Courtesy of Sarah Mirk
- Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is known as being home to the US military detention camp accused of perpetrating human-rights abuses on prisoners.
- But life on the US naval base, surprisingly, resembles an American suburban town, and residents there don’t like talking about the prison, journalist Sarah Mirk said.
- It even has a souvenir shop that sells T-shirts, beer koozies, Frisbee discs, and mugs with "Straight Outta GTMO" written on them.
- Take a look at the bizarre gift shop through Mirk’s photos.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Less than five miles from the Guantanamo Bay military camp, where inmates are allegedly abused and tortured, is a gift shop that sells themed T-shirts, beer koozies, and mugs that say: "Straight Outta GTMO."
The gift store has existed since at least 2015, when The New York Times Magazine published photos of the souvenirs sold there at the time.
Take a look at what the gift shop looks like now in these photos taken by journalist Sarah Mirk. She visited the store in April and is currently writing a book about the base.
Welcome to southwestern Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an island that’s home to a US naval base and notorious high-security detention camp. The gift store and military prison are about 4.5 miles away from each other.
Google Maps/Business Insider
Surrounding the gift shop — which is operated by the US Navy Exchange — are a number of familiar outlets, like Subway and McDonald’s.
Google Maps/Business Insider
The Navy Exchange is a retail store owned and operated by the US Navy, which Mirk descibed as a "big everything-you-need store you’ll find on any Naval base."
There you can find multiple mini marts and a car rental service, according to the Navy Exchange website.
The base is home to about 6,000 people, which includes members of the US Navy, the 40 prisoners in the detention camp, and the 1,800 troops and contractors that operate it.
Maren Hennemuth/picture alliance via Getty
The 40 prisoners were detained in the camp under former President George W Bush’s "war on terror."
Former President Barack Obama signed an order in 2009 ordering the transfer or prosecution of the remaining inmates, and the closure of the camp "no later than one year" afterward.
Ten years later, this hasn’t happened. The camp remains in use today.
Source: Miami Herald, Office of the Federal Register
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider – ama@businessinsider.com (Alexandra Ma)