This week the Associated Press revealed that the United States government attempted and failed to co-op the hip-hop scene in Cuba to quote spark youth movement against the government.

This failure comes on the heels of two others, also reported by the AP,

wanting to create a fake Cuban Twitter and the other to send young people into Cuba to recruit activists.

Here to help us make sense of this story is Trish Wilson of the Associated Press, who joins me now from Washington, DC.

So, Trish, what was this program? How did it work?

Well, the intent was to radicalize the Cuban people to challenge their own government.

And the way it worked was the USAID contractors infiltrated the hip-hop scene,

and we're trying to generate a fan base that would speak out against the government and challenge it and ultimately lead them to democratic reforms.

Most people in the audience are also going to wonder, what does USAID have to do with any of this?

I mean, when we think of USAID, usually we're thinking of bags of foods in countries that are desperate for food.

How does this line up with the mission?

Well, beyond its humanitarian mission, part of USAID's mission is to promote democracy efforts around the world.

So, this is one of those pro-democracy efforts.

Welcome to Blowback. I'm Brendan James, and this is Season 2, bonus episode 4.

One of great Britain's most prolific authors of pro-colonial anti-communist propaganda, Richard Crossman once said this,

quote, the way to carry out good propaganda is to appear to be never carrying it out at all.

In slightly more official language, a US National Security Council directive from 1950 at the dawn of the Cold War stated that

the most effective kind of propaganda is that in which, quote, the subject moves in the direction you desire for reasons which he believes to be his own.

This principle to launder or disguise propaganda as spontaneous, voluntary, democratic activity is still faithfully followed by the US State Department, the Defense Department, and of course the Central Intelligence Agency.

In this season, we've discussed the various covert programs and schemes that the US government set up against Cuba in the early 1960s following the country's revolution.

Now, on this bonus episode, we'll discuss a more contemporary example, perhaps a more subtle example, but one that conveys the endless forms of sabotage that the American Empire can take against countries such as Cuba.

The topic, the weaponization of music, specifically hip hop.

...