Hugo Chavez of Venezuela with a donation of $11 million opened a new film studio, Film Villa, in Venezuela to combat “Hollywood imperialism,” accusing Hollywood of depicting Latin Americans and Venezuelans as drug runners. One of the first film projects for Film Villa is a film about Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan-born general in the Spanish army who fought for independence against Spain in the 18th Century, and was rumored to have had an affair with Catherine the Great, as well as having fought in the American war for independence. This is not the first Venezuelan foray into pop culture: he is the founder of the Venezuelan television media outlet Telosur.