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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Pranksters fined for fooling Fidel |
| 2004-04-28 |
| Two Miami radio journalists were fined $5,463 dollars for broadcasting a phone conversation that fooled Cuban President Fidel Castro into believing he was talking with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Joe Ferrero and Enrique Santos, of Spanish-language radio station "El Zol" called the fine absurd and promised to pay a whopping bag of pennies to the Federal Communications Commission in Washington. The FCC cited a requirement that persons be informed if their telephone conversations are to be broadcast. In June, the pair, who host a humour show, managed to fake Chavez’s voice and were put through to Castro, who maintained a conversation with the phone-y Chavez, a political ally, for 25 minutes, before the Miami-based radio host doing the voice said, "So -- you agree that your island is in deep shit? "You fell for it!" he shouted. "What did I fall for you shit-eater ... you faggot!" an irate Castro shot back, in addition to some choice insults making reference to the mother of the caller. In January 2003, the radio station pulled the same trick on Chavez, who was phoned and connected to someone he thought was Castro. He chatted away for 20 minutes before the joke was up. Miami is home to almost a million Cuban-Americans, mostly anti-Castro, and to tens of thousands of Venezuelans, mostly critics of the leftist-populist Chavez. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #9 I think an episode with Queer eye for the stright guy on location is in order. |
| Posted by: Brew 2004-04-29 12:00:43 AM |
| #8 Fidel he swing like a girl. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-04-28 3:32:51 PM |
| #7 Atomic - Fidel is allowed slurs. He's otherwise politically correct. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-04-28 2:01:11 PM |
| #6 "....you faggot!" an irate Castro shot back Do Castro's pop-lefty apologists know that he used this homophobic slur? |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-04-28 1:49:57 PM |
| #5 I've just offered them all the pennies I could find to help them pay it. Here's Joe Ferrero's e-mail joe@elvacilon.net and here's Enrique Santos' enrique@elvacilon.net Drop'em a note. |
| Posted by: H.D. Miller 2004-04-28 12:29:47 PM |
| #4 The FCC cited a requirement that persons be informed if their telephone conversations are to be broadcast. Sooo....does this mean that Castro has "rights" in the U.S. while he's not on U.S. soil??? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-04-28 12:01:25 PM |
| #3 It's not nice to fool $5463? How come such an odd number? They aren't going to end up paying that themselves. Probably the Cuban community will put up that money (a collective pittance) just for the entertainment value of having Fidel get duped! |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-04-28 11:53:13 AM |
| #2 hehe im wishing i could have hear that! |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2004-04-28 11:49:01 AM |
| #1 These guys should get Medals of Freedom, not fines. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-04-28 11:42:15 AM |