US Sen. Rounds touring US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

SIOUX FALLS (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds along with other members of Congress is touring the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Rounds was at the base Friday with fellow GOP members Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Joni Ernst of Iowa and James Lankford of Oklahoma.

The Republican from South Dakota is part of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

The United States seized Guantanamo Bay from Spain during the Spanish American War of 1898, and signed a lease in later years with the Cubans guaranteeing access to the 45-square-mile area.

The naval base has been a key strategic location for U.S. naval forces in the Caribbean. In 2002, the site became infamous as a detention camp holding the post 9/11 terrorism suspects.