Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, officially designated Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB) and often referred to as GTMO or “Gitmo”, is a United States naval installation situated on the southeastern coast of Cuba. Covering extensive areas of land and water surrounding the natural harbour of Guantánamo Bay, it is the oldest overseas U.S. naval base, continuously leased since 1903. Though originally established as a coaling and naval station, it has become internationally known for its strategic, political and legal significance, particularly since the early twenty-first century.

Geographical Setting

The base occupies three principal geographic sectors: Leeward Point, Windward Point and Guantánamo Bay itself, which divides the station into eastern and western components. Beyond the base perimeter, the bay extends into Cuban territory, where it is known as Bahía de Guantánamo. Several small cays lie within the waters, notably Hospital Cay, Medico Cay, North Toro Cay and South Toro Cay.
Leeward Point houses the principal airfield and contains features such as Mohomilla Bay and the Guantánamo River. This area includes three beaches, two of which are accessible to base personnel, while Hicacal Beach remains closed. The United States Naval Cemetery, also called Cuzco Wells Cemetery, is located nearby, containing more than 350 burials, including those of personnel lost during the Second World War.
Windward Point includes most of the base’s operational and residential facilities. Among its geographic features are numerous inlets, coves and peninsulas that provide sheltered mooring for naval vessels. Its highest elevation, John Paul Jones Hill, stands prominently above the surrounding terrain. Literary descriptions from the early twentieth century refer to the region as marked by limestone cliffs, ravines and rugged ridges.

Early History

Prior to European arrival, the region was inhabited by the Taíno people. During his second voyage in 1494, Christopher Columbus entered the bay, naming it Puerto Grande. Brief British control occurred during the War of Jenkins’ Ear in the eighteenth century, with the bay labelled Walthenham Harbour and later renamed Cumberland Bay by British forces. They abandoned the region after an unsuccessful overland campaign toward Santiago de Cuba.

Spanish–American War and U.S. Occupation

During the Spanish–American War of 1898, U.S. naval forces sought secure anchorages while operating against Spanish positions at Santiago. Marines landed at Guantánamo Bay, securing the harbour with Cuban assistance. The conflict ended with the Treaty of Paris, which transferred sovereignty from Spain but left Cuba under considerable U.S. influence.
The Platt Amendment of 1901 formalised this influence by enabling the United States to obtain sites for naval stations in Cuba. Guantánamo Bay was designated for this purpose, and in 1903 a permanent lease agreement was concluded.

The 1903 Lease Agreements

The lease, executed in two parts, has no fixed expiration date. It may only be terminated by mutual consent or if the United States abandons the site.
The February 1903 agreement established the base boundaries and clarified that Cuba retained ultimate sovereignty, while the United States exercised complete jurisdiction within the leased area. The United States obtained the right to modify the territory as required for a naval and coaling station. An additional agreement in July 1903 set the annual payment at 2,000 gold coins and required Cuba to acquire any private land within the leased boundaries, assisted by U.S. advances.
Subsequent legislation in 1934 converted the payment into U.S. dollars based on contemporary gold values. Adjustments in the early 1970s resulted in the current annual payment of $4,085. Although the United States continues to send yearly cheques, the Cuban government has accepted only one since the 1959 Revolution, asserting that the lease is invalid under international law.

Role Before and During the Second World War

From the early twentieth century, Guantánamo Bay became a key winter training site for the Atlantic Fleet. Infrastructure expanded rapidly, including the construction of range systems for naval gunnery practice. The base served throughout the First and Second World Wars as an important convoy distribution point linking ports along the eastern United States with the Panama Canal and the Caribbean.
To support wartime security, the base operated under a numerically coded postal address associated with the military mail service, a system commonly employed at overseas installations.

Cold War Developments and the “Cactus Curtain”

Following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, relations between Cuba and the United States deteriorated sharply. Thousands of Cuban workers had previously travelled daily to jobs on the base, but by 1958 vehicular access was halted and pedestrian gate crossings enforced.
In the early 1960s, Cuban forces planted minefields around the perimeter. The fortified frontier between Cuban territory and the U.S. installation came to be known as the “Cactus Curtain”, echoing Cold War metaphors such as the Iron Curtain in Europe. Episodes of Cuban civilians seeking refuge on the base heightened tensions, symbolising the broader ideological divide of the era.

Contemporary Significance: The Detention Camp and Legal Debates

Since 2002, part of the installation has housed the Guantánamo Bay detention camp for individuals captured in counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. Allegations of mistreatment, the extrajudicial nature of detention and the refusal to extend Geneva Convention protections to detainees drew extensive international criticism.
These issues culminated in major judicial scrutiny within the United States. The 2008 Supreme Court ruling in Boumediene v. Bush recognised the constitutional right of detainees to petition for habeas corpus, underscoring ongoing debates about the balance between national security and civil liberties. The case affirmed that the base’s unique legal status does not place detainees beyond constitutional protection.

Strategic and Political Context

Although Cuba retains formal sovereignty over the territory, the United States exercises exclusive control under the terms of the lease. The Cuban government has consistently argued since 1959 that the agreement was imposed under duress and therefore lacks legitimacy, while the United States maintains that it remains binding under international law.
The site serves multiple strategic purposes: a deep-water harbour, an airfield, a logistics hub and a staging area for regional operations. Despite periodic political debate, the base remains a significant component of U.S. military infrastructure.

Legacy and Continuing Issues

Guantánamo Bay Naval Base reflects more than a century of geopolitical change, from imperial power dynamics and Cold War confrontation to contemporary disputes centred on human rights and international law. Its physical geography, longstanding lease structure and evolving military functions have made it a focal point in discussions of sovereignty, security and civil liberties.