by Bob Mayer
"The terrain features that dominate the country are the Andes Mountains and its various smaller ranges. The second-largest feature lies to the east of the mountains and is called the Llanos, or area of plains. For the purposes of this mission we can basically ignore that part of the country, since it stretches off into the jungles of the Amazon basin. It's sparsely populated and undeveloped. The places we are concerned with will either be in the mountains, such as in the vicinity of Medellin or Bogota, or down on the Caribbean seacoast, where Cartagena and Barranquilla are located.
"Medellin and Bogota are located in the central highlands, on plateaus between the mountain ranges. Bogota, the capital city, is at an elevation of 8,660 feet above sea level; Medellin is at 5,000 feet. This makes for a temperate climate despite the proximity to the equator.
"Not far out of each city you can find yourself on steep, vegetated mountainsides. I don't mean to steal any of Mister Stevens's spiel, but I believe that this is the terrain where you will find some of your targets. Of the two initial targets I've brought, one is located in the hills just outside Medellin. The second is near Cartagena, which is located here."
Westland looked over her audience. "The Caribbean coast outside of the cities is swampy and tropical, crisscrossed with streams and lakes. Most people think of jungle when they talk of Colombia, but the terrain you will be concerned with will be either lowland swamps or temperate highlands. The areas you will be working in are not like the jungles you might be used to from your missions in Panama, although there may be a little of that along the coast, depending on where exactly you go.
"A quick sketch of recent history may give you an idea of the kind of social climate you'll be working in. Due to various reasons there has been a strong guerrilla movement in the country for many years. The two largest of these groups are known as the M-19 movement and the FARC. However, there are a total of almost a hundred splinter guerrilla organizations operating there."
Riley shook his head in amazement. What kind of screwed-up country were they going into? "What's the relationship between the guerrillas and the drug cartel?"
Westland shrugged. "Off again, on again. Mostly off. One of the reasons the cartel has the military so infiltrated with informers, and also receives a lot of tacit support from the armed forces, is because the cartel often helps in the war against the guerrillas, who have been a threat to their business operations at times.
"However, the guerrillas and the cartel have been known to cooperate when mutual goals have coincided. For example, the attack on the Supreme Court in late 1985 was actually the work of the M-19 group. This took place right after the Court took the step of allowing extradition of cartel members to the U.S. for prosecution, so saying that the executions were coincidence is kind of hard to do. It took us almost five years to recover from that blow to the point where they allowed extradition again.
"The government's recent efforts against the cartel have placed it in the unenviable position of having to fight two separate enemies— the cartel and the guerrillas. The military appears to feel, with some justification, that the guerrillas are the worse of the two evils.
"As a whole, the country of Colombia is perhaps the most lawless in the world. In many areas the only law is the power of the drug gangs. They employ people they call sicarios, which means paid assassins. Comparing the Mafia to the Colombians is like comparing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Attila the Hun and his army. The Springfield massacre was a typical example of how the sicarios operate.
"Over the past decade, the drug cartel has made several different offers to the government, ranging from asking to be legalized to threatening to take over the country. They have even offered to erase the country's approximately sixteen-billion-dollar foreign debt if the government would formally recognize them."
Riley considered this information. It was all very interesting but, hopefully, would not come into play in the upcoming missions. His war-gaming with the other senior team members had sketched tentative plans that would have the recon element on the ground less than twelve hours for each mission. Nonetheless, it was a tenet of Special Forces operations to have a working knowledge of the area of operations. You never knew when such information might be useful. Riley wished they had more time to do a proper area study of Colombia, but he knew that wouldn't be possible under the present compressed schedule. He stood up, since Westland seemed to be done. "Anything else?"
She shrugged. "I could go on for hours but I'm not really sure you need more detail from me. I think Mister Stevens is going to give you more specific information concerning the drug cartel that might be more along the lines of what you need."
Riley appreciated her conciseness and ability to see what was needed. It was a trait not many people possessed. "Thanks for the briefing. I'm sure we'll be hitting you up over the next couple of days for more specific information as we find out we need it." He turned to Stevens. "All yours."
Stevens took Westland's spot, replacing her slide tray with his own. He cleared his throat and started. "I'm going to give you a quick briefing on the drug network that you'll be attacking. This information should allow you to better understand what you're up against.
"The drug we're primarily concerned with is cocaine. It's estimated that there are ten to twenty million users in the United States. We're not exactly sure of the number because people don't line up and answer polls on that sort of thing. Suffice it to say there's a whole bunch of folks snorting the stuff. You also have to add in the rapidly growing number of crack users, since crack is a derivative of cocaine.
"The cocaine network begins in the Andes Mountains of South America, where the coca plant is grown. The majority of the coca crop is cultivated in the countries of Bolivia and Peru. We roughly estimate there are over 400,000 acres presently under cultivation, producing well over 100,000 metric tons of leaf annually. The leaves, when mature, are harvested and taken to initial processing labs in the immediate area. Leaves are sold for ten to fourteen dollars a kilo. Leaves have a cocaine content of about one half to one percent by weight.
