Washington, D.C. — Guantánamo Bay is the oldest military enclave that the U.S. maintains outside its borders, and also the only one maintained against the will of the country where it is located. The United States first seized Guantánamo Bay and established a naval base there in 1898 during the Spanish–American War in the Battle of Guantánamo Bay. In 1903, the United States and Cuba signed a lease granting the U.S. permission to use the land as a coaling and naval station.
The base occupying a location on 45 square miles (117 km2) of land and water on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba nearest Haiti. It has been leased to the U.S. with no end date since 1903 as a coaling station and naval base. The lease was $2,000 in gold per year until 1934, when the payment was set to match the value of gold in dollars; in 1974, the yearly lease was set to $4,085.
Cuba Protests Possibly Illegal U.S. Presence
Since taking power in 1959, the Cuban government has consistently protested against the U.S. presence on Cuban soil, arguing that the base was imposed on Cuba by force and is illegal under international law.
Since 2002, the naval base has contained a military prison, for alleged unlawful combatants captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places during the War on Terror. Cases of alleged torture of prisoners by the U.S. military, and their denial of protection under the Geneva Conventions, have been criticized.
The base has been a focal point for debates over civil liberties, notably influenced by the landmark 2008 Supreme Court decision in Boumediene v. Bush. This ruling affirmed the constitutional right of detainees to challenge their detention through habeas corpus, highlighting the ongoing tensions between national security measures and fundamental civil liberties.
The 1903 lease has no fixed expiration date; as such, it could only be ended if the U.S. Navy decided to abandon the area or both countries agreed mutually to end the lease.
Guantánamo — Historic Military Base in Disputed Territory (Feb. 5, 2025)
Discover more from The Stewardship Report
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
