Here is just one sample of what was said about that film, at the time, in this case by Spanish critic Beatriz Maldivia: “The film is, in short, a string of endless dialogues, poorly written, totally unrelated, and with no other purpose other than allowing Andy Garcia and Cabrera Infante to disseminate a kind of dissertation on Cuba that would be rejected by any children’s magazine. It is cinematically – not only ideologically – null and void.”

After a huge publicity campaign during its preparation, and the announcement that it would be the most expensive film by a Cuban exile (read counterrevolutionary), Plantados, directed by Lilo Vilaplana, with a screenplay by Ángel Santiesteban, Juan Manuel Cao and the director himself, was released in Miami.

The plan was to fictionally recreate “the nobility and endurance of Cuban political prisoners in the 1960s and 1970s in the face of the atrocities of the Castro-Communist prison regime.”

Within 24 hours, the film was posted on social networks, something unusual for an expensive premiere, films that are customarily presented at festivals around the world first, to be make money and allow the investment to be recovered, as was unsuccessfully attempted with The Lost City, rejected here and there, as no good.

Someone on social media noted this strange decision to launch the film on the fly without recovering a penny, asking, “But why are they doing this and not trying to make a profit?

There are two obvious reasons for this hasty gamble. First, to support the current subversive campaign against Cuba, presenting a propagandistic, one-dimensional image of the subject they address, making no reference to the context, like the fact that more than of a few of the prisoners portrayed were criminals, and secondly, the filmmakers’ vacuous illusion that they have produced a masterpiece, capable of responding – as they expressly state – to what was exposed in The Wasp Network (Olivier Assayas, 2019), a film that outraged them for violating the empire’s instructions and presenting real heroes, as opposed to the “heroes” they now attempt to resurrect from the past as a “message of rebellion,” addressed to generations that did not live those days.

The ploy of rewriting history and leaving out inconvenient facts is an old trick: the United States lost the war in Vietnam, but years later Rambo appeared, capable of winning another vengeful invasion on his own, and comforting those longing for a past that never existed.

The counterrevolution lost more than 60 years ago, despite its efforts to re-conquer Cuba by blood, fire and maneuvers of all kinds, and now resorts to the standard deceptions of a fictional film to sentimentally reconstruct the facts, at its convenience.

In the artistic field – as professional critics will undoubtedly note, if they pay any attention at all to the film – Plantados makes clear the negative consequences of a lousy melodrama that confuses the time setting, divides the protagonists into very good guys and bloodthirsty bad guys, with rambling dialogues in which every expression has a premeditated purpose, a repetitive script full of arguments timeworn to the point of exhaustion, sappy music and scenes of beatings and murders in prisons and labor camps that fill a good part of its almost two hours of footage. Long segments are marked by tear-jerking grandiloquence regarding the conflicts, and no skills of the trade are evident in the development of a contemporary act of vengeance, which owes much to the worst of Hollywood, despite the film’s multi-million dollar budget.

Some clear-headed minds at the Miami Film Festival, where the film premiered a few days ago, must have realized that Plantados would bomb and, although they accepted it, the film was not given the importance it deserved, according to director Lilo Vilaplana.

He complained on his Facebook page, that the Festival had given the film “fifth-rate treatment,” failing to promote it “not in advertising, nowhere. It is a film made in exile, by artists living here; it should have been given another kind of importance.”

Indignantly – perhaps anticipating the artistic failure so painful for any creator – he raised the political stakes: “The Miami Film Festival’s disrespect for the historic exile and its complicity with the Castro dictatorship is shameful.”

And to make sure there would be no doubt as to the intentions of the film, Vilaplana asserts that the Festival organization does not care for films like Plantados, since they “like those that build bridges, that say we must unite, but with the dictatorship, we do not negotiate.”

And Vilaplana goes further: “Those films that invite people to go to Cuba are complicit with the dictatorship, and that regime must be overthrown, because it has done much harm to Cubans… They (the Festival directors) did not want the film to be present, and I felt it even in the people who were attending the Festival, they were upset that the film was there.”

