Guantánamo Public Memory Project

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1906: U.S. and Cuba Sign Lease Agreement for Guantánamo Bay

U.S. and Cuba sign a lease agreement for Guantánamo Bay on July 2, 1906. The lease stipulates that it will not expire until both countries agree to its termination and that the area is “for use as coaling or naval stations only, and for no other purpose.” The agreement does not have a 99-year clause and can only be terminated when both governments agree.

At the time, the lease amount may have seemed reasonable: $2,000 in U.S. gold coins. The amount was adjusted in 1934 to $4,085 -- $8.60 per square mile. Adjusted for inflation, the lease in 2011 would have been worth $67,715, still only $142.56 per square mile.