Tight shot hand loading live ammunition into magazine.

01.00.00.00

Commando with beret and wrap around glasses.

This is a Dad's Army with Deadly intent...

00.08

Two commandos running obstacle course - practicing house to house combat with live ammunition.

In 1961 Fidel Castro smashed a CIA-Trained invasion force of Cuban exiles... in a debacle that became known as the "Bay of Pigs"

Training

The survivors retreated to the Everglades to form this group - Alpha 66.

00.31

They've been fighting the Cold War ever since... launching what they call commando raids on Cuba.

00.43

Music

Ocean liner "Ecstasy" steams up canal along palm fringed freeway.

Almost within rifle range of the Everglades lies Miami - Capital of the Cuban exile community.

01.25

Cubans in south beach cafes Cuban flags on kerb-crawling cars.  Beach scenes/art deco/rollerbladers

With more than a million Cubans here -Spanish is the linga franca..and the mood distinctly Latin.

01.34

Cuban beautiful people

A glittering tribute to capitalism... paraded as an ideological triumph over the slow economic decay of communist Cuba.

This vibrant, volatile community is united only through its opposition to Castro. It's a powerful exile group - that seems to get its way with the U.S government no matter what it does.

01.53

F Troop sentry tower/look out with machine gun/binoculars

The lookouts are for dramatic effect.

02.26

Commandos line up for
PT

The police and FBI could hardly miss this camp, but they prefer to look the other way - as each Sunday Alpha 66 trains to launch acts of international terrorism from American soil.

Contrast old man struggling with pushups/next to young Che G. In beret.

The old men with bitter memories have been replaced on raids by young zealots - not even born when Castro's  revolution swept into Havana.

02.42

Patrolling road..

The occasional arrest or weapons seizure...rarely ends in a conviction..

02.53

Dive off side road start firing.

In Cuban-dominated southern Florida no juror wants to be labeled as pro Castro.

Jesus Hoyas

Alpha 66 Commander

Jesus Hoyas: "Let me tell you what the FBI tells us - we are like drive-by shooters - we go in boats - we pick a target out - and we  burst fire into it"

03.06

35 year old Jesus Hoyas is military commander of Alpha 66.  He's led three raids on Cuba's beach resorts - The last he'll admit to, was two years ago.  He's targeting the one and a half  billion dollar a year tourism industry - that is now Cuba's economic lifeline.

03.20

Hoyas - through grassland with armed commandos in background

Q. What was the objective? Where you trying to do get rid of tourism? Can you explain what you were trying to do?

03.37

Jesus Hoyas: Trying to get tourists to stop going to Cuba spending money.

03.42

Q.  What would happen if you hit bystanders.. civillians..tourists perhaps?

A.   No we don't hit tourists because we are aiming at the military outpost ... it's close to the hotel where we were aiming at them.

A week after we filmed this exercise - Havana's hotels were targeted in an anonymous bombing campaign - while denying direct involvement, Alpha 66 openly advocates such methods.

04.05

Hoyas:  "The passive way has shown that it doesn't work. It's been 38 years - it'll be another 50 years, still with nothing done.  The  only way to get Castro out is by the bullet etc".

04.26

Pilots holding hands in prayer outside hanger

"our father who art in heaven- hallowed be thy name... thy kingdom come - thy will be done - on earth as"......

04.42

Loading aircraft "brothers" logo on tail/propellers turning.

But other exiles have realised that Bravado can achieve far more than bullets and bombs. These are the "Brothers to the rescue" - The self proclaimed soldiers of peace in the war against Castro.  As volunteer pilots they patrol the 90 miles of sea between Florid and  Cuba - searching for refugees, or rafters as they call them, attempting to flee Cuba.

Aircraft taxi

To the exile community they're heroes.  To Castro - provocateurs - who repeatedly breach Cuban airspace.

05.25

Take off fly over Miami coastline out to sea.                                   

It was the brothers who triggered a dramatic shift in US policy on Cuba, when, Last year a Cuban Mig fighter shot down two of their Cessnas ...just outside Cuban territory.

Backseat interview

Jose Basulto:  "we were doing a regular mission when the Cuban jets came after us - they shot down 2 of our aircraft's and I managed to escape - thanks to God - because they were also trying to shoot me down"

05.45

Empty sea out if cockpit

Jose Basulto:  four men died in the attack.

05.55

Jose looks out of window

 "Brothers" founder Jose Basulto was piloting a third Cessna which escaped.

Talks to reporter in back seat

As a token punishment, for invading Cuban airspace the Americans canceled his pilots license - but the missions continue.

