Back Guantanamobaai-vlootbasis Afrikaans قاعدة غوانتانامو Arabic Военноморска база Гуантанамо Бей Bulgarian Guantanamo Bay Naval Base CEB Guantánamo (základna) Czech Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Danish Guantanamo Bay Naval Base German Ναυτική Βάση του Κόλπου του Γκουαντάναμο Greek Usona Ŝipbazo ĉe la Golfo de Gvantanamo Esperanto Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo Spanish
| Naval Station Guantanamo Bay | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leeward Point Field | |||||||
| Guantánamo Bay in Cuba | |||||||
 Aerial view of Bulkeley Hall, the headquarters and administration building at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base | |||||||
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.svg)  NS Guantanamo Bay Location of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba | |||||||
| Coordinates | 19°55′03″N 75°09′36″W / 19.91750°N 75.16000°W | ||||||
| Type | United States military base | ||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Owner | Government of Cuba (de jure) U.S. federal government (de facto) | ||||||
| Operator | United States Navy | ||||||
| Controlled by | Navy Region Southeast | ||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||
| Website | cnrse | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1903 | ||||||
| In use | 1903 – present | ||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||
| Current commander | Captain Samuel White | ||||||
| Garrison | Joint Task Force Guantanamo | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: NBW, ICAO: MUGM, WMO: 783670 | ||||||
| Elevation | 17 meters (56 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (Spanish: Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo /ˈɡɪtmoʊ/ GIT-moh as jargon by members of the U.S. military[1]) is a United States military base located on 45 square miles (117 km2) of land and water[2] on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It has been leased to the United States with no end date since 1903 as a coaling station and naval base, making it the oldest overseas U.S. naval base.[3] The lease was $2,000 in gold per year until 1934, when the payment was set to match the value of gold in dollars;[4] in 1974, the yearly lease was set to $4,085.[5][failed verification]
Since taking power in 1959, the Cuban communist 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[6] by the U.S. military, and their denial of protection under the Geneva Conventions, have been criticized.[7][8] 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.[9][10]
The 1903 lease has no fixed expiration date;[11] as such, it could only be ended if the US Navy decided to abandon the area or both countries agreed mutually to end the lease.
- ^ "File:US Navy 040813-N-6939M-002 Commissions building courtroom at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.jpg". 13 August 2004.
- ^ Rosenberg, Carol (25 October 2018). "Guantánamo By the Numbers". Miami Herald. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
Size of Navy base: 45 square miles, straddling Guantánamo Bay, from prison camp to air strip.
- ^ "Why the U.S. base at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay is probably doomed". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Sweeney, Joseph C. (2006). "Guantanamo and U.S. Law". Fordham International Law Journal. 30 (3): 22.
- ^ Elsea, Jennifer K.; Else, Daniel H. (17 November 2016). Naval Station Guantanamo Bay: History and Legal Issues Regarding Its Lease Agreements (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "GTMO CTD Inspection Special Inquiry" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ "Article 10: Right to fair public hearing by independent tribunal". BBC World Service. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ^ "Agenda Item 17 base naval". cubaminrex.cu. Archived from the original on 4 June 2004.
- ^ Carlisle, Madeleine (11 September 2021). "How 9/11 Radically Expanded The Power of the U.S. Government". TIME. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ Yoo, John (17 June 2008). "The Supreme Court Goes to War". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Suellentrop, Chris (18 January 2002). "How Did the U.S. Get a Naval Base in Cuba?". Slate. Retrieved 5 June 2018.