"At this initial lab, the leaves are ground up, soaked in alcohol laced with benzol, and mixed. The alcohol is drained and sulfuric acid is then added and the mixture is stirred. Then sodium carbonate is added. The whole thing is washed with kerosene and chilled, leaving crystals of cocaine behind. These crystals, called coca paste, have a cocaine content of anywhere from thirty-five to eighty percent, usually near the lower end of those two numbers. It takes approximately two hundred kilos of coca leaf to produce one kilo of crude coca paste.
"The paste is then taken to several cities in South America where buyers congregate—places such as Tingo Maria in Peru, Santa Cruz in Bolivia, Iquitos in Peru, and Leticia in Colombia. There the paste is purchased and shipped to processing laboratories. The majority goes to Colombia, where it is further refined into base.
"In Colombia there are four main locations for the final processing labs that we are concerned with." Stevens turned and pointed at the map on the wall. "They are in the areas around the cities of Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, and Barranquilla. I'd say there are about twenty labs operating at any one time in the country. Over half of these are relatively small time when compared to a lab operated by one of the three lords of the drug cartel."
Stevens turned and looked at the team. "A key factor to our success in this task force will be which labs are targeted for us. If we hit a couple of the big-time ones, we'll make a strong impact on the entire network.
"At these labs the coca paste is turned into base, using ether. It takes approximately two and a half kilograms of paste to make one kilo of base. The base is then turned into cocaine hydrochloride. This is done on a one-to-one scale." Stevens turned to the view screen behind him and hit the switch for the slide projector. "These are examples of what you're looking for. The key signs are the drums of ether or hydrochloric acid, which are used for the last two steps."
Holder, the junior engineer, obser
ved, "That place is an explosion waiting to happen. All that ether."
Stevens nodded. "It has been known to happen. Somebody gets a little careless and the place ceases to exist. The chemists who work there get paid enough to make the risk worthwhile."
The chemicals would compound the effect of the firing platform, Riley thought. He watched as the pictures continued to flash across the screen.
Stevens went on. "I have hard copies of all these photos and will leave them here. Also, I'm leaving some intelligence reports on the makeup of some of the drug organizations."
Powers raised his hand. "What about security at these labs?"
"Security is heavy. It's not unknown for one drug lord to try to rip off another. Like I said, there are three main lords down there right now. Combined they are called the cartel, but that doesn't necessarily mean they work together. One is based in Medellin. That's Suarez. Another controls Bogota and Barranquilla. That's Ahate's people, although there have been rumors there's been a coup in that gang and a man known only as the Ring Man is presently in charge. He used to be one of Ahate's top sicarios. The last, Ramirez, also known as The Shark, works the coast out of Cartagena.
"At a typical major lab I'd say you have anywhere from twenty to thirty men for security. They're armed with the latest automatic weapons and machine guns. I've heard that some of them have black market Redeye antiaircraft missiles for use against helicopters, and with the amount of money these people have, I could well believe it.
"Let me tell you something about the wealth you're dealing with. Let's back the whole process up. For one kilo of cocaine hydrochloride you need over a thousand kilos of leaves. That costs $700 to $800 in Bolivia. That initial investment, when turned into a kilo of cocaine hydrochloride, becomes worth a lot, because when it reaches the States the kilo is stepped on several times; that is, it's diluted with a neutral substance, such as lactose. That's done maybe three times, making that initial kilo into eight kilos. Each of those eight kilos can sell for let's say at least $15,000. So we're talking a total sale of $120,000. And that's not street value. On the street the kilos are further broken down and sold as grams for a higher per unit price."
Stevens looked at the men in front of him. "With that kind of money you can afford protection. There've been reports of foreign mercenaries working for some of the factions, running training camps for the sicarios and in some cases actually doing some of their dirty work. I've heard of some Americans there but it mainly seems to be German and Israeli ex-military.
"Each branch of the cartel has its little army of sicarios. For example, Ramirez's sicarios call themselves the Terminator gang and mark their victims with a T pattern of bullet holes. You've also got the Rambos, the Hernan Botero gang, the Black Flag gang, and several others. They use women extensively as assassins."
Stevens clicked off his projector. "The entire drug cartel in Colombia is a highly organized and ruthless bunch. If the government down there tried to stand toe to toe with the cartel and fight it out, I'd put my money on the cartel."
3:00 P.M.
Riley felt that the isolation was going well so far. Most of the team members were wading through the information Westland and Stevens had brought with them, sorting out those facts they needed for both their area of expertise and as background for the overall mission. All the maps were posted and the isolation area was internally secure. Pike had arranged with the post commander to secure the outside of the compound with military police.
Riley glanced around the isolation area a little nervously, steeling himself to go over and talk to the new detachment commander. Riley disliked personal confrontations. He'd spent his childhood avoiding conflict, and even the possibility of having to argue with someone made him nervous.
Riley hadn't had a chance to talk with Captain Vaughn one-on-one so far. Too much had happened, and Riley had been kept busy trying to get the team on track to start mission planning. Now he knew he'd have to make the time. The whole operation was moving much faster than he had originally expected. Based on the intelligence and targeting information, the first split team was projected to go on a mission in two or three days.
