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CNN Live At Daybreak

Watching Each Other Across the Fence in Cuba

Aired February 05, 2002 - 05:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The flights of Afghan war detainees to Guantanamo Bay Navy Base in Cuba are expected to resume this week. The move comes after the construction of more cells and the deployment of more personnel to guard the detainees.

The detention camp at Guantanamo Bay has met a new wrinkle in U.S.-Cuban relations.

CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At one point this was a potential flash point in the cold war, the sometimes nearly hot war. Here, 17 1/2 miles of fence separate Castro's Cuba from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. These days here are the northeast gate, the encounters are routine and polite.

Once a month, U.S. officials and their Cuban counterparts get together for a meeting. They discuss strictly what they call local issues. At the January session, the U.S. delegation had something important on the agenda. The Cubans were officially informed the United States would be bringing detainees from Afghanistan.

Marine Major Scott Packard, a security commander here, attends the meetings.

MAJ. SCOTT PACKARD, U.S. MARINE CORPS: We told them that they would see the lights from the base. They would and they can see a portion of the detention facility. They would see the arrival of the aircraft, military aircraft and to a limited extent they would also see the movement of the detainees.

FRANKEN: U.S. officials say they particularly wanted the Cubans to know that there was nothing to fear from the sudden buildup of security forces on the U.S. side. To the contrary, the Cubans would probably be glad they were here.

PACKARD: Security, the continuity of the fence line would be maintained, that detainees would have no opportunity to leave the confines of the base.

FRANKEN: Since then, the Cuban government has made it clear it has no problem with the detainee operation. There have been no meetings since, but the two sides communicate regularly by telephone and e-mail.

(on camera): The Cubans sent an e-mail in early January to U.S. officials to warn them they would be bringing media to what they call the frontier. They would stand behind that white line. Today, U.S. officials sent an e-mail to the Cubans to tell them we would be here.

(voice-over): And sure enough, a Cuban soldier watched through his high powered binoculars from an observation tower on the nearby hillside. From that same vantage point, he can see Camp X-Ray.

Bob Franken, CNN, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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