Cayo Arenas
Cayo Arenas is a small reef complex in Campeche Bank in the Gulf of Mexico.
Geography
Cayo Arenas is a reef complex found from the Yucatán Peninsula. The reef has 3 sections: a northeastern reef wall, southeastern reef wall, and western reef wall. These reefs occupy a horseshoe shape and contain of 4 cays. The largest cay, named Cayo Arenas, is located on the western reef wall and has a size of around by 2 smaller unnamed cays are found in the NE reef and 1 is found in the SE.The nearest other islands to the cay are the Arrecifes Triangulos to the southeast. The phantom island of Bermeja was said to be near the reef.
History
It is not known when Cayo Arenas was discovered and named. An 1846 map displayed the island's name as "Sable" or "Sandy Island"United States Claim
On May 24, 1869 Captain James W. Jenette aboard the American schooner Petrel filed a notice of discovery for guano in Cayo Arenas under the Guano Islands Act. He claimed that he made the discovery on January 18, 1867. A second notice of discovery was filed by John G. Wallis on March 20, 1880. After his discovery on January 20 he loaded his schooner, the Eben H. King, with 130 tons of guano, and left14 laborers on the island. After this notice of discovery, Wallis filed a claim for the islands under the Guano Islands Act. On May 7, 1881 the United [States Department of the Treasury] fulfilled this claim despite the United States Department of State never recognizing it.:
In October 1881, John Wallis sent a lessee named William Adams to the islands to extract guano. The Mexican authorities then sent the gunboat Libertad to remove Adams from the island and replace the Flag of [the United States|American flag] with the Mexican flag. Adams then issued a complaint with the Department of State, however, since they did not recognize the claim Adams and his employees were regarded as trespassers. The Mexican Government then provided evidence of their claim over Cayo Arenas and the island was removed from the Treasury register in 1894. A 1914 map of the area still showed Cayo Arenas and phantom island Bermeja belonging to the US.