Riley knew it was time to start making some hard decisions regarding mission planning and organization—decisions that were technically the captain's to make. Equally important, he also wanted to get an idea of what the captain thought and felt about the whole mission.
With a sigh, Riley got up and wandered across the room in the general direction of Captain Vaughn. He hovered near the captain's desk until Vaughn glanced up and noticed him. "Excuse me, sir, but I thought we might sit down and discuss some things privately."
Vaughn nodded. "That's a good idea. I've been wanting to talk to you about the way things are going."
Riley pointed. "We can use the general's office. He's over at the Pentagon trying to coordinate some of the support we need." Riley led the way into the small room and closed the door. He figured he needed to be the one to begin things. He perched on the edge of the general's desk while the captain took a chair.
"Sir, first off, you need to know that I'm not used to working under a team leader. I've been the commander of this team since I got my warrant, going on a little over a year. Before that I was an E-7 team sergeant, so I was in control on the enlisted side then. This situation, with you in command and me being the XO, is as new to me as it is to you. I think we can work together to make the transition for the two of us and the team as smooth as possible."
Riley was trying to be nice. Although having a commissioned officer as detachment commander was new to him as a warrant officer, being in Special Forces wasn't. It was all new to the young captain. Riley was hoping that Vaughn would want to utilize his experience; in return, Riley was willing to teach and support the captain.
Vaughn's reply indicated to Riley that either he hadn't quite understood what Riley was offering or wasn't interested. "I hear what you're saying. I can understand that it might be hard for you to accept that I'm in command. But that's the way it is. I know I don't have any Special Forces experience, but I spent four years in the 82d Airborne Division and had a successful company command there. So I know what's going on. Also, I did well in the qualification course. I was the top officer graduate in my class."
Riley looked the captain in the eyes. "Sir, you're going to find things are a bit different over here than they were in the 82d. I spent two years in the eighty-deuce when I was enlisted and I know what it's like. We operate differently here in SF, and the Q-course doesn't teach you everything you need to know."
Vaughn shook his head. "I don't see the need to operate differently on this mission. It looks very straightforward to me. Just like a mission out of Ranger school. We go in, verify the target, and then call in some firepower to blast."
Riley rubbed his forehead. I'm glad my mother taught me patience, he thought. Of all the people to get saddled with—a former member of the 82d Airborne gang. Riley had found an amazing consistency among the officers from that unit. A frontal lobotomy must be part of the in-processing when a new officer reported to the division. On the other hand, the enlisted soldiers were super. They would do damn near anything they were asked. Which was part of the problem. They didn't question it when their officers told them to do something stupid. And Riley had seen a lot of stupid things ordered by the officers of the neighboring 82d Airborne Division in his seven years at Fort Bragg.
"Sir, to be frank, the first difference between here and at division is that this team operates alone. It's just you and the eleven of us. Second, things are never as clear-cut as they appear. This mission appears straightforward, but I have bad feelings about it."
Riley could see Vaughn trying to decide whether the eleven-to-one thing had been a veiled threat. Apparently he couldn't figure it out because he latched onto the second remark. "What kind of bad feelings are you talking about?"
"Sir, I tend to wonder why about things. Like in this case, I wonder why the Colombian government is
fingering some cocaine labs. The intel that CIA woman, Westland, brought seems to check out with the imagery. It looks like we've got two good targets. But all the background stuff we've studied in the last couple of hours on Colombia says that the government and the drug cartel are in a sort of alliance. Kind of a 'you don't bother me and I won't bother you' arrangement. So why the change all of a sudden?"
Vaughn pondered that for a few moments. Riley expected to see smoke pouring out of the captain's ears any second. "You've got a point. But I also don't think it's likely that we'll find out. Obviously there are some internal maneuverings going on down there that we don't know about. The key thing to be worried about as far as we're concerned is getting ambushed. The first mission is going to be key. If it's a setup, that's the one that will tell."
Riley's estimation of his new team leader went up slightly. The man had hit the nail on the head. "That's exactly what's been bugging me, sir. The first one is going to be critical. Since we're going in split team I suggest we stagger these first two hits. Hold off on sending the second team in until the first one is out successfully."
Vaughn concurred. "That's a good idea. No sense in endangering all of us at the start. Kind of like sending a recon element across a danger area, like I was taught in Ranger school. I agree."
Riley nodded. "I recommend that I take in the first split team and you take the second, sir. We can work out the makeup of the split teams later today."
Vaughn agreed. "OK. When the general gets back I'll see what he thinks about it."
BOGOTA
4:3O P.M.
President Alegre, throughout the bustle of the day's business, had kept one thought in the back of his mind—the situation with the Ring Man. He considered the recent developments. The Americans had the locations of the first two targets by now. They had to act quickly. Laboratories moved occasionally. The facilities were just a collection of shacks. Keeping drugs worth many millions of dollars in one location too long was a risky proposition in Colombia. The country had the highest crime rate per capita in the world.