U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay is the oldest U.S. base overseas and the only one in a Communist country. Located in the Oriente Province on the southeast corner of Cuba, the base is about 400 air miles from Miami, Florida. In February 1903, the United States agreed to lease 45 square miles of land and water at Guantanamo Bay for use as a coaling station. The treaty was finalized and the document was ratified by both governments and signed in Havana in December of that year. A 1934 treaty reaffirming the lease granted Cuba and her trading partners free access through the bay, modified the lease payment from $2,000 in gold coins per year, to the 1934 equivalent value of $4,085 U.S. Treasury Dollars, and added a requirement that termination of the lease requires the consent of both the U.S. and Cuba governments, or the abandonment of the base property by the U.S. Base relations with Cuba remained stable through two world wars and the periods between and did not significantly change until the Cuban revolution of the late 1950's. That revolution led by Fidel Castro, began in the hills of Oriente province, not far from the base. On June 27, 1958, 29 Sailors and Marines returning from liberty inside Cuba were kidnapped by Cuban rebel forces headed by Raul Castro, brother of Fidel, and detained in the hills as hostages until they were finally released on July 18, 1958. United States and Cuban relations began to decline about July 19, 1959, when Fidel Castro openly declared himself in favor of the Marxist line, and began mass jailing and executions of the Cuban people. Cuban territory had been declared off limits to U. S. servicemen and civilians on 1 January 1959. Diplomatic relations with Cuba were cut in January 1961 by President Dwight Eisenhower just prior to the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. At this time, many Cubans sought refuge on the base. U.S. Marines and Cuban militiamen began patrolling opposite sides of the base's 17.4 mile fence line. Today, U.S. Marines and Cuba's "Frontier Brigade" still man fence line posts 24 hours a day. In October 1962, family members of service people stationed here and many base employees were evacuated to the United States as President Kennedy announced the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. This was the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis which resulted in a naval quarantine of the island until the Soviet Union removed the missiles. The evacuees were allowed to return to the base by Christmas 1962. Another crisis arose just 14 months later on Feb. 6, 1964, when Castro cut off water and supplies to the base in retaliation for several incidents in which Cuban fishermen were fined by the U.S. government for fishing in Florida waters. Since then, Guantanamo Bay has been self-sufficient and the Naval Base desalination plant produces 3.4 million gallons of water and more than 800,000 kilowatt hours of electricity daily. The base is divided into two distinct areas by the 2 1/2 mile-wide Guantanamo Bay. The airfield is located on the Leeward side and the main base is on the Windward side. Ferry service provides transportation across the bay. The primary mission of Guantanamo Bay is to serve as a strategic logistics base for the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet and to support counter drug operations in the Caribbean. In 1991, the naval base's mission expanded as some 34,000 Haitian refugees passed through Guantanamo Bay. The refugees fled Haiti after a violent coup brought on by political and social upheaval in their country. The naval base received the Navy Unit Commendation and Joint Meritorious Unit Award for its effort. In May 1994, Operation Sea Signal began and the naval base was tasked to support Joint Task Force 160, here providing humanitarian assistance to thousands of Haitian and Cuban migrants. In late August and early September 1994, 2,200 family members and civilian employees were evacuated from the base as the migrant population climbed to more than 45,000 and the Pentagon began preparing to house up to 60,000 migrants on the base. The last Haitian migrants departed here Nov. 1, 1995. The last of the Cuban migrants left the base Jan. 31, 1996. In October 1995, family members were authorized to return, marking an end to family separations. An immediate effort began to restore base facilities for family use, including reopening the child development center, youth center, two schools and Sunday school. Additionally, the revitalization of Boy and Girl Scout Camps and the Guantanamo Bay Youth Activities (a free sports program for children) was initiated. Since Sea Signal, Guantanamo Bay has retained a migrant operations mission with a steady state migrant population of less than 30. The base has also conducted two contingency migrant operations: Operation Marathon in October 1996 and Present Haven in February 1997. Both of these short-fused events involved the interception of Chinese migrants being smuggled into the United States. After 52 years of service, Guantanamo's largest tenant command, Fleet Training Group, relocated to Mayport, Florida, in July 1995. One month later, the naval base lost another major tenant command when the base's Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity disestablished after 92 years of service here. The Naval Base includes, as separate commands, a Naval Hospital and Branch Dental Clinic, detachments of the Personnel Support Activity, Naval Atlantic Meteorologic and Oceanographic Command, Naval Media Center, Naval Communications Station, Department of Defense Dependent Schools, Navy Brig and its largest and most vital tenant - Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, Det GTMO, a detachment of FISC Jacksonville, the command responsible for getting every material item we use, or purchase, including all personal property shipments, on or off the base through its supply flights and the famous bi-weekly GTMO barge. Directly supporting the base are Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Public Works Dept, Resident Officer in Charge of Construction, Human Resources Office, Family Support and Service Center, Red Cross, Security, Navy Exchange/Commissary, and Moral, Welfare and Recreation. The most recent addition to the base is the Southern Command Joint Task Force Guantanamo. Following the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, Joint Task Force 160 returned to Guantanamo Bay to stand up the War on Terrorism Detainee Mission. JTF 160 was later joined by JTF 170 and recently the two forces and their related missions were merged into the current Joint Task Force Guantanamo.

Short version of above answer: Corrupt US (and Mafia) sponsered dictator of Cuba, Batista is kicked out by Commies Americans want to keep their naval base, offer to 'rent' it from Cuba. Cubans take this as insult, but allow US to kepp their base without paying rent, to show that they are the 'better man'

Sorry! should have been a comment on another answer.

Long story and just as slimmy and dirty as any other that has to do with US posession of foreign soil. But the short of it is that the US bought a contract with Cuba that says that they have the right to occupy the base till both countries mutually agree to cancel it. Since all of Cuban presidents prior to 1959 were placed in power by the US, it wasn't a hard thing to strike such a beneficial and unilateral deal. Ha ha! And still people wonder why the US doesn't like Castro?

Yes i would love to see cuba invade guantanamo bay...That would be the end of the castros once and for all.Please writte the cuban goverment and ask them to invade guatanamo bay.....please, maybe chaves will help and he will be gone too.............

China got Hong Kong back. Gitmo should be the same.

Let's see them try LOL They'd actually be doing the people a favor since we all know what bullshit communism really is. And what better way to get rid of it than to attack the U.S.? (there is no China to help them like in the wars in Southeast Asia)

Well they could try, I believe the Marines could take care of the little distraction in a few hours. Beer at 1800 hours.