PALM SPRINGS, CA – Award-winning filmmaker and author Paul Gorman announces the May 10, 2026 release of EN PROBLEMAS, the Spanish edition of his acclaimed memoir Into Trouble. The book reveals how a nineteen-year-old American fleeing the Vietnam draft became an unwitting bargaining chip in Cold War diplomacy—a truth he wouldn't discover for fifty-two years."He escaped the Vietnam draft but not Franco's prison," encapsulates Gorman's extraordinary 1969 ordeal in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where a desperate decision to cash three stolen fifty-dollar traveler's checks landed him in Franco-era Prisión de Barranco Seco facing up to six years.
What began as a cautionary tale of youthful recklessness transformed into a political thriller when Gorman uncovered shocking evidence decades later: Three weeks after his mysterious release from prison, the U.S. and Spanish governments signed an extension to the Pact of Madrid—a critical Cold War military agreement allowing American bases in Spain.
"The timeline was undeniable," Gorman explains. "The State Department could have located my parents' money order immediately. Instead, they needed me in Franco's prison just long enough to apply pressure on Spain. I was sacrificed on the altar of geopolitics."
The memoir chronicles Gorman's harrowing twenty-six days in Barranco Seco, where he befriended murderers and political prisoners, faced the constant threat of violence, and struggled with crushing psychological despair. The inexplicable appearance of U.S. Ambassador Robert Wagner in his cell for a photo session—followed by his sudden release when money was "found" in a Spanish bank—raised questions that haunted him for decades.
EN PROBLEMAS offers Spanish-speaking readers an unprecedented firsthand account of life in Franco's Spain during the regime's final years (the "tardofranquismo"). For history enthusiasts, it provides intimate details of Cold War machinations and the human cost of international diplomacy. For memoir readers, it delivers a gripping coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and Europe's counterculture movement.
EN PROBLEMAS is now available for presale at a special launch price of €3.00 (regularly €5.99) for Kindle ebook on Amazon.es, Amazon.com, and all Amazon marketplaces worldwide. The paperback edition will be available May 10, 2026 at €14.99 / $14.99.
The memoir targets Spanish-speaking readers in Spain, Latin America, and the United States, as well as English-speaking audiences interested in Franco-era history, Cold War politics, and political thrillers based on true events.
Paul Gorman is a multi-award-winning author and documentary filmmaker whose work spans engineering, storytelling, and the art of taking risks. A graduate of the University of Washington's Advanced Filmmaking Program, his documentaries have screened at film festivals across North America and Europe. His memoirs Into Trouble and Running Down a Dream have earned acclaim for their unflinching honesty and vivid prose, while his debut thriller Offsides explores the fragile hope of glasnost-era peace.
EN PROBLEMAS is available for presale now on Amazon (Kindle ebook) and launches May 10, 2026 in both ebook and paperback formats.
Presale (through May 9, 2026):
Kindle ebook: €3.00 / $3.25 (save €2.99)
Launch (May 10, 2026):
Kindle ebook: €5.99 / $5.99
Paperback: €14.99 / $14.99
Amazon links:
Amazon.es (Spain): https://amzn.to/47Z4pw1
Amazon.com (U.S.): https://amzn.to/4838E9U
Contact:
Paul Gorman
raincitycinema@gmail.com