The film will find an audience among the exile community’s fanatics and there will be many who will promote it as a “revealing work,” without acknowledging the manipulation of emotions it employs, as a basic principle of counterrevolutionary propaganda serving a subversive plan that does not rest.

But hatred and art never go hand in hand. Good luck artistically next time, director, and get over this one.

(Taken from Granma)

If the allocation of a single dollar by the U.S. government, to finance subversive projects in Cuba, is sufficient reason for outrage, how can hundreds of thousands every day, millions over the years for such purposes escape condemnation?

The most recent, scandalous evidence indicates that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) paid more than $400,000 to the Digital News Association (DNA), one of the many anti-Cuban organizations in Florida, which charge for everything from take-out pizza and private espionage to murder for hire. They do the job and run to knock on the door of their employer, with hands outstretched hands to collect the dollar bills.

Carlos Fernández de Cossío, director for the United States of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denounced orcefully on Twitter: “Usaid, a federal agency of the United States Government, pays $410,000 to hire or buy a political opposition in Cuba. This is democracy the American way. DNA, an anti-Cuba organization in Florida of the many that live off taxpayers’ money, is the beneficiary this time,” he stated.

His accusation specifies that this is only one of several payments Usaid has made in recent weeks to “institutions” that the State Department uses to spearhead its policy against the island.

The total amount distributed just recently has reached close to four million dollars, while the full bill for these services since Donald Trump assumed the Presidency is 50 million, the DeZurdaTeam tweeted.

(Taken from Granma)

Now, the deputy is surprised that, as a result of negotiations with the opposition and the Bolivarian government’s goodwill, President Maduro has agreed to early elections for the National Assembly.

The poorly advised, improvised figure, anxious to play a leading role and make money, has faithfully followed orders from the U.S. government and won the support of the worse elements in Trump’s neo-fascist retinue, including Pompeo, Bolton, Rubio, Abrams, and Mike Pence.

Guaidó doesn’t want elections because he knows he’s lost. And the time will soon come for him to answer to the people of his country, and be held accountable before the law for attempting to usurp a position to which he has no right; for proposing a foreign military intervention; encouraging an economic war that has already left children dead, as a result of the blockade of food, medicine, and other vital resources; and for taking possession of diplomatic offices abroad in violation of international laws and conventions.

Doesn’t Guaidó know that he is legally responsible for the violations he has committed? Or does he think that Venezuela is a failed state with no laws or bodies to enforce them?

Guaidó wants Maduro to leave the Presidency and hand it over to him. He wants the 6,190,612 votes cast for the legitimate President in 2018, recognized by international authorities, to be given to him for his “noble” efforts to destabilize the country, even though U.S. sanctions have caused hunger and a military intervention could have incalculable consequences.

Juan Guaidó does not want elections, and moreover expresses himself with a vulgarity indicative of his frustration, describing President Maduro as “increasingly disjointed,” dismissing early legislative elections outright.

It remains to be seen what opinion of early elections his U.S. masters may have, those who have repeatedly called for “restoring democracy” and were sorely disappointed by the self-proclamation show.

This is why it is so important to know, study and take into account the experiences of different countries besieged by sinister imperialist initiatives.

One cannot afford to lose one’s bearings because the enemy, from outside and from within, employs significant resources and all possible means to overthrow governments, create chaos and fuel ungovernability.

What is happening today in Nicaragua is part of that same script conceived in Washington and promoted, generally, from Miami.

Internally, the use – well paid of course – of organizations or groups unsupportive of the local authorities, constitutes a breeding ground for these subversive plans. The media takes care of the rest, shaping hypercritical public opinion to foment protests and encourage disorder.

Nicaragua is experiencing tense moments in which marginal groups inserted among young people and paid by those who oppose the Sandinista system have already claimed the lives of more than a dozen citizens, and have attacked commercial, radio and other, mainly governmental, facilities.

