Brown, Dale - Independent 02 (101 page)

 
          
“But...
but what about our pilots? What about Major Trujillo? We know that the Border
Security Force is after them, we have an obligation to inform our crewmen—”

 
          
“Garza,
you are a good man but think ... if we try to get a message to our crew now,
Gachez will intercept it. It is much too risky. We can try to send a message to
them after they clear
Colombia
and the money is safe in our hands—”

 
          
“But
Colonel . . . those are your men out there. They are your Cuchillos. These men
trust you—”

 
          
“They
are
not
being abandoned, Captain
Garza,” Salazar said almost casually, returning to his desk and swiveling
around in his chair, a man at peace with himself. “They are brave men, fighting
men well aware of the risks. It is prudent to assume that Van Nuys will talk to
the Hammerheads, but we are not
sure
of it—perhaps Gachez has a tighter hold on Van Nuys’ tongue than one imagines.
We should not abort the mission because we merely
think
he will talk.” Garza did not look convinced.

 
          
“In
any case, the Hammerheads are still weak, disorganized. They may not be capable
of stopping my Cuchillos even if they have the necessary information. The
Cuchillos know the procedures in case they are intercepted—avoid detection if
possible, avoid pursuit if detected, avoid interception if pursued, avoid
attack if intercepted, avoid capture if attacked, and keep silent if captured.
We will not abandon them. I have confidence in our pilots to be sufficiently
skillful to complete ... to complete at least part of their missions.”

 
          
He
stopped his swiveling and fixed Garza with a glare. “You will brief the
detachment here that they are to remain silent about the incident tonight.
There will be no transmissions whatsoever about it. You will prepare alternate
routes for our crews in case we receive word that our mission has been
compromised. Above all, you and that useless worm of a security chief will
insure that not a word is leaked to anyone outside this base. We can still
profit from this disaster, Garza, but only if Gachez never finds out that Van
Nuys is gone.”

 
          
The
White House Oval Office,
Washington
,
D.C.

 
          
The Next Morning

 
          
Vice
President Martindale greeted the Mexican ambassador, Dr. Lidia Pereira, at the
door of the Oval Office and escorted her in. The President, Secretary of State
Conrad Chapman, Chief of Staff Pledgeman, NSC Chairman Curtis, all got to their
feet as the young ambassador from
Mexico
entered.

 
          
“How
are you, Mr. President?”
Pereira
needed no interpreter; her English had not a trace of accent.

 
          
“Very
well, Dr. Pereira, thank you.” The President, who at first had underestimated
her, knew her now as a smart, tenacious firebrand, a someone to be reckoned
with.

 
          
Which
was why she was in the White House this morning. Pereira carried a considerable
influence in both the United States and Mexico and it was important to win her
over early.

 
          
The
President turned toward his advisors strategically arranged around the Oval
Office. “I believe you know everyone,” but he went through the introductions
anyway. “Dr. Pereira,” the President said, “I’m afraid we have an urgent matter
to discuss.” He nodded to Vice President Martindale.

 
          
“Madam
Ambassador, the United States Border Security Force has received information that
a former Cuban military officer, a dual national of
Haiti
and
Cuba
, is operating a large-scale drug-smuggling
 
operation out of Ciudad del Carmen,”
Martindale said. “An informant, a partner in a Colombian drug cartel informs us
that major shipments of cocaine will take place within the next few days, bound
for the
United States
by air through central
Mexico
. As I’m sure you know, drug-smuggling
activities through
Mexico
have sharply increased in recent years.
Although the bulk of drug shipments still go through the
Caribbean
, and probably always will, we estimate that
at least thirty to forty percent of illegal narcotics entering the
United States
now flow through
Mexico
.”

 
          
“I
am
aware
of that,”
Pereira
said. “It is not difficult to explain. We
do not have the sophisticated air-traffic surveillance and police organization
you do—police activities are almost nonexistent in the countryside. We also
recognize that at times some of our government officials can be compromised by
the enormous sums of money offered by the drug cartels in exchange for silence
or non-interference. We are not alone in that. But we patrol our borders with
you with all the resources and all the manpower we can possibly provide.”

 
          
“I
know that, Madame Ambassador,” Martindale said. “But along with stepped-up
education, treatment and enforcement programs, we also have found that
interdiction plays a
very
important
part. Our Border Security Force has especially relied on cooperation with our
neighbors to help stop the drug smugglers before they cross our borders . . .
We need your help in a very special request to your government for a program
that we would like to implement immediately.”

 
          
“My
staff briefed me this morning when we received your call,” she said. “I assume
you are referring to a free-flight operation for your Border Security Force
aircraft—your Hammerheads, I believe you call them. Am I correct?”

