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Media War:
Alternative Theater of Operations
By Bárbara Vasallo Vasallo
On April 19th, 1961, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro read
Communiqué No. 4 on events at Playa Girón. Among other details
the document said: “(…) Playa Girón, last position of the
mercenaries, fell at 5:30PM. The Revolution was victorious (…)
the enemy suffered a crushing defeat (…)”
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In barely 66
hours, the Cuban people overcame the imperialists in
their first defeat in Latin America; but at that moment
in which the mercenaries dispersed, fled through the
extensive region of the Zapata Swamp, the US news agency
Associated Press reported: “(…) intense fire of weapons
of all type in the vicinity of the Guanabo Beach, site
of the Cuban Navy (…)
The report reflected the media nightmare that continues today: the
manipulation which is the essential tool of the
information monopolies in favor of the interests of the
Empire.
The events before, during and after the Bay of Pigs were involved in the
communication strategy aimed at discrediting the Cuban
Revolution and creating confusion among the followers of
the social system that finally achieved justice,
equality and transformations for the good of humanity.
For over a year the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was looking for new
plans of aggression against Cuba.
On March 17th, 1960 US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, signed a National
Security memorandum that authorized the use of Operation
40 aimed at creating and unifying the opposition of the
Cuban Revolution and promoting propaganda campaigns of
subversive radio stations to incite the Cuban people to
rebel, among other aspects.
All on the basis of creating an army that would work alongside the
counterrevolutionary organizations in the urban regions.
With this objective, the CIA agents would infiltrate Cuba and create new
organizational structures that would serve as a fifth
column when the organized aggression from abroad would
take place.
On April, 1960, Plans Director of the CIA, Richard Bissell, heading
Operation Pluto (name given to the mercenary invasion
project) reiterated the experience of David A. Phillips,
specialist in propaganda to install a radio station
capable of “convincing” the Cuban people.
Exactly 30 days after the meeting between Bissell and Phillips, the
terrorist Radio Cuba Libre known as Radio Swan was heard
in Cuba for the very first time on the night of May
17th, 1960.
This radio station broadcasted all types of lies to the Cuban people in
an attempt to seed distrust and also became a link with
counterrevolutionary groups that operated on the island.
Despite the failure at the Bay of Pigs invasion, later recognized by
President John F. Kennedy in a public statement on April
14th, the CIA and the US government persisted in its
policy of media lies in an attempt to create chaos.
This was a way to prepare the world public opinion for its terror
crusades and drag along other puppet governments.
There, a history of media campaigns regarding the fall of the Berlin
wall, war in Kosovo, Palestinian occupied territories,
the coup attempt in Venezuela on April of 2002, just to
name a few.
Also the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, called “axis of evil”, secret
prisons, tortures, assassinations of journalists…More
recently, the information support to the de facto
government in Honduras, campaigns against Presidents Evo
Morales and Rafael Correa.
Most recently, the destabilization campaign against the Middle East and
northern Africa, war against Libya and the media
“fabrication” of opposition movements and leaders to
governments that refuse to follow the game of neo
liberal interests.
The recent media terrorism by dishonest and weak people that serve those
that invest millions of dollars to lie on the Cuban
Revolution use Internet and its social networks to
attack threaten and discredit those that defend the
social system on the island.
Half a century ago, there paper newspapers and radio stations reporting
on events in the Bay of Pigs, today the large
information web is the technology infrastructure that
carries out the media or cyber war currently the
alternative theater of operations.
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