The script used against the Nicaragua of Sandino and Carlos Fonseca Amador, was used before against Venezuela. We must never forget that in the land of Bolívar and Chávez, so-called “opposition” groups, with their guarimbas (violent street barricades), burned people alive, used snipers to kill innocent citizens, sabotaged the electrical system and fomented a climate of terror aimed at putting an end to the Bolivarian Revolution; the same that has given homes to several million poor families, and has taken quality and free health services to the most remote areas of the nation.

The empire and the national oligarchy can’t forgive Venezuela for becoming a country free of illiteracy, thanks to the Cuban “Yes, I can” literacy method, and ensuring that the most deprived today have full access to culture and sports. They can’t forgive losing their ownership of the country’s vast oil wealth.

The resistance of the Bolivarian people and the astute guidance of their leaders have put an end to imperialist plans, but it is common knowledge that the threats have not ceased, rather they continue to increase with economic and commercial sanctions, and the manipulation of the mass media at their service.

Experience shows that the effects of such acts, when not overcome in time, can become the focus of intense media coverage, thus serving as part of the powder keg created to give the impression of chaos and ungovernability.

The use of the law, applied with severity, and according to each case, is the solution to stop the destabilizers, those who burn and kill human beings, or those who destroy public property.
The law is made to be complied with, and not violated by violent elements, mercenaries and other components at the service of their Washington paymasters.

I remember when Cuba was subjected to all kinds of provocations, bombings, infiltration of weapons, criminal sabotage, and even the invasion at Playa Giron. The decisive and rapid response of the people, their armed forces, the internal order and the effective response of the political leadership, who acted with courage, determination and speed, removed the cancer before it spread.

There is no need to renounce dialogue when it is well led, perhaps without the need for intermediaries. Foreign impositions or those of internal mercenaries fronting as non-governmental organizations cannot be accepted. The only way to deal with those who break the law, is to enforce it.

Dialogue must be encouraged, with the participation of the government and citizens. To hear opinions, propose solutions. It must be flexible, but at the same time energetic, in the defense of what has been built thanks to genuine revolutionary processes supported by the people.

In no case can those who are paid as mercenaries in the service of a foreign power have a seat at the dialogue table.

The people, the youth, in their vast majority, do not accept violent acts like those that are occurring today in Nicaraguan cities. They defend social achievements, health, education, cultural gains and others.

The achievements of the revolutionary and popular processes taking place in Venezuela and Nicaragua constitute a legacy too big to be put at risk and brought down by a few delinquents paid by their enemies.

At times like these, we can never forget the warning of Ernesto Che Guevara when he called us not to yield “even one iota” to imperialism.

And experience shows us that behind all these violent actions, those previously in Venezuela and now in Nicaragua, is the greater power, that which is not content with imposing cruel economic sanctions against our peoples, but committed to the destabilizing variant of chaos and ungovernability. •

NICARAGUA AND VENEZUELA: SEVEN COINCIDENCES

Unconventional weapons:

The use of home-made weapons to confront security forces seeks to create a blurred line between peaceful protests and the tactics of subversion and urban warfare, which leads to deaths attributed to the government, in the framework of producing a dossier on “human rights violations.”

Rumor-mongering campaigns:

Unconfirmed information is generated by psychological warfare operators, who use social media to create anxiety and panic. In Venezuela in 2017, opposition leaders led a rumor-mongering campaign to link the government to the use of chemical weapons and attract international media attention. This was also the case in Nicaragua, where the government was linked to the use of chemical weapons, a lie that fueled violence via social media.

Manipulating the death toll:

The numbers of those killed during violent events are reported without explanation and, as in Venezuela, the government is blamed. Thus, the pretext for intervention or a coup d’état is sought. In Nicaragua, the media becomes a chorus of ghostly reports that repeat the number of fatalities, confirmed or not.

