Dec

5

OFAC Gives Two Thumbs Down to Oliver Stone Film

Posted by at 9:46 am on December 5, 2006
Category: OFAC

Fidel Castro and Oliver Stone in 2002Tucked away in the penalty notices released by OFAC last week was this typically terse and unhelpful entry:

IXTLAN Corporation and Four Individuals Settle Cuban Embargo Allegations: IXTLAN Corporation, Santa Monica, California (“IXTLAN”), and four individuals have agreed to a settlement for $6,322.20 to resolve allegations of violations of the Cuban embargo occurring between February 2002 and May 2003. OFAC alleged that IXTLAN and four individuals dealt in services in which the government of Cuba or a Cuban national has an interest incident to the making of a documentary film. This matter was not voluntarily disclosed to OFAC.

Film buffs (and only a few others) will immediately recognize IXTLAN Corporation as film-maker Oliver Stone’s production company. Stone aficionados (and probably no one else other than a few Cuba crusaders at OFAC) will probably also realize that the documentary involved was Comandante — Stone’s ill-fated 2003 homage to El Presidente Castro. A slated showing on HBO was cancelled by the network, and the film was never commercially released in the United States.

Figuring out what exactly Stone (presumably one of the four unnamed individuals) and IXTLAN were whacked for is not quite so easy. The penalty notice charged Stone and company with dealing “in services in which the government of Cuba or a Cuban national has an interest incident to the making of a documentary film.” If Stone went to Cuba without a general or specific license from OFAC, the violation should have simply been categorized as a travel violation. If he had a specific license or was covered under a general license (as a journalist perhaps), then he would have been permitted to obtain necessary and incidental services from Cuba or Cuban nationals.

Any speculation you have on what was going on here is welcome in the comments section. And saying that Comandante (the film or the dictator) is a stinker doesn’t count.

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Copyright © 2006 Clif Burns. All Rights Reserved.
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One Comment:

I wonder if they view the film as “propaganda” material vs a “documentary”. If that is the case, then OFAC can arguably make the case that IXTLAN is nothing more than a sofisticated ad agency for Fidel – hence the provision of services.

Comment by Rafael on December 5th, 2006 @ 3:46 pm