The Guantanamo Trap

No one escapes Guantanamo unscathed; this becomes clear through the stories of four people whose biographies are intrinsically linked to the Guantánamo Bay internment camp. Their lives are forever marked by the experiences they lived through in America’s most infamous prison.

Though it might seem that The Guantánamo Trap is yet another film among many documentaries about the notorious American prison camp in Cuba, Thomas Wallner’s documentary is truly exceptional for its well-chosen protagonists as well as a logical and carefully planned construction. Wallner presents the stories of four people; though some have never met, all their lives changed due to Guantánamo. Murat Kurnaz, author of the book Five Years of My Life. An Innocent Man in Guantánamo, was released from the prison camp without ever hearing the charges against him. Matthew Diaz, attorney and whistle-blower, paid a high price for releasing a classified list of Guantánamo prisoners. Diane Beaver is a military lawyer who was scapegoated as the author of a notorious memo describing extreme interrogation techniques allowed against terrorist suspects. Finally, there is Spanish prosecutor Gonzalo Boye, attempting to do the impossible – bring to justice those responsible for Guantánamo, even when they are high-ranking American officials.