Jim Burns, CNSNews.com. Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2001.
Just in time for Christmas, the Blitzkrieg Toyz company in New York City
announced that it has shipped 3,000
"El
Commandante Fidel Castro" action figures to the nation's retailers.
The Cuban-American National Foundation
called the move outrageous.
The company's 12-inch, hand-painted dolls come in two styles: "Fidel
Castro-El Comandante with black and white hair" sells for $65. The "Fidel
Castro-El Comandante with black hair" sells for $75. The dolls are dressed
in military gear.
The Cuban-American National Foundation called the dolls an example of bad
taste.
"In this country there are plenty of real heroes to be had as role
models," said Mariela Ferretti, a spokeswoman for the Cuban-American
National Foundation. She told CNSNews.com, "What this shows is a tremendous
amount of ignorance to begin with because it's a lack of knowledge as to what
Fidel Castro and his regime stand for."
Ferretti said it was particularly appalling that a company would sell Castro
dolls at a time when the United States is engaged in a war against terrorism.
"To come out now in this precise venture and come up with a Fidel
Castro doll is just outrageous.... He is the anti-thesis of what makes a hero,"
said Ferretti.
However, Deborah Mohr, owner of Blitzkrieg Toyz, said she didn't see any
controversy in the Castro doll.
"We only had two negative complaints about our Adolf Hitler figure, so
I don't foresee any protest. It's historical, not political. I give collectors
what they want," said Mohr in an interview with The South Florida Business
Journal.
Mohr told the Journal that she has also designed Saddam Hussein and Red
Baron dolls. She said the idea for a Castro doll "just popped into my head."
For Castro's clothes and look, Mohr went close to the source.
"I worked with a Cuban detective who was a former Castro bodyguard. He
helped with the colors, seals, the box, the flag. The sleeve is in revolutionary
colors," said Mohr.
She also said she sent a case of the dolls to the Castro government but has
yet to hear back.
Mohr said there was no scale-size cigar with the Castro doll. "We
forgot that until it was too late," she admitted.
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