Despite Better U.S.-Cuba Relations, Guantanamo Set To Stay In U.S. Hands
The only American military installation abroad that's unwelcome to its host government is the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A treaty signed in 1934 leases Guantanamo to the United States in perpetuity, for about $4,000 a year. And the U.S. has no plans to leave, despite the two countries having just restored diplomatic ties.
Guantanamo Bay — at least officially — is still part of the "Pearl of the Antilles," as the Caribbean's largest island is known. But Cuban officials are nowhere to be seen when flights from the U.S. land at the naval base.
Americans who arrive at the airstrip alongside the bay have to show their passports, and the officials checking those passports are with the U.S. Navy.
The United States has controlled Guantanamo Bay since the end of the Spanish-American war in 1898. The American forces that joined Cubans during the final months of the struggle for independence from Spain installed a U.S. military governor after the defeat of the Spanish.
Hoisting the flag at Guantanamo, June 12, 1898. The U.S. has had control of Guantanamo since the end of the Spanish-American war at the end of the 19th century.
Under the terms of the so-called 1901 Platt Amendment the U.S. obtained the right to lease Guantanamo Bay for a coaling and naval station, with an annual payment at the time set at $2,000 worth of gold coins.
That payment was doubled in the 1934 treaty, and to this day remains at $4,087 a year — although Cuba has refused to cash the American rent check since shortly after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959.
The naval station's original rationale, as a strategic port for U.S. warships to refuel and resupply, has waned. When the Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham docked there on its way to the Baltic Sea earlier this year, it was only the third ship to do so in six months.
"She's an amazing warship," says Cmdr. Darren Dugan, commanding officer of this guided-missile destroyer equipped with an advanced Aegis radar system and Tomahawk missiles.
Dugan says he's happy to be making the port call, even though he finds it easier to refuel at sea.
"Guantanamo Bay is great," he says. "It gives us the ability to refuel, get maintenance done, [and] the crew enjoys some time ashore."
Among the base's attractions: an outdoor movie theater with free admission.
As he settles in for a screening there of American Sniper, Carl Davis says the base is a great place for civilians as well. For him, it's a hometown.
"My father was in the Navy here, and me and my twin brother were born here," says Davis. The 50-year-old assistant fire chief considers the base a kind of Mayberry, USA — with iguanas. And he does not think the U.S. should or will relinquish the installation.
"I think it would be a good loss for a lot of the military folks," says Davis, "because getting stationed in Guantanamo is really a hidden gem of a duty assignment for the active duty folks."
1es Regiment, U.S. Marines Camp, Deer Point, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, April 26, 1911.
Indeed, many in the military are determined to keep it open indefinitely.
"Guantanamo Naval Base is a hugely useful facility to the United States," Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly told reporters at the Pentagon earlier this year.
Kelly, who heads the U.S. Southern Command in Florida and oversees Guantanamo, acknowledged that President Obama wants to close Guantanamo's prison camp, which currently holds 116 war captives.
But Kelly said the base would still be needed for dealing with refugees from nearby Haiti and elsewhere who are picked up at sea.
"We construct camps, temporary camps, treat them right, feed them, you know, take care of them in the way that, you know, the U.N. particularly has got guidelines for refugees," said Kelly. "And then we assist the [Department of Homeland Services] in repatriating them. So it's a very useful base."
Some say it's too useful, and not always in a good way.
Miami-based immigration lawyer Ira Kurzban accuses U.S. officials of using Guantanamo to skirt the law.
"What is the purpose of taking people to Guantanamo?" Kurzban asks. "It's to keep people who are seeking asylum and who may have genuine claims for asylum out of the United States, so they can't assert those claims."
Others who know Guantanamo well question whether the benefits for the U.S. of remaining at the outpost outweigh the costs.
"It has significant strategic value," says retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, who was in charge of the U.S. Southern Command from 2006 to 2009 and is now dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University. "But I wouldn't describe it as vital to the national security needs of the United States."
