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U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo, Cuba

The U.S. has occupied the Guantanamo naval base in south-east Cuba for 103 years, since the end of the Spanish-American War. This was one of the conditions for the withdrawal of the U.S. army from Cuba in 1901, when an American controlled republic was established on the island.

These provisions, as set out in the Platt Amendment, were renewed in 1934 in a new treaty. This again ratified the U.S. presence on the island as long as it was needed to maintain a so-called "independent" Cuba.

Since the overthrow of the Batista dictatorship and the victory of the Cuban revolution in 1959, the Cuban government has repeatedly tried to resolve the American occupation of part of its territory, by peaceful means. However, the U.S. has refused to relinquish its foothold on Cuban soil. It has now turned its base into a notorious prison camp.

Cuban President Fidel Castro recently described the U.S. presence in Cuba as a gross violation of the sovereign rights of the Cuban people and of international law.