Movies based on real life are varied, but Netflix’s new thriller of espionage under that umbrella you could take advantage of their attention. The Red Wasp (published in the streaming service June 19) features renowned French director Olivier Assayas, and an all-star cast — Penelope Cruz, Ana de Armas, Gael García Bernal, and Edgar Ramirez — at its core. Based on a true story, the film draws inspiration from Fernando Morais book The Last Soldiers of the Cold War. Continues to pilot the Cuban René González (played by Ramirez) as he leaves his wife and daughter behind to infiltrate an anti-Castro organization in Miami. The story goes beyond Gonzalez, of course. In 1998, the arrest of the five Cuban intelligence officers, including him, gained international attention by a whirlwind. Here is what you need to know about the Cuban Five and the controversy that followed his imprisonment.
The Story Behind the Red Wasp
When the Soviet union collapsed in 1991the future looked uncertain for Fidel Castro’s control over Cuba. In the ’90s, Cuba faced a series of bomb attacks. Anti-Castro militia groups in Miami had gained momentum by the purchase of weapons and plotting attacks. Cuba sent agents to Miami to spy on these groups and to counter their efforts. Collectively, the officers were called to The Red Avispa or the Wasp Network. During the ’90s, the group infiltrated the anti-Castro organizations, and sends the information to the Cuban government through software encryption, high frequency radio transmissions, and coding of messages phone. The Wasp Network has been credited with the arrest of bomb attacks, such as the plot against Havana Tropicana nightclub.
The Detention of the Cuban Five
Things took a turn in 1996, when Cuban fighters shot down two planes with the members of the exile group Brothers to the Rescuemurder four anti-Castro volunteers in the Straits of Florida. To take control over the situation, the U.s. government cracked down on the case. Finally, in September. In 1998, the FBI infamous arrested the Cuban Five: Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González. These men were Cuban intelligence agents the united States accused of espionage (including the collection of information about groups of exiles), conspiracy to commit murder, and other illicit activities. They were convicted and charged with phrases ranging from 15 years to life in prison.
Cuban officials argued that the Wasp Network was necessary the monitor of possible terrorist attacks against Cuba from Florida. Agencies of control such as Amnesty International and the United Nations criticized the united States for the incarceration of the five men. The united States, however, believed that it was legally justified in stopping them, claiming that Hernandez even knew about the Castro government’s plan to shoot down the planes. While serving time in the united states, the five officers became national heroes in Cubatheir faces are placed on postage stamps and murals. For years, the political leaders and their families gathered for his release. And the man would be free, but not until they had already spent years in jail.
The Release of the Prisoners
René González was released from prison in October 2011. They gave him three years probation in the united states, despite the fact he was allowed to return to Cuba for his father’s funeral and to stay there after renounce your U.s. citizenship in 2013. In Feb. 2014, Fernando González was granted the freedom and the immediately deported.
The Obama administration published the rest of the three men in December 2014 in an exchange of prisoners. The Cuban government free Rolando Sarraff Trujillo, a Cuban intelligence officer who had been imprisoned since 1995, after providing information that led to the network of spies of the rupture in the united States. Also released American contractor Alan P. Gross, who spent five years locked in a cramped cell at a military hospital.
See how the facts of the story entertaining, and are developed in The Red Waspon Netflix on the 19th of June.