The U.S. occupation of Guantanamo is still a sore subject for Cuba, despite the recent restoration of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Last month, on the day the American Embassy in Havana reopened, Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, demanded "the return of the territory occupied illegally by the Guantanamo Naval Base."
Bobble head souvenir sold at Radio GTMO depicts Cuban leader Fidel Castro above the station's slogan: "Rockin' in Fidel's Backyard"
Standing alongside Rodriguez, Secretary of State John Kerry was not making any promises.
"At the moment," Kerry told reporters in Havana, "there is no current discussion or plan to change the arrangement with respect to Guantanamo."
For the time being, the only sign of Cuba at the naval base is radio broadcasts from Havana boasting of the Cuban revolution enduring into its 57th year. Cubans no longer work at Guantanamo — they've been replaced by Jamaicans and Filipinos who are paid half the wages Americans are offered for the same jobs.
At The Jerk House, a Jamaican-style base restaurant, an American civilian named Bill Condon says he moved to Guantanamo two years ago with his wife, a Navy official who works at the base hospital.
Condon senses that Cubans resent the U.S. presence on their island, and he says they may have a point.
"I don't think they're going to let us forget about the fact that they want this base back," Condon says. "I don't think this is going to continue on forever."
If the 1934 perpetual lease treaty were to be terminated, one of two things would have to happen. Either the U.S. would have to abandon the base, or both countries would have to mutually agree to a pullout — similar to what happened in the 1977 Panama Canal Treaty under which the U.S. relinquished control of the Canal Zone in 2000 to Panama.
Former Southcom commander Stavridis sees a similar future for Guantanamo, but not until relations with Cuba get warmer and the war captives prison is shut down.
"To have the negotiation before we have a clear path to closing the detention facility," says Stavridis, "will be an exercise in futility for both sides."
In the meantime, with a GOP-led Congress resisting efforts to close that facility, the U.S. will likely keep sending Havana its annual Guantanamo $4,087 rent check.
And Cuba, no doubt, will keep refusing to cash it.
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Transcript
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
There are American military bases all over the world, welcomed by host countries for the most part, with one glaring exception - the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A treaty signed in 1934 leases Guantanamo to the United States in perpetuity. Today, the base is best known for holding suspected terrorists, which means that even though the two countries are starting a new relationship, the base remains important for the U.S. NPR's David Welna takes us there to find out why.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: All passengers please deplane. And again, welcome to the Pearl of the Antilles.
DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: That Pearl of the Antilles would be Cuba, the enormous island this Pentagon-chartered airliner has just landed on at the airstrip next to the U.S.-controlled Guantanamo Bay. Because this legally is still Cuba, once on the ground, I have to show my U.S. passport.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Just check in and just change these out of there and mark...
WELNA: The man checking it is with the U.S. Navy.
Welna...
Cuban officials cannot set foot on the U.S. Naval Base, which spreads across 45 square miles of hilly, cactus-sprouting land on both sides of Guantanamo Bay. Nothing connects the two sides. To cross the bay, you have to take a ferry. On the other side, where most of the base's 6,000 or so residents live, the day begins with a loudspeaker blasting a familiar tune.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STAR-SPANGLED BANNER")
WELNA: This Naval Base was built in 1903 for U.S. warships to stock up on coal and other supplies. But these days, it's a rare occasion when a modern U.S. warship makes a call.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Captain, United States Navy, arriving.
WELNA: The arrival of this advanced Navy destroyer equipped with Aegis radar and Tomahawk missiles on its way to the Baltic Sea marks only the third ship docking in half a year. Its skipper welcomes me aboard.
DARREN DUGAN: My name's Commander Darren Dugan. I'm the commanding officer of USS Jason Dunham. She's an amazing warship, and we're happy to be down here in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
WELNA: Commander Dugan says it's actually easier to refuel at sea. Still, he's happy about making this port call.