Looting and damage to public and private property:

Armed groups in Nicaragua have looted several electrical appliances and even motorcycle stores in some parts of the country, and have caused damage to state facilities, such as hospitals and educational institutions.

Use of snipers:

In Venezuela, selective killings were carried out using snipers. From April 11, 2002, from the Euromaidan to Nicaragua, snipers have become a recurrent resource in coup-driven operations promoted by the U.S.

The use of influential figures from the entertainment world:

Manipulating the sensitivity of figures linked to the entertainment industry is a successful propaganda tool to capture support for the violent elements in increasingly broad layers of public opinion. In the Venezuelan case, there were plenty of celebrities demonstrating their prejudice against Chavismo.

Symbols and glorification of death:

The lists of deceased written with chalk on the pavement that are used in Nicaragua are similar to those written in Venezuela during the guarimbas of 2017, with the purpose of hiding the causes and laying the blame for the human costs of the violence with the government.

(Source: Misión Verdad)

The experts presented a report in Geneva, in which they warned of the critical political and social situation that the Central American country is experiencing and called on the national government to respect the human rights and life of Hondurans.

The document highlighted that street protests and unrest are not exceptional situations and do not justify the suspension of fundamental rights.

The Opposition Alliance against the Dictatorship in Honduras called this Wednesday morning for a series of national protests and mobilizations against the recent killings and repression and what they consider “fraud” in the elections of November 26.

Manuel Zelaya Rosales, coordinator of the Alliance, called on protests against “the vile murders, physical attacks, persecutions and aggressions carried out by the military, paramilitaries and police against the people who exercise their universal right to peaceful protest in defense of their vote.”

Through a statement, the Opposition coalition, which backed the presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla, expressed its support for peaceful protests and accused President Juan Orlando Hernández, re-elected according to the TSE, of being the main figure responsible for the recent events that have left at least 26 dead.

They called on the Honduran people to “actively protest” this Wednesday in front of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, located in Comayagüela. This Thursday the intention of the Alliance is to march toward the United States Embassy, after the U.S. government recognized Hernández’s triumph; while on Friday afternoon they have called for further street mobilizations across the country.

Nasralla, who lost by less than two percentage points after a long pause in the issuing of the electoral results, in which his advantage was suddenly and steadily eroded, traveled to Washington on Monday and met with the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, who considered that the most viable solution is to repeat the elections.

(Prensa Latina)

Despite the violence promoted in recent months by opposition sectors seeking to overthrow the government, the ongoing preparations in this capital and other areas of the country would appear to suggest that the battle will be decided at the polls.

President Nicolás Maduro denounced that mass media and news corporations are failing to provide coverage of the October elections in Venezuela, the 22nd vote to be held in the past 18 years.

Maduro highlighted the media war of misinformation regarding the process underway throughout the country, in which all political parties registered to present candidates following the announcement of the elections by the National Constituent Assembly.

Speaking at the Miraflores Presidential Palace, Maduro stressed that the mass media’s smear campaign against Venezuela continues, seeking to create the conditions for a foreign military intervention.

During a meeting with candidates of the Gran Polo Patriótico (Great Patriotic Pole) electoral alliance, the president also condemned the constant sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the government of the United States.

In this regard, he noted that President Donald Trump has isolated the United States from the rest of the world. “It was his most notable achievement at the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. The accomplishment of Donald Trump is to have self-isolated the U.S. He did not receive support for his threats from a single country, from a single government,” Maduro stressed.

EXTREME RIGHT GROUPS PROVOKE VIOLENCE IN VENEZUELA

Right-wing opposition groups returned to the streets of Caracas to commit violent acts on September 26, following several weeks of calm after the National Constituent Assembly elections on July 30.

Disturbances took place for several hours in the late afternoon and early evening on Elice Street, in Chacao, causing traffic jams there and in areas bordering Libertador Avenue and the Francisco Fajardo highway.

Hooded gangs filled the streets with garbage and tried to prevent the movement of vehicles, with the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) responding to control the situation and avoid attacks on property and persons.

The moves sparked condemnation across social media, including tweets such as: “The armed terrorist guarimbas (street barricades) have returned to Francisco de Miranda Avenue in Chacao, firm hand @NicolasMaduro.”

In this regard, on September 25, Attorney General Tarek William Saab reported that of the 88 cases of political violence that were processed by the military justice system and subsequently passed to ordinary courts, a total of 32 have been brought to trial.

(Prensa Latina)

The coalition calling for the mission wrote that they are “conscious of the history of foreign invasion … and the ignoble record of war, destruction, destabilization and territorial incursion which has frustrated Caribbean development, peace and stability” also called on Caribbean leaders to respect Venezuela’s sovereignty. In turn, they warned of “colluding with external powers to subvert the security of Venezuela,” rejecting the “designation of Venezuela as a ‘threat to the security of the United States.’”

The activists calling for the mission were invited earlier this month to meet with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and to attend a consultation on the Venezuelan government’s decision to convene a national Constituent Assembly to create a new Constitution.

“(We) are mindful of the efforts by Venezuela to assist Caribbean development through initiatives such as ALBA, Petrocaribe, CELAC and teleSUR,” the group stated, highlighting long-standing Venezuelan-Caribbean solidarity. CARICOM itself stated its support for the Bolivarian government just last week.

Earlier this month, David Comissiong, the interim chairperson of the Caribbean chapter of the International Network In Defense of Humanity, had sent a similar letter to Caribbean authorities, also calling for a CARICOM fact-finding mission.

In addition, on Friday, a chapter of the Caribbean Network in Defense of Humanity opened up in St. Lucia, a group made up of activists that will work with Caribbean Network in Defense of Humanity, including those in Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti.

(Telesur English)

“Peace has triumphed once again. They threatened to assault Caracas and the people of Caracas came out onto the streets by the thousands,” President Nicolás Maduro said, as he addressed the Chavista crowd that filled Bolívar Avenue and other principal streets.

The President reported that the coup attempt was turning out to be a fiasco, as several plans for violence by paramilitaries around the country were dismantled, while recognizing the sensibility and adherence to constitutional law shown by those participating in the opposition march of 30,000 held in the capital.

“We have been capturing mercenaries in the northern zone of Caracas, among them an encampment of 92 Colombian paramilitaries deployed 500 meters from Miraflores, and important right wing leaders with plans to place bombs, with weapons, with millions of real and counterfeit dollars, prepared to attack their own people,” he detailed.

“There are still ambushes to unmask. We are looking for several criminals they paid to commit crimes against the people, and those who paid,” Maduro added, indicating that the documentary evidence was published in state communications media.

He congratulated the Bolivarian National Armed Forces for guaranteeing the peace on the date – with firm, timely action – and explained that over the coming days, the military and intelligence mobilization will continue, to prevent any violent provocation.

Maduro likewise expressed his gratitude for the solidarity and demonstrations of support received from several peoples and governments around the world, and insisted that the victory achieved this September 1 obliges the people to remain vigilant, since it will provoke “vengeful desperation” among right wing opposition leaders.

He denounced the National Assembly President himself and several bourgeois leaders who were aware of the violent plans, and called for the naming of a special commission to investigate these links, while announcing the possible promulgation of a decree to waive parliamentary immunity for those holding office, to prevent its use for the planning and perpetration of crimes.

“I will file charges against Ramos Allup, in national and international courts, for his constant expressions of fascism, intolerance, discrimination, and violence,” Maduro said.

He emphasized that the response of the Venezuelan people to defend the peace will continue for several days, with a broad cultural and recreational program which will maintain the revolutionary occupation of the streets, while announcing a new political and productive offensive to reverse the most pressing effects of the oligarchy’s economic war by the end of the year.

(Granma)