CARACAS (AFP) - - Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela, caused a stir here after gushing over her visit to the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, home of the "war on terror" prison camp.
Mendoza, who works for the Miss Universe organization -- an NBC Universal and Donald Trump Partnership -- visited Guantanamo as part of a USO (United Service Organizations) tour that takes entertainers to visit US troops.
"This week, Guantanamo!!! It was an incredible experience," wrote the 22 year-old Mendoza on her Miss Universe-sponsored personal blog. "We had a wonderful time, this truly was a memorable trip!"
Marines and soldiers showed Mendoza and Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart around the base, then took them on "a ride around the land and it was a loooot of fun!
"We visited the Detainees (sic) camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting," she wrote.
"The water in Guantanamo Bay is soooo beautiful! It was unbelievable ... I didnt want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful."
The Guantanamo "war on terror" prison opened after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States as a place to house "enemy combatant" suspects.
Mendoza's posting was quickly struck from her blog -- not before the New York Times posted it on its website -- and replaced by a statement from the president of the Miss Universe organization, Paula Shugart.
The comments "were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members of the US military and their families who are stationed in Guantanamo," Shugart wrote.
Mendoza and Stewart have "traveled to many locations and many bases around the globe including Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Korea and most recently, Guantanamo Bay in Cuba," Shugart said.
Local media pounced on Mendoza's comments.
Globovision reporter Ana Karina Villalba said it was necessary to better educate beauty queens -- of which Venezuela is famous for producing -- so that they know what is happening around the world.
"In Venezuela we should have broadly educated misses," said Villalba, remembering that a few years ago a beauty queen said she loved "William Shakespeare's music."
On local blogs, comments ranged from "Let's go vacation in Guantanamo because it's soooo much fun!" to "We'd have to lock Dayanita up."
The Guantanamo prison is one of the most controversial symbols of former president George W. Bush's legacy, where former detainees and human rights activists say the inmates are tortured.
The United States set up a naval base in Guantanamo after the 1898 Spanish-American war, when Cuba was freed of Spanish colonial rule, then obtained a long-term lease on the site.
The Cuban government that came to power after the 1959 revolution however does not accept US control, and wants the bay under Havana's control.
US President Barack Obama in January ordered the prison camp closed within one year.
Miss Universe lady said that Guantanamo is beautiful and she had a wonderful time. What's she thinking? Why didn't she jail herself there?
I've read before that the more up facilities are for those who 'confesse' to like crimes they hadn't done kind of stuff when the outsourced interragators threatens to harm their family whatever and for those who persist its a whole nother story
That's why she is strange to say she had a wonderful time there during her trip to Guantanamo place.
I'm sure if she stayed there as a prisoner, she will say another tune.
I'm wondering what she would say if she toured Schindler's List place which tormented and gassed the poor Jews to death....dun tell me, she still say she had a wonderful time, eh?
the place is surely beautiful but the prison is another matter. don't get confused. she saw the sand, surf and sea, not the waterboarding and cages.
Please read carefully: "We visited the Detainees (sic) camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting," she wrote.
She thinks it is wonderful to spend in jail for months. Why don't she live in there instead of her luxurious home?
Please read carefully: "We visited the Detainees (sic) camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting," she wrote.
She thinks it is wonderful to spend in jail for months. Why don't she live in there instead of her luxurious home?
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Miss Universe lady said that Guantanamo is beautiful and she had a wonderful time. What's she thinking? Why didn't she jail herself there?
typical... forever misquoting.
Guantanamo prison is set inside Guantanamo base, which is located in the Guantanamo Bay area. So there is a difference. What she said was "The water in Guantanamo Bay is soooo beautiful! It was unbelievable ... I didnt want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful."
By claiming that she said what you said she said you equate the bay area to the base and the prison and the conditions for which it is known. That is very irresponsible of you to make such a false claim. She was clearly commenting about the water in the bay area. Not about the prison. What she said about the prison was " It was very interesting.". She didn't say the prison was beautiful.
What is more, the prison =/= the base. It is part of the base area. But it is not the base. The base area is more then just the prison.
Guantanamo prison is set inside Guantanamo base, which is located in the Guantanamo Bay area. So there is a difference. What she said was "The water in Guantanamo Bay is soooo beautiful! It was unbelievable ... I didnt want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful."
By claiming that she said what you said she said you equate the bay area to the base and the prison and the conditions for which it is known. That is very irresponsible of you to make such a false claim. She was clearly commenting about the water in the bay area. Not about the prison. What she said about the prison was " It was very interesting.". She didn't say the prison was beautiful.
What is more, the prison =/= the base. It is part of the base area. But it is not the base. The base area is more then just the prison.
Anyone in right mind visit Guantanomo prison, will feel ill in the stomach, won't feel wonderful when he/she views the beautiful scenery of Gunatanomo. Except herself.
Imagine yourself visiting the Jews site - Schindler's List where the Jews were gassed to death, would you say that you have wonderful time to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the site outside the prison after you view the prison?
Anyone in right mind visit Guantanomo prison, will feel ill in the stomach, won't feel wonderful when he/she views the beautiful scenery of Gunatanomo. Except herself.
Imagine yourself visiting the Jews site - Schindler's List where the Jews were gassed to death, would you say that you have wonderful time to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the site outside the prison after you view the prison?
Unless the person is blind or blindfolded, there is no way he/she would not have had the chance to view the surroundings first, a person would have had a chance to view the surroundings before entering the prison. You also make the mistake of assuming that the prison is the base is the bay. That's equivalent of saying changi prison is Singapore. Whether you like to admit it of not the prison is NOT the whole base. The prison was not and is not the whole base. Much like Changi prison is not the whole of Singapore. Just as Changi is only a part of Singapore the prison is only a part of the naval base.
Have you ever been to Hiroshima? Do you know, see pictures, or read about the horrors of the place after it was hit by the A-Bomb? I can tell you that despite the horors that the A-bomb created when it exploded and legacy of pain and sorrw it has left behind, it does not change the beauty, peace and tranquility of the peace park or the A-bomb monument. You want to talk about Auschwitz? Sure.. have you been there yet? Do you know what the area looks like now? The beauty and tranquility of the place does not take away from the fact of one of the worlds greatest human tradgedy. But if historical tragedy is all you are looking at then you have missed the significance of why these places still remain instead of being torn down and rebuilt.
Is what is going on in the prison detesable? Yes it is. Does it mean that the water in the bay is any less beautiful, relaxing, or calm? No. It does not change the facts. You can twist what she said for all you want. But it does not change the truth of what she said - that the bay waters beautiful, relaxing and calm. As I said, she never claimed that the prison was beautiful, calm, or peaceful despite what you imply.
It is very clear that you love to slander just create a sensation and attract attention for yourself.
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typical... forever misquoting.
