Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

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 the U.S. military) is a United States military base located on 45 square miles (117 km²) of land and water on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It has been leased from Cuba to the U.S., without expiry, since 1903 as a coaling station and naval base. It the oldest overseas American naval base. The lease was $2,000 per year (paid in gold) until 1934, when the payment was set to match the value of gold in dollars; in 1974, the yearly lease was modified to $4,085.

Since taking power in 1959, the Cuban 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. The lease requires either bilateral consent or full U.S. military withdrawal in order to terminate lease. 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 by the U.S. military, and their denial of protection under the Geneva Conventions, have been criticized. 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 via habeas corpus, highlighting the ongoing tensions between national security and civil liberties.