Cuban-American Treaty

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The Cuban-American Treaty was signed on February 16, 1903 by the first President of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, and on February 23, 1903 by the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. As per the agreement, the Republic of Cuba will perpetually lease to the United States the Guantanamo Bay area (surrounding areas of land and water) for the purpose of coaling and naval stations. The United States will have absolute jurisdiction and control over the area, and in return will recognize the Republic of Cuba's ultimate sovereignty over the area. Cuban vessels involved in trade will have free passage through the waters.

The government of Cuba believes it to be in violation of article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties which declares a treaty void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force.^[1] However, Article 4 of the same document states that Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties shall not be retroactively applied to any treaties made before itself.^[2] The treaty was part of the Platt Amendment, conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in Cuba since the Spanish-American War. Professor Alfred de Zayas also argues that the United States has broken the terms of the treaty by allowing commercial use of the land and not giving Cuba ultimate sovereignty over the area.^[3]

The ongoing detention of prisoners at the base is in itself said to constitute a violation of the original treaty, which explicitly states that the base is to be used for "coaling and naval purposes only, and for no other purpose." The treaty also explicitly prohibits the use of "commercial, industrial or other enterprise within said areas.", yet the base sports half a dozen fast-food concessions, including a McDonald's.^[4]