In that particular coastal area, one mainly comes across white sands. There are a few settlements at a distance. The presence of a huge tank has seemingly made this uninhabited beach a mysterious one! The condition of the old tank, made of iron with various designs on it, has turned fragile, mostly because of rusts. Experts believe that the salty climate is responsible for this condition. The presence of the tank in such a lonely place makes everyone raise a brow in utter surprise…

Culebra is a small, sparsely populated island, surrounding group of cays, off the east coast of Puerto Rico. Geographically, it is part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. Its beach is known as a viewpoint for dramatic sunsets. Moreover, the presence of this mysterious tank on the island makes it even more interesting. According to the local authorities, this tank was used in Second World War. Spain had handed this Island over to the US in 1901. Later, the US Navy took full control of Culebra. The US Navy initially used the Island for experimental landings of fighter jets. They started to practice dropping bombs on the island in 1936. Historians are of the opinion that the tank had arrived in the Island around that time.

The US Navy also brought a lot of war equipment to Culebra. Bombing had also been practiced there for decades. However, the locals did not like those activities at all. As the US Navy asked them to move elsewhere, the locals started staging protests against the Naval Forces. By the end of 1970, they started a Non-Violent Movement of Protest, mainly to disperse the Navy from the Island. The US Navy left Culebra in 1975.

While leaving, the US Navy left the equipment they had amassed in the name of defence, including the tank, there. Almost all of those were either destroyed, or taken away by the locals. Only this tank still remains there on the Island. Later, the locals painted various designs on it. What once terrorised the locals, has become one of the major tourist attractions on Culebra!

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das