WASHINGTON – The director of a documentary that highlights assassination attempts on Fidel Castro said Monday he stands 100 percent behind his film after a Florida congresswoman claimed her comments included in a video clip were fabricated.
"We have absolutely nothing to hide," Dollan Cannell, film director of the British documentary "638 Ways to Kill Castro," told FOXNews.com from London. "I was very surprised by her comments because this clip is not doctored."
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida appeared in a 28-second clip available on the film's Web site. Her comments did not make the airing of the film when it showcased on British television but might be included in a DVD version and is available on the film's Web site.
"She very clearly made the remark," Cannell said.
In the film, Ros-Lehtinen, who will be the ranking Republican on the House International Relations Committee next year, is seen responding positively to a question about assassinating Castro.
"I welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate Fidel Castro and any leader who is oppressing the people," the film shows her saying. A producer and crew interviewed Ros-Lehtinen in her congressional office in March 2006, Cannell said.
The Havana-born lawmaker disputed that the comments she made were uttered the way they were portrayed in the video clip, which is not from the office interview.
"It's twisted in a way that gives the viewer a totally wrong impression," Ros-Lehtinen told The Miami Herald. "I've said the community has moved on, that those strategies are not being used today, but apparently the filmmakers think we're still in a '60s mentality."
But Ros-Lehtinen, who has sponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at undermining the Cuban dictator, believed to be suffering from some sort of terminal cancer, indicated she's unlikely to mourn his death.
"If someone were to do it, I wouldn't be crying," she said of an assassination attempt.
Calls to Ros-Lehtinen's offices were not immediately returned.
FOX News' Melissa Drosjack and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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