Expert: Dennis - 9/13/2004

Question
Dear Dennis,
Cuba is a communist country not under the US governance but how come the US government was able to put up prisons and tried the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay? Pardon me for my ignorance?


Answer
Under the Batista regime (pre-1959) the U.S. signed a 99-year lease for a military base on the island. We have it for 99 years regardless who runs Cuba. We have similar leases around the world in multiple countries.  We have bases in Germany, Japan, Italy, etc. We probably will do the same in Iraq.