U.S. prepares Cuba base for Afghan prisoners

The Cuban refugee camp at Guantanamo Bay Naval base is viewed from the Cuban side of the border in this 1994 file photo

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In preparation for al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners, U.S. military personnel began deploying Sunday to establish a maximum-security facility at the U.S. Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The U.S. Southern Command, based in Miami, is establishing maximum security facilities on the island to accommodate 2,000 prisoners.

Guantanamo Bay's proximity to the mainland offers the security advantage of keeping the detainees close to, but not in the United States itself. And that closeness may be a factor in determining if military tribunals will be held there, although Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says no decision on whether to hold tribunals there has been made.

EXTRA INFORMATION HRW World Atlas -- Cuba    MORE STORIES Remembering the Bay of Pigs invasion - April 17, 2001

The base, located in the southwestern part of Cuba, also meets another priority of the United States. It reduces both the exposure of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and keeps detainees somewhere other than the Marine Base at Kandahar or on ships like the U.S.S. Pelileu in the Arabian Sea.

"I would characterize Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the least worst place we could have selected," said Rumsfeld.

RESOURCES • CNN profile: Castro

"It has disadvantages as you suggest. Its disadvantages, however, seem to be modest relative to the alternatives," he added.

Elements of "Joint Task Force 160" will include approximately 1,000 people from various bases around the United States including Fort Hood, Texas, and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. They will join Marine units already in Cuba.

The detention center will initially hold no more than 100 prisoners, but could increase to hold as many as 2,000.

The base itself is 45 square miles, and was founded after American Marines landed at Guantanamo Bay in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Under a 1934 treaty, the base can only be disbanded by mutual consent between America and Cuba, or if U.S. forces pull out voluntarily.