History Guantanamo

The bay was originally named Guantánamo by the Taino. Christopher Columbus landed at the location known as Fisherman's Point in 1494. The bay was briefly renamed Cumberland when the British took it in the first part of the 18th century during the War of Jenkins’ Ear. In 1790 the British garrison at Cumberland died of fever as had a previous British force, before they could attack Santiago by land.

During the Spanish-American War, the US fleet attacking Santiago retreated to Guantánamo's excellent harbor to ride out the summer hurricane season of 1898. The Marines landed with naval support, but required Cuban scouts to push off Spanish resistance that increased as they moved inland. This area became the location of US Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, which covers about 116 square km and is sometimes abbreviated as GTMO or 'Gitmo'.

By war's end, the US government had obtained control of all of Cuba from Spain. A perpetual lease for the area around Guantánamo Bay was offered February 23, 1903, from Tomás Estrada Palma, an American citizen, who became the first President of Cuba. The Cuban-American Treaty gave, among other things, the Republic of Cuba ultimate sovereignty over Guantánamo Bay while granting the United States 'complete jurisdiction and control' of the area for coaling and naval stations.

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 US gold coins per year, to the 1934 equivalent value of $4,085 in US dollars, and made the lease permanent unless both governments agreed to break it or the US abandoned the base property.

Until the 1953-59 revolution, thousands of Cubans commuted daily from outside the base to jobs within. In mid-1958, vehicular traffic was stopped; workers were required to walk through the base's several gates. Public Works Center buses were pressed into service almost overnight to carry the tides of workers to and from the gate. In 2006, only 2 elderly Cubans still cross the base's North East Gate daily to work on the base; the Cuban government prohibits new recruitment.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the families of military personnel were evacuated from the base. Notified of the evacuation on October 22, evacuees were told to pack one suitcase per family member, to bring evacuation and immunization cards, to tie pets in the yard, to leave the keys to the house on the dining table, and to wait in front of the house for buses. Dependents traveled to the airfield for flights to the United States, or to ports for passage aboard evacuation ships.

John D. Bulkeley Since 1939, the base's water had been supplied by pipelines that drew water from the Yateras River about 7 km northeast of the base. The US government paid a fee for this; in 1964, it was about $14,000 a month for about 10 million liters per day. In 1964, the Cuban government stopped the flow. The base had about 53 million liters of water in storage, and strict water conservation was put into effect immediately.

The US first imported water from Jamaica via barges, then built desalination plants. When the Cuban government accused the United States of stealing water, base commander John D. Bulkeley ordered that the pipelines be cut and a section removed. A 964 mm length of the 355 mm diameter pipe and a 508 mm length of the 254 mm diameter pipe were lifted from the ground and the openings sealed. After this resolution, family members were allowed to return to the base in December 1964.

After the Revolution, many Cubans sought refuge on the base. In fall 1961, Castro had his troops plant a 13 km barrier of cactus along the northeastern section of the fence. This was dubbed the "Cactus Curtain", an allusion to Europe's Iron Curtain. In 2006, despite the continuing lack of diplomatic relations between the countries, the United States has agreed to return fugitives from Cuban law to Cuban authorities, and Cuba agreed to return fugitives from US law, for offenses committed in Guantánamo Bay, to US authorities. Only rarely do Cubans escape to the base.

US troops scattered 75,000 land mines across the "no man's land" between the US and Cuban border, creating the second-largest minefield in the world, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. On May 16, 1996, US President Bill Clinton ordered their removal. They have since been replaced with motion and sound sensors to detect intruders. The Cuban government has not removed a corresponding minefield on its side of the border.

With over 9,500S troops, Guantanamo Bay is the only US base in operation on Communist soil, as of 2006.
The US control of this Cuban territory has never been popular with the Cuban government or the Cuban people. The government denounces the treaty, saying that article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties declares a treaty void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force; in this case by the inclusion, in 1903, of the Platt Amendment in the Cuban Constitution. The United States warned the Cuban Constitutional Convention not to modify the Amendment, and stated US troops would not leave Cuba until its terms had been adopted as a condition for the US to grant independence. Cuba contends that these actions constitute a violation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. However, while the treaty affirming the lease to the base was signed in 1934, the alleged United States acts or threat of force occurred in 1903, many years earlier.

Since coming to power in 1959, Cuban president Fidel Castro has refused to cash all but the very first rent check in protest. But the United States makes much of that check, arguing that its cashing signifies Havana's ratification of the lease; and that ratification by the new government renders moot any questions about violations of sovereignty and illegal military occupation.
'Gitmo' has a US amateur radio call sign series, KG4 followed by 2 letters. This is completely distinct from Cuban radio callsigns, which typically begin with CO or CM. For 'ham' purposes it is considered to be a separate 'entity'. Not surprisingly this position is not recognized by Cuba's amateur radio society.
Notable persons born at the Naval Base include actor Peter Bergman and American-British guitarist Isaac Guillory.