Cuban Ana Margarita Martínez sues Netflix for defamation

October 23, 2020

# Translation

Cuban publicist Ana Margarita Martínez, ex-wife of Juan Pablo Roque, filed a lawsuit against Netflix last Wednesday for alleged defamation in the film "Red Avispa" (Wasp Network).

Since August 12, the law offices Dreyfuss & Dempsey, PLLC and Roig & Villarreal, PA, sent a letter announcing that they would represent Martínez in the lawsuit. In a 40-page document filed with a federal court in Miami, Martínez claims monetary compensation and damages to her reputation caused by the "false and defamatory" portrayal made of her by well-known Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas.

The film, directed by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, was partially filmed in Cuba, in selected locations in Varadero, Havana and Puerto Escondido, and for that purpose some of its star actors remained on the Island for several days, such as Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, Mexican Gael García Bernal, Venezuelan Edgar Ramírez, and Brazilian Wagner Moura.

"A significant portion of the film portrays Ms. Martínez, played by actress Ana de Armas, in a false and defamatory manner. The film's portrayal of Martínez cannot be justified as mere use of artistic license or dramatization, as the defendants have marketed and promoted the work as based on 'real facts'," states the lawsuit text, according to CiberCuba.

Martínez's legal action also includes French production company Orange Studios, the film's producer, and its director, Olivier Assayas. Red Avispa premiered at international festivals in late 2019 and was released by Netflix last June.

In the letter, the publicist's legal representatives demand that Netflix claims the film is "based on real facts," when it was actually adapted from the book "Los últimos soldados de la Guerra Fría."

In total, the lawsuit charges those responsible for the film's production and direction with six criminal counts of defamation, conspiracy to defame, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Additionally, the film claims that Ana Margarita led a life with "immoral sexual conduct," linked to drug trafficking, which was also disputed in the letter, forgetting that she was actually a working mother who often financed the life of her unemployed husband. On the other hand, Ana María Martínez was never contacted by the filmmakers.

In an interview with ADN Cuba, Pedro Roig, one of the lawyers handling the case, explained that the elements the law requires to render a defamation verdict are difficult because malice must exist.

"In the case of Ana Margarita Martínez there exists, in addition to malice, premeditation. This was planned by Cuban State Security with all the experience they have. They are using an agent to approach a young woman outside of all activist activity, he meets her in a church, falls in love with her and marries her. This was presented in a court and there is a trial that has a verdict where they find her to be a victim of that crime. None of that appears in the film," the lawyer explained.

Likewise, Roig commented that they will go to the courts with a verdict in hand, issued years ago, just as with the verdict of the five Cuban spies.

Finally, he sent a message to Netflix: "They are going to have many problems validating their lies in Court, because we have a thorough investigation."

"Red Avispa" was strongly criticized since its premiere, especially by the Miami exile community, who despite being a central part of the story, were never consulted.

Opponents demand that "equal time" be provided to the victims of Hermanos al Rescate and that the sign appearing at the beginning of the film be removed, which states it is "based on real facts."

Since late June, a group of Cubans created a petition on the change.org platform, asking Netflix to remove the film. According to the petition, "because it defends Castroite spies sentenced in the United States."

Netflix, headquartered in California, has not yet reacted to the lawsuit filed, nor has production company Orange Studios.

Since its premiere, Assayas's film, an acclaimed French director, sparked bitter controversy both due to its storyline content and artistic quality. Cuban exiles sent a letter to Netflix with thousands of signatures, asking for the film to be removed from the audiovisual platform's programming.

In addition to De Armas, Assayas managed to incorporate a constellation of stars into the cast, including Penélope Cruz, Edgar Ramírez, Gael García, and Walter Moura.

Based on the testimonial book Los últimos soldados de la Guerra Fría (2012), by Brazilian journalist Fernando Morais, the film recounts episodes of the so-called Red Avispa, the largest Cuban espionage operation in United States history.

The book, which was authorized by the Intelligence Directorate of MININT, reflects the official Cuban regime's vision of the reasons for their spies' penetration into U.S. military bases and federal facilities. The Cuban government argues that its agents were trying to neutralize the actions of violent exile groups in Miami, but avoids referring to other illegal and destabilizing actions against U.S. national security, documented in messages sent to the network from Havana.

Morais was in Miami for his journalistic research and received help from local reporters and photographers, but at no time attempted to incorporate into the book testimony from organizations and Cuban exiles who were subjects of espionage by Red Avispa, dismantled by the FBI in 1998.

In 1996, the network's leadership was involved in a military operation to shoot down two small planes from the Hermanos al Rescate organization by Cuban MiG fighter jets in the Florida Strait.

One of the members of Red Avispa was spy Roque, alias Germán, who served in Miami as an alleged defector pilot and member of Hermanos al Rescate. Roque escaped to Cuba one day before the downing of the small planes and the death of their four crew members.

Martínez and Roque met in 1992 and married three years later. The marriage was part of Roque's operational cover, who currently resides on the island.

"At the very least, the defendants disregarded the manner in which Ms. Martínez was portrayed in the film and failed to act with due diligence regarding publicly available information about her actual situation and conduct," the lawsuit states. "There were accurate historical facts about her life, but instead [the film] chose to use an astounding amount of false information to develop her character, which was entirely fabricated without being based on facts."

The lawsuit emphasizes that Martínez had no involvement in the production of Red Avispa and was never consulted regarding the events described in the film.

Martínez, 60, emigrated with her family to the United States in 1966.

The Cuban-American exile acknowledges that Roque attempted to recruit her during the romantic relationship they maintained for four years, which ended up causing her severe emotional damage.

In 2020, a U.S. court ruled in her favor in a damages lawsuit against the Cuban government, awarding her $27 million in compensation. Martínez has only been able to receive about $200,000 in compensation.