men in the nearby city of Guantanamo tooted horns and banged on drums as they prepared for a carnival.

The two Guantanamos have been a contrast since the U.S. opened the base at the southeastern tip of the island in 1903, following the Spanish-American War, and the divide has only grown under Cuba's communist government, which refuses to cash the annual rent checks from Washington as it insists the U.S. leave.

People on both sides of the closely monitored boundary have long led different lives, yet they all live under government restrictions and appeals to patriotism.

They are separated by a "cactus curtain" planted by Cuban soldiers in the early 1960s following the revolution led by Fidel Castro, to deter Cubans from trying to find refuge at the base. Some land mines are also believed to remain on Cuban soil, while the troops on the U.S. side rely on sound and motion sensors.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/world/article/AP-PHOTOS-A-glimpse-into-life-in-Cuba-s-2-13128499.php#photo-15959562