 
          
“Yes.
Our proposal is simple: allow Border Security Force aircraft with Mexican
justice department or federal police forces aboard to fly across the Mexican
border in hot pursuit of aircraft not cleared to enter the United States, or
aircraft that are flying a smuggler’s profile typical of drug smugglers—low
altitude, no identification beacons or radio broadcasts, no flight plan or
official clearance. The program has been implemented in other
Caribbean
and Central American nations with success.
The
Bahamas
, the Turks and Caicos,
Anguilla
,
the
Dominican Republic
,
Honduras
—even
Bolivia
and
Colombia
use our aircraft and resources in their own
fight against drug smugglers. We provide protection, transportation, advisors,
money and training in exchange for the added security that stepped-up patrols
in other countries provide. We do
not
interfere with enforcement matters not under our jurisdiction.

 
          
“
Mexico
has provided a great deal of support and
cooperation in our drug interdiction, intelligence and surveillance operations,
but more is needed.
Mexico
, I’m afraid, remains a safe haven for drug
smugglers—”

 
          
“An
unfair and exaggerated characterization—”

 
          
“Our
aircraft are forbidden to cross the border without prior permission,”
Martindale pressed on, not responding to her protest. “Notification is usually
unsuitable for such fast-breaking operations as confront us today, and is too
easily exploited by the drug smugglers.
Mexico
is now the most vital link in our efforts
to control drug smuggling into the
United States
. Will you help us, Dr. Pereira?”

 
          
“
Mexico
already has such a program, Mr. Vice
President. We extend a great deal of support to your Drug Enforcement
Administration agents, and we cooperate with your Customs Service, the Coast
Guard, your Border Patrol
and
your
local police departments.”

           
“True, Dr. Pereira, but here’s what
we now face: unidentified aircraft crossing our border with
Mexico
know that Border Security Force aircraft
are not permitted to cross the border, and they know that if they are
discovered by us they can simply fly right back across the border into
Mexico
to safety. An aircraft making drug drops anywhere
near the border feels confident he can escape interception. If he’s found he
simply flies south to safety, lands, refuels and tries again later. If he makes
a drop on the
Mexico
side of the border the drugs are dispersed and border crossings can be
made on foot or by off-road vehicles, with a very good chance of safely moving
the drugs north—”

 
          
“I
believe all that is grossly overestimated,”
Pereira
said flatly. “My government responds very
well to requests by U.S. Customs to such border intrusions, and we respond with
all the enforcement assets we have. Our anti-drug task forces are the
best-equipped and best- trained people in
Mexico
. I realize they may not be up to the
standards of the Hammerheads . . .” She paused, a hint of derision in her tone,
“. . . but my government believes our efforts are in proportion to the level of
the drug problem that exists . . . for the
Mexican
people.”

 
          
“I
take your point,” he said. “There would be no drug-smuggling if the demand for
drugs were not so high in our country. But the facts remain, a drug problem
does exist in your country as well as ours. And your country has become a major
pipeline for the flow of illegal drugs. We have the means to reduce
substantially that flow, but we need your help—”

 
          
“What
exactly do you propose?”

 
          
Pledgeman
was on. He came forward with copies of a proposal in blue plastic folders,
presented one to Dr. Pereira and passed out copies to the others. “This is an
outline of the concept, Dr. Pereira, but allow me to summarize it for you:
Provide our Border Security Force with a contingent of one hundred enforcement
officers. These officers will be stationed on American bases along the border.
Two to four officers accompany each interdiction flight. Give our aircraft
overflight and landing privileges throughout
Mexico
. If the suspect aircraft is in
Mexico
, your officers have jurisdiction over the
suspects and the evidence. If the suspects are in the
United States
we retain jurisdiction. The Border Security
Force pilots retain command and control of their aircraft. We also ask for
unlimited overflight and landing privileges for our unmanned surveillance and
interception aircraft.”

 
          
“What
about weapons?”
Pereira
asked. “Will you begin shooting down Mexican citizens?”

 
          
“As
with our collaborative operations in the
Caribbean
, officers wall not use their weapons on
foreign soil, except, of course, to protect themselves. This includes the use
of air-to-air or air-to-surface weapons on some of our aircraft. They may
assist in arrests and detention of prisoners but only on direction of the
Mexican officer in charge. To insure safety, armed unmanned aircraft will not
be allow
^r
ed to overfly
Mexico
.”

 
          
Pereira
looked at Air Force General Wilbur Curtis,
then asked, “And what about your Air Force or Army?”

 
          
Curtis
said: “This plan deals only with Border Security Force and Customs Service
operations. Unless specifically authorized, we may not fly military aircraft
into
Mexico
under this agreement. We must adhere to all national and international
laws.”

 
          
She
gave Curtis a skeptical look. “But the Border Security Force is part of the
military, is it not?”

 
          
“The
Border Security Force is in effect a separate agency,” the Vice President said,
“and it w
⁷
ill soon be official by act of Congress. In any case our
proposal limits the specific aircraft allowed to cross the borders at will, and
except for the unmanned aircraft, all of these aircraft must have Mexican
enforcement agents on board.”

 
          
“What
advantages does this proposal offer for
Mexico
? It gives your Border Security Force great
powers in the use of
Mexico
’s sovereign airspace, but what do we get in
return?”