Filmmakers go to Cuba to make a film about rum being traded for debt relief and discovered a lot more than they bargained for

This is much more than about rum.

A new documentary on Cuba with a unique perspective.

 Back in 2016 news broke that Cuba wanted to pay off $276 million dollars in Czech debt with rum. "This Film Used To Be About Rum" is an interesting attempted exploration of this agreement between the Czech Republic and the Castro regime to negotiate Cuba's debt with the Central European country through the shipment of rum. It was supposed to be a puff piece.The filmmakers interviewed Tomas Zdechovsky, a Czech representative of the European Parliament who makes a shocking revelation in the film.

"I don't think we've mentioned that the whole rum industry is based on child labor. When you come out to the countryside and take a look at who's working on the fields, you'll see ten, twelve-year-old children working there.  And then we go ahead and drink the rum wth no ethical dilemmas whatsoever. We just accept it as being part of a culture.But when you think about it, when you drink Cuban rum, you're helping the Cuban regime survive."

This short documentary is not a puff piece and it bumps into some uncomfortable truths. It is also interesting to see Fulton Armstrong, CIA and avid supporter of normalization with the Cuban dictatorship at the same time, trying to spin the Castro regime's sinister nature in the most positive light possible.

After viewing this documentary you may need a drink.

The film does a fair job of explaining the historical importance of Bacardi in Cuba's rum business and how they were forced out by the Castro dictatorship. The company still maintains its liberal tradition of defending human rights.