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Cuba slams US nuclear submarine in Guantanamo Bay as 'provocative escalation'

It is noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns about the danger of the presence and circulation of nuclear submarines of the United States armed forces in the nearby Caribbean region

HAVANA, July 12. /TASS/. The Cuban Foreign Ministry has in a statement condemned the arrival of a US nuclear-powered submarine in the Guantanamo Bay.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly rejects the arrival of a nuclear-powered submarine in the Guantanamo Bay on July 5, 2023, that stayed until July 8 at the US military base located there, which is a provocative escalation of the United States, whose political or strategic motives are not known," the statement reads.

"The presence of a nuclear submarine there at this moment makes it imperative to wonder what is the military reason behind this action in this peaceful region of the world; what target is it aiming at and what is the strategic purpose it pursues," the ministry added.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while reiterating the rejection of the US military presence in Cuba and demanding the return of the illegally occupied territory in the province of Guantanamo, warns about the danger of the presence and circulation of nuclear submarines of the United States armed forces in the nearby Caribbean region," the statement added.

Cuba fell under the control of the United States after the 1898 Spanish-American War. US forces occupied the island in January 1899. In 1901, the Platt Amendment was introduced to the Cuban Constitution under US pressure, establishing the US protectorate over the country. Cuba also leased lands to the US for an indefinite period for the establishment of a naval base in the Guantanamo area.

A prison was established at the base under US President George W. Bush in 2002, where those captured during the US operation in Afghanistan and other anti-terrorist raids were transferred. On January 22, 2009, then-US President Barack Obama issued an executive order, directing that the prison be shut down. However, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp exists to this day, which draws strong criticism from human rights activists.