I searched the archives and could not find an answer to this, so I am hoping someone here knows. When did the United States take possession of Guantonamo Bay, Cuba? Have we held it since the Spanish-American War? Has Cuba ever tried to take it back?
Thanks.
Andrew
You would have found it in the archive if you had spelled ‘Guantanamo’ correctly.
You can find the treaties that formalize the lease, which started as an ‘occupation’, here; note that in the treaty, the annual rent is “two thousand dollars, in gold coin of the United States”, while Cecil puts it at $4,000 per year. Whom do I believe? Argh!
One other thing I noticed in the treaty: the 1902 treaty and ammendment allow for ‘coaling or naval stations’ at Guantanamo Bay and at ‘Bahia Honda bay’. The 1934 treaty doesn’t mention Bahia Honda. Anyone know what happened there?
According to this source http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/History/HISCHP3.HTM
the U.S. Navy abandoned Bahia Honda as a coaling station after nine years of occupation.
When the 1934 Treaty was signed, I suppose mentions of it were dropped just to make sure the U.S. didn’t try to get its hands on it anymore.
I suppose the U.S. didn’t feel the need to keep a station on the other side of the island.
The United States does not possess Guantanamo Bay, Cuba does. The US merely leases it, although according to one article (linked below), Cuba refuses to accept the money. As it is, there are civilian Cubans who commute to work on the base.
Link mentioned above: http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/05469.html
A little search goes a long way: http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/Archives/FY2001/20010420/default.html
More than you ever wanted to know:
http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/History/HISIDX.HTM