The ever-controversial film director Oliver Stone continued his assault on Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, denouncing his administration as “a joke.”
When asked why his documentary “South of the Border” did not feature the outgoing president alongside its selection of “progressive” South American leaders, including Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales, Stone replied:
“Uribe is a bit like everybody else that existed on our side forever; there’s one hundred Uribes out there. He’s not going to go down as distinguished in any way in the history books – except as collaborator with America. We gave him seven billion f***ing dollars and more people got killed in that country – next to Guatemala – than anywhere in South America.”
Stone said the objective of his documentary was to “capture the spirit of change” in the continent and that “bad guys” Uribe and Peruvian President Alan Garcia represent the continuation of “a blind, deaf and dumb American policy.” He went on to liken U.S. influence in Colombia to Vietnam and Nicaragua, saying “It’s a continuation of a dumb American policy … Spend more money, war on drugs control, control, control.”
Stone’s documentary, which debuts across America from today, responds to the treatment of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other South American leaders by U.S. media. The director, renowned for films such as “Platoon” (1986), and “Wall Street” (1987) has increasingly shown a taste for documenting politically controversial subjects.
Last week Stone called President Uribe “a U.S puppet,” and has previously voiced his belief that paramilitary groups in Colombia are financed by the U.S.
