If USA doesn't trade with Cuba, then what's the deal with Guantanamo Bay?

Question

I've often wondered this. You can't even get a cigar from Cuba into US legally, but it's OK for the govt to lease a block of land. Or have I got my geography and politics all wrong?

Answer 1

Guantanamo Bay History


In February 1903, the United States leased 45 square miles of land and water at Guantanamo Bay for use as a coaling (fueling) station. The treaty was finalized and the document ratified by both governments and signed in Havana in December 1903.

A 1934 treaty, reaffirming the lease, granted Cuba and her trading partners free access through the bay, modified the lease payment from $2,000 in gold coins per year, to the 1934 equivalent value of $4,085 U.S. Treasury dollars, and added a requirement that termination of the lease requires the consent of both the U.S. and Cuba governments, or the U.S. abandonment of the base property.

For more on GTMO's history see:
History of U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay

For a more detailed history of Guantanamo Bay see the history written by RADM M.E. Murphy:
The History of Guantanamo Bay 1494-1964

Answer 2

Guantanamo Bay [GTMO] "GITMO"
U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay is the oldest U.S. base overseas and the only one in a Communist country. Located on the southeast corner of Cuba, in the Oriente Province, the base is about 400 air miles from Miami, Florida. The terrain and climate of Guantanamo Bay make it a haven for iguanas and banana rats.

In December 1903, the United States leased the 45 square miles of land and water for use as a coaling station. A treaty reaffirmed the lease in 1934 granting Cuba and her trading partners free access through the bay, payment of $2,000 in gold per year, equating to $4,085 today, and a requirement that both the U.S. and Cuba must mutually consent to terminate the lease.

Diplomatic relations with Cuba were cut in 1961 by President Dwight Eisenhower. At this time, many Cubans sought refuge on the base. U.S. Marines and Cuban militiamen began patrolling opposite sides of the base's 17.4 mile fenceline. Today, U.S. Marines and Cuba's "Frontier Brigade" still man fenceline posts 24 hours a day.

Answer 3

I guess Cuba is stuck with us unless they throw us off by force!

In December 1903, the United States leased the 45 square miles of land and water for use as a coaling station. A treaty reaffirmed the lease in 1934 granting Cuba and her trading partners free access through the bay, payment of $2,000 in gold per year, equating to $4,085 today, and a requirement that both the U.S. and Cuba must mutually consent to terminate the lease.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/guantanamo-bay.htm

Answer 4

It goes back to Teddy Roosevelt and the terms of the ending of the Spanish American War. We have a perpetual lease on Guantanamo Bay, although the current Cuban government disputes it.

They have lost their claim in international courts because treaties cannot be altered retroactively. ('pacta sunt servanda' - is the Latin term for the rule).