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Guantanamo Bay's Last Cuban Employees Retire

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba (CBSMiami) – Guantanamo Bay, Cuba's at times infamous navy base, no longer has Cuban employees: Luis La Rosa and Harry Henry retired.

What a commute they had.

For more than a half century, La Rosa and Henry have left their homes before dawn each workday in the communist-run city of Guantánamo, where old American cars rumble past posters of the Castro brothers in a Cold War time warp, climbed into taxis and traveled to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, where troops shop at a Wal-Mart-like store and eat at McDonald's and Subway.

The commute takes less than an hour but spans two worlds and a heavily guarded border fence.

Now it is coming to an end. La Rosa, a 79-year-old welder who works at the base's motor pool, and Henry, an 82-year-old office worker, are retiring at the end of the month. They were honored Friday at a retirement ceremony.

Learn more about the history of these two long-time employees in the article from CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.

(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed to this report.)

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