Jose Basulto: These are my people - and I, like the US government  are responsible for what happens.  I was involved in the failure of that Bay of Pigs caused all these rafters"

Guillermo looking at controls

At the controls today is an Argentian pilot Guillermo.

06.26

...Then at second aircraft....turns around to explain mission with map in hand.

An ardent supporter of the exiles cause - he outlines the four hour mission.

Guillermo:  "o.k we are gonna go down the 7599 parallel - we gonna go to Dog rocks - Donnas keys, Anguilla cays- you see - Cuba's right over here - and we are gonna be about 18 miles from the coast of Cuba" 

06.39

Guillermo:  And that's international airspace controlled by the the Cuban Government.

06.55

Q:  What's the likelihood of the Cuban government sending aircraft out toward you off - to intercept you?

A:   Well, there's always a possibility, they have sent up in the past.  I think it's an act of intimidation towards us but we  are saving lives and doing what we think is right helping others and trying to save them.

An hour south of Miami - the first hint that we're approaching Cuba....

07.24

Guillermo turns around and smiles.

(Mambo/salsa music through headphones)

Guillermo:  "we just picked up the Cuban radio at this time".

The festive air soon evaporates as we fly south towards the 24th parallel into Cuba's self - declared no go zone.

07.40

Guillermo attempts to call Havana airtraffic control.

07.47

Guillermo:  "good day copa 330, we're crossing the 24th parallel in 10 minutes.  We are on a humanitarian mission, to search and rescue. Responding 1214, Brothers to the Rescue".

Pilots scanning horizon looking worried.

Two Cuban Government aircraft's respond instantly by jamming the radio.

08.08

Radio static...chit chat

Somewhere out here is a Cuban airliner - and the far more threatening presence of a Cuban fighter.

08.14

For a few minutes, the possibility of a brief one-sided confrontation becomes very real.

08.21

Guillermo:  "There was two airplanes there was a Cuban airforce plane on the frequency and there was a Cubana airplane".

Q.  And what did they say to you?

A.  They didn't say anything - they were blocking the frequency so we couldn't relay to Havana centre.

Long narrow islands come into view under wing.

Thankfully, the Cuban airforce keeps it's distance..... as the 2 Cessnas enter the search area.

08.44

Reefs/ocean

A chain of bleak uninhabited islands - owned by the Bahamas and lying almost within sight of Cuba's coast.

Pilots talking to each other in Spanish

(Spanish)  You see!

(English)  .... a group ....right there...by rock..see.....there's six of "em".

Refugees on beach/boat waving

Not far away - another group desperately signaling for help.

09.08

Various passes over the beach,  refugees jumping about......

With nowhere to land, the brothers can do little more than drop drinking water and report their position to the U.S coast guard

09.13

Coast guard jet tracking over refugees

"left...left.....now...on your right.....they've got em!"

In a few hours a coast guard cutter will pick them up.

Because they didn't make it to the US mainland these rafters will be sent home.  About 50 people attempt the crossing each week.   Thousands are believed to have perished at sea

09.34

Interview as Guillermo banks the aircraft

Q:  So it's pretty well much all over for these people

Guillermo:  Unfortunately - it's a shame - its all over yes - but at least they're alive.

09.45

Workers stumbling in door with 8 x 4 ft painting into the conference room.

Voiceover:  At the Miami headquarters of arguably the most powerful lobby group in US politics, a canvas of the shootdown takes pride of place.

09.53

This is the nerve centre of the Cuban American National Foundation.

10.05

An organisation that combines sophisticated lobbying with outlandish conspiracy theories to achieve it's goal - the economic strangulation of Castro's Cuba.

10.07

The downing of the brothers Cessnas provided the political opportunity of the decade - forcing a wavering Clinton administration to get tougher with Castro.

1018

Francisco Hernandez

Hernandez:  "yes, it had to happen in order for Clinton to understand the nature of the regime he was confronting"

10.29

Voiceover:  The foundation's president is yet another Bay of Pigs veteran, Francisco Hernandez.

10.44

Funded by the wealthy exiles, they've poured millions of dollars into both republican and democrat party coffers.....

Guaranteeing the undivided attention of every US president since Ronald Reagan.

10.56

Hernandez in office with photos of presidents.

Hernandez:  Here we are - my wife and myself with President Bush in Miami at a reception - and here we are in the White House with President Clinton the day President Clinton signed the Helms Burton Bill.

11.03

Voiceover:  The Helms - Burton Bill - President Clinton's response to the downing of the brothers aircraft was the foundations finest hour.

11.27

Until this point, White House advisers had favoured a thaw in relations with Cuba.

