Renting land in the United States is often expensive, so why not try locking down an indefinite lease offshore in another country?
Two-thousand dollars per year. That's how much the United States agreed to pay Cuba on Feb. 16, 1898, to indefinitely occupy Guantanamo Bay with a naval base.
OPINION: Happy Birthday, Guantanamo
Although the rent was later upped to $4,085 — the amount Cuba still receives to this day — the U.S. presence on the island never changed. Take a look at some classic pictures of the base, that would house the infamous terrorist torture prison under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Pictures
Cuban women washing in the river at Guantanamo, Cuba.Library of Congress
Hoisting the flag at Guantanamo, June 12, 1898.Library of Congress
Marine encampment at Camp M'Calla (i.e. McCalla), Guantanamo, June 1898.Library of Congress
Landing Marines and burning fishing village at Guantanamo, June 10, 1898.Library of Congress
Spanish prisoners an (sic) board collier Abarenda at Guantanamo, June 14, 1898.Library of Congress
Insurgents' camp at Guantanamo after capture, June 14, 1898.Library of Congress
1916 photograph of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base."The Frontiers of America's Foreign Policy" The World's Work XXXII, 1916.
Landing force camp, Guantanamo Bay.National Archives and Records Administration
Ships of the U.S. Fleet pictured at anchor at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during winter exercises in 1927. Visible amidst about 15 battleships at the top of the photograph is the aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV-1). Also visible are two Omaha-class cruisers, at least 17 destroyers, and two submarine tenders in the foreground with about 10 smaller and two large submarines. The peninsula in the right foreground is South Toro Cay, where the drydock is still visible that was begun in 1904, but cancelled two years later.U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation
View of the North East Gate at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1969.U.S. Navy