In the cover story of this week’s issue of The Nation, actor and filmmaker Sean Penn ruminates on the mythology surrounding Raúl Castro and Hugo Chávez, writing frankly about his travels to Venezuela and Cuba, and conversations with the leaders who are so often assailed in the US’s mainstream media. Penn reflects on his conversations with Castro about Obama, Guantánamo and the Pentagon; and with Venezuelan President Chávez on human rights in his country and the next US administration.

–Marissa Colón-Margolies

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