DUGAN: Guantanamo Bay is great. It gives us the ability to refuel, get maintenance done. The crew enjoys some time ashore.
WELNA: The attractions include an outdoor movie theater with free admission.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: For tonight's feature presentation, we will bring to you "American Sniper." It's rated R. Thank you for coming. Enjoy the movie.
WELNA: In the audience sits 50-year-old Carl Davis, who's a fire chief on the base.
CARL DAVIS: My father was in the Navy here, and me and my twin brother were born here.
WELNA: For Davis, Guantanamo is a kind of Mayberry, USA, with iguanas. He does not think the U.S. will or should relinquish the base.
DAVIS: I think it would be a good loss for a lot of the military folks because getting stationed in Guantanamo is a - really a hidden gem of duty assignment for the active-duty folks.
WELNA: Indeed, many in the military are determined to keep it open indefinitely.
JOHN KELLY: Guantanamo Naval Base is a hugely useful facility to the United States.
WELNA: That's Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, head of the U.S. Southern Command in Florida, which oversees Guantanamo. Earlier this year at the Pentagon, Kelly acknowledged President Obama wants to close the prison camp at Guantanamo, with its 116 war captives. But Kelly said the base is still needed for dealing with refugees from nearby Haiti and elsewhere picked up at sea.
KELLY: We construct camps, temporary camps, treat them right, feed them, you know, take care of them in the way that - you know, the U.N. particularly has got guidelines for refugees. And then we assist the DHS and repatriate them. So it's a very useful base.
WELNA: But Miami-based immigration lawyer Ira Kurzban says U.S. officials are using Guantanamo to skirt the law.
IRA KURZBAN: What is the purpose of taking people to Guantanamo? It's to keep people who are seeking asylum and who may have genuine claims for asylum out of the United States, so they can't assert those claims.
WELNA: Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis visited the base many times when he was in charge of the U.S. Southern Command six years ago. Now dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, Stavridis thinks the U.S. could manage without it.
JAMES STAVRIDIS: It has significant strategic value, but I wouldn't describe it as vital to the national security needs of the United States.
WELNA: Despite the recent restoration of diplomatic ties, two big issues remain thorns in Cuba's side - the U.S. trade embargo and Guantanamo Bay. Last month, on the day the American Embassy in Havana reopened, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez once again demanded...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BRUNO RODRIGUEZ: The return of the territory occupied illegally by the Guantanamo Naval Base.
WELNA: But Secretary of State John Kerry, who stood next to Rodriguez, would not make any promises.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOHN KERRY: At the moment, there is no current discussion or plan to change the arrangement with respect to Guantanamo.
WELNA: The only Cuban presence these days on the naval base is what you can hear on the radio.
(SOUNDBITE OF CUBAN RADIO BROADCAST)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: (Speaking Spanish).
WELNA: It boasts of the Cuban revolution, now in its 57th year.
BILL CONDON: Can I get a side of jerked pork?
WELNA: At a base restaurant called The Jerk House, Bill Condon, whose wife works at the military hospital, is waiting for his order. He thinks Cubans who resent the U.S. being here may have a point.
CONDON: I don't think they're going to let us forget about the fact that they want this base back.
WELNA: You think the U.S. should give it back?
CONDON: I don't think this is going to continue on forever.
WELNA: But for the 1934 perpetual lease treaty to end, one of two things would have to happen. Either the U.S. would have to abandon the base or both countries would have to agree to a pullout, similar to the U.S. handover of the Canal Zone to Panama. Former Southcom Comdr. Stavridis sees a similar future for Guantanamo, but not until relations with Cuba get warmer and the war captives prison is shut down.
STAVRIDIS: To have the negotiation before we have a clear path to closing the detention facility will be an exercise in futility for both sides.
WELNA: In the meantime, the U.S. will likely keep sending Havana its annual Guantanamo rent checks for $4,087, and Cuba will continue refusing to cash them. David Welna, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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