1898 - Cuba was a territory of Spain. Spain lost to the US in the Spanish-American War. As a result, Spain gave jurisdiction of Cuba over to the US.
1902 - The US granted Cuba independence as its own country, subject to the US retaining the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and foreign relations. This was written into the Cuban Constitution.
1903 - Cuba and US entered into a lease agreement for the US to build and maintaine a military base in Cuba (at Guantanimo Bay).
It was set up as a US Navy base, primarily to maintain coal refueling of ships at sea, and as a detention center (I am guessing to detain pirates in the area, foreign vessel crews if needed, and Cuban subversives, if needed).
The US paid a lease payment of $2,000 per year to Cuba.
1934 - A new lease agreement was signed, extending the lease duration forever. The new lease specified the purpose for "coaling or naval purposes."
1959 - Castro led a communist revolution to overthrow the Cuban government. The new government confiscated US business' assets. The US retaliated with trade restrictions and an embargo.
I would say that the fact that Cuba refuses lease payments is irrelevant. There is a valid lease in place until the US military says otherwise.
It makes it basically the same as a US embassy, except that the host country does not want it there, and that MIGHT create a different legal issue.
Clearly, the US courts don't want to touch this legal hot potato, and the Cuban government has no power to do anything about it.
^ BTW ... we (the human species) are entering a danger zone here. I don't know if the above links are generated by AI or if some human(s) compiled the info. But the search engines are putting them at the top. I can see this being a problem as more and more AI compilations are compiled from "preferred sources" to spit out information that may or may not be accurate.
You made me look up some info on it.
1898 - Cuba was a territory of Spain. Spain lost to the US in the Spanish-American War. As a result, Spain gave jurisdiction of Cuba over to the US.
1902 - The US granted Cuba independence as its own country, subject to the US retaining the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and foreign relations. This was written into the Cuban Constitution.
1903 - Cuba and US entered into a lease agreement for the US to build and maintaine a military base in Cuba (at Guantanimo Bay).
It was set up as a US Navy base, primarily to maintain coal refueling of ships at sea, and as a detention center (I am guessing to detain pirates in the area, foreign vessel crews if needed, and Cuban subversives, if needed).
The US paid a lease payment of $2,000 per year to Cuba.
1934 - A new lease agreement was signed, extending the lease duration forever. The new lease specified the purpose for "coaling or naval purposes."
1959 - Castro led a communist revolution to overthrow the Cuban government. The new government confiscated US business' assets. The US retaliated with trade restrictions and an embargo.
I would say that the fact that Cuba refuses lease payments is irrelevant. There is a valid lease in place until the US military says otherwise.
It makes it basically the same as a US embassy, except that the host country does not want it there, and that MIGHT create a different legal issue.
Clearly, the US courts don't want to touch this legal hot potato, and the Cuban government has no power to do anything about it.
https://celebrat.net/calendar/how-did-cuba-gain-independence-from-spain/
https://whycharlie.com/why-does-the-us-own-guantanamo-bay/
^ BTW ... we (the human species) are entering a danger zone here. I don't know if the above links are generated by AI or if some human(s) compiled the info. But the search engines are putting them at the top. I can see this being a problem as more and more AI compilations are compiled from "preferred sources" to spit out information that may or may not be accurate.