June 11, 2019
Guantanamo Bay Has A Merch Shop
Items include branded T-shirts, caps, mugs, flying discs, plush toys and more.
A journalist working on a book about the U.S. military’s Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba has brought renewed attention to a gift shop where merchandise branded to the naval base that contains the prison can be purchased.
Sarah Mirk, whose book Guantanamo Voices: Human Stories from the World’s Most Infamous Prison is due out in 2020, snapped pics from inside the store, which Business Insider reported Sunday is operated by the U.S. Navy Exchange less than five miles from the detention center.
As the tweet below indicates, products include hats and mugs that say “Straight Outta Gitmo,” a plush toy that says Guantanamo Bay, and T-shirts that state the base’s name in military-style script/graphics. Other items include hooded sweatshirts, flying discs and can coolers.
I went to the gift shop at Guantanamo Bay and all I got was this lousy sense of despair. https://t.co/Sv9gryzX39
— Sarah Mirk (@sarahmirk) June 11, 2019
The gift shop has been open since at least 2015. That’s when The New York Times documented its existence. Back then, the Times noted that items for sale included lip balm that said “I (heart sign) Gitmo,” a Fidel Castro bobblehead, branded golf balls, candleholders, bottle openers and more.
Naval Station Guantanamo Bay is home to about 6,000 people. That tally includes members of the U.S. Navy, 40 prisoners in the detention camp, and 1,800 troops and contractors that operate it, according to Business Insider. Established in 2002 during the War on Terror, the detention camp has been a source of controversy because of alleged abuses.