11.35

Grab Bill Clinton

Clinton:  "We will not tolerate attacks on United States citizens and we will stand with those both inside and outside Cuba who are working for a peaceful transition to freedom and democracy"

11.42

Voiceover:  Flanked by foundation heavyweights, President Clinton effectively signed away control of US policy on Cuba .....Toughening the 35 year American blockade by threatening to punish other Nations that traded with Castro .......

11.57

It is now permanent policy - that can't be revoked by any President until Castro falls....

12.10

Francisco Hernandez

Hernandez:  "Our greatest victory or success - I would say was to be able to wrestle away from the President of the United States the exclusive responsibility of setting the foreign policy of the United States on Cuba - this is something that set us apart from any other group in the US"

12.18

Francisco Aruca Cuban Dissenter

Voiceover:  Such is the foundation's power in  Miami that few dare to be openly critical.

12.47

One exception is Francisco Aruca.....

Travel agent turned radio commentator... regarded by the exile establishment as public enemy number one.

Francisco Aruca

Aruca:  "our company headquarters was bombed in 1989, and again last year 2 of our sales offices were firebombed  I need to take precautions, obviously - no doubt about it - there are places in Miami that would not go by myself"

13.03

Voiceover:  After repeated attacks by extremists - his radio station was forced to move to a windowless bunker.

Drives through security gates

Voiceover:  Francisco Aruca's sin?..... to publicly advocate change in Cuba through dialogue - not confrontation ...... a position that places him at odds with the foundation.

13.46

Security camera B/W/ p.o.v. of Aruca moving inside.

Aruca:  "What the Cuban American National Foundation has got is that political and economic power and transformed it into national influence by participating in the electoral process - electing Congressmen - voting against Congressman who are against their position - I would never say they practise terrorism directly because I'd say it's not true however they have contributed to the strengthening at a national level - of the mentality that has maintained Miami as a single opinion for many years"

13.59

Voiceover:  Aruca also questions the motives of those local heroes - Brothers to the Rescue...... claiming they deliberately provoked Castro just when it looked like Washington mighty ease the blockade.

14.27

Francisco Aruca

Aruca:  "These people kept going in their US  registered planes to Cuba.  Cuba had already warned - we are going to do something next time - and they went ahead and did it - so I'm not justifying the shooting down of unarmed airplanes - but it was definately a provocation - it was purposefully done - keep in mind - if there is something we do not lack in Miami it is trained provocateurs (laughs) All right!...we've been trained since the 1960's by the masters in that field and we're still paying the price.

14.39

Voiceover:  And so the confrontation continues .... with Washington swept along by the cause.

15.12

TV Marti bulletin

This is TV Marti - established in 1989 by the US government at the request of the foundation.

15.19

Essentially it's an Anti-Castro propaganda service.  Every morning TV Marti's transmitter balloon rises 4000 metres above the Florida Keys and begins transmitting to Cuba.

Voiceover:  At which point the Cubans promptly jam the signal.

15.40

Francisco Aruca

Aruca:  "It's a total waste of resource - I can assure you - I go to Cuba often - nobody see TV Marti in Cuba (laughs) nobody (laughs).  I've tried to watch it at different times and different places just to say I saw something!.... but I never did!"

TV station sequence             Editing,                                  Foyer US information Service logo.  Portrait of Clinton                        

Voiceover:  This pointless Daily exercise has already cost us Tax Payers  300 million dollars...and President Clinton recently agreed to another request to shift the stations 200 staff from Washington to Miami - a move that will cost millions more.

15.57

Francisco Aruca

Aruca:  "It's just another way to cater to this powerful group - this Cuban American National Foundation and this powerful group were the ones that created this - the ones that supported the legislation and got it passed"

16.15

(Sound up ; Star Spangled Banner)

16.27

US Military/Cuban Veterans

Voiceover:   As brothers to the Rescue Fly overhead - Cuban Veterans gather on the banks of a Miami canal.

16.41

Honour guard

Boat loads of Cuban exiles waving flags in canal.

Voiceover:  Many Bay of Pigs survivors joined the US Military - and went off to fight America's other wars.

16.49

Brothers to the Rescue flypast

Voiceover:  Others built vast business empires and bought influence in Washington....influence that enables them to effectively dictate the Cuban  policy of the most powerful nation on Earth.

16.56

Voiceover:  But after 35 years of failed invasions and economic confrontation - Fidel Castro is still in power.

17.07

Voiceover:  They are, in the end, reduced to just waiting for the old revolutionary to just fade away.....

17.21

ENDS

17.44