Guantánamo Public Memory Project

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1902: U.S. Ends Occupation of Cuba

U.S. occupation of Cuba is officially ended when President Theodore Roosevelt and Tomás Estrada Palma, President of Cuba, sign the Permanent Peace Treaty. The treaty relinquishes all U.S. claims to Cuba except for areas for the naval or coaling stations, as specified by the Platt Amendment. The transfer of control takes place at noon on May 20, 1902, at which time the U.S. flag is lowered and the Cuban flag is raised over the Presidential Palace in Havana. (The treaty is not ratified and expires. A new treaty is signed on March 2, 1904.)