Joke on Fidel Castro: Miami Radio Listeners Find the Joke is on Castro - 2003-06-19

Michael Bowman, an American radio host in Miami, Florida, has mocked a country leader for the second time this year, this time targeting Fidel Castro, the leader of Cuba. Although the intention was humor, when Castro realized he was being pranked, he responded with profanity instead of laughter. The radio show was broadcast live in Spanish, amusing Cuban exiles in Miami. In a phone conversation lasting about twenty minutes, a person initially claimed to be an assistant to Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, who is a staunch supporter of Castro. After various operators located Castro through multiple calls, the Cuban leader picked up the phone. The radio station used phrases that had previously been recorded and genuinely spoken by President Chavez to convince Castro that he was indeed speaking with the Venezuelan president. Initially, Castro complained that the voice was not clear. The host then asked the Cuban leader to help find a suitcase full of confidential documents that had supposedly gone missing during Chavez's recent trip to Argentina. Castro agreed. From this point onward, the conversation was filled with vulgarities. The host asked if Castro agreed with the events happening in his country and then revealed that it was a joke. When Castro, surprised, asked, 'What joke?', the radio host informed him that this was a live show from Miami. Fidel Castro then began to curse, including insults directed at the host's mother. This radio host, using the alias 'Morning Joke Maker', had earlier this year impersonated Castro and called President Chavez, who was also angered by the act.