My tour of 'beautiful' Guantanamo Bay, by Miss Universe.

There's a story in today's Independent which I am convinced must be an April Fools joke of some kind. Surely this is not for real?

Ms Mendoza, a Venezuelan model, was crowned Miss Universe last summer. Since then, she has clocked up stops in Indonesia, Spain, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. "This week, Guantanamo!!!" she trumpeted on her blog.

Her visit to the base was designed as a morale-boosting treat for troops. "The first thing we did was attend a big lunch and then we visited one of the bars they have in the base. We talked about Gitmo and what it was like living there," wrote Ms Mendoza.

Other highlights included meeting the military dogs – who "did a very nice demonstration of their skills" – and a first-hand look at the detainee camps with their orange jump-suited inmates. "We saw the jails, where they shower, how they recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books," she said. "It was very interesting."

I mean, seriously, this has just got to be a wind up. There is a quote from Cori Crider, who has represented more than 40 current and former Guantanamo prisoners, stating that this is just the "latest surreal chapter" in the history of the prison. Apparently Miss Mendoza posed for photographs a short distance from where prisoners are kept.

"At the centre of the uniform swarm was a shock of glossy hair and a brightly patterned top that looked more like one you'd wear on beach holiday, her hip was out, her arm around a Marine," said Ms Crider. "It's obviously tempting to blame her for posing for a photo a stone's throw away from the isolation camps, but people don't think. They miss human suffering going on right under their nose."

However, the line that still makes me think this must be wind up was this one:

Miss Universe's final encounter was with a jewellery maker. "I bought a necklace from her that will remind me of Guantanamo Bay."

There are many things which come to mind when anyone mentions Guantanamo, but Miss Mendoza will look at her necklace and think of:

"The water... is soooo beautiful! We went to the glass beach, and realised the name of it comes from the little pieces of broken glass from hundreds of years ago. It is pretty to see all the colours shining with the sun."

I read this with my mouth open. Please let The Independent tell us tomorrow that this was their April Fools joke.

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Tags: Miss Universe, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba