GOP Rep welcomes Castro assassination, then denies

Raw Story
Dec. 11, 2006

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) has denied to the Miami Herald that footage of her in a coming British documentary called "638 Ways to Kill Castro" in which she welcomes the Cuban dictator's assassination is a spliced rendering of words she said in a different order.

Though Ros-Lehtinen says publicly that she would not mourn Castro's death, she claims that the footage in the documentary is inauthentic.

The makers of the documentary stand by the clip.

The footage is available below, followed by excerpts of an AP article about the controversy.

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MIAMI (AP) -- A congresswoman says a video clip showing her calling for Fidel Castro's assassination is fake, a charge denied Sunday by the film's director.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., appears in the 28-second clip made available on the Internet by the makers of a new British documentary, "638 Ways to Kill Castro."

In it, she says: "I welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate Fidel Castro and any leader who is oppressing the people."

However, the Havana-born lawmaker, recently tapped to become the top Republican on the House International Relations Committee, says the filmmakers spliced clips together to make the sound bite.

"It's twisted in a way that gives the viewer a totally wrong impression," Ros-Lehtinen told The Miami Herald....

"If someone were to do it, I wouldn't be crying," she said.

The film's director, Dolan Cannell, stood by the authenticity of the footage.