Episode 9 - Mayhem in Mexico and Operation Just Cause We Had Nothing Better to Do.

Today:  Mexico's murder rate is even worse than the last time you checked.  Not great publicity for the tourist trade.  And it was the same way ten years ago.  And looking back on the Invasion of Panama, 29 years ago tonight.

 

I'm Chuck Holton, and this is the Hot Zone.

 

Thanks for joining us.  An American tourist named Tatiana Mirutenko - a beautiful 27-year-old newlywed was out celebrating her first wedding anniversary with her husband and a few friends last saturday night in an upscale part of Mexico City.  As they were leaving the restaurant, two men rode up on a motorcycle and opened fire at the bouncer standing at the door.  The young American woman was caught by a stray bullet, tragically ending her life.

 

It's a horrific story.  We hear about the rising crime rate in Mexico, now reaching record levels with nearly 30,000 murders and assassinations happening there every year.  Once-booming tourist destinations like Acapulco and Cancun are now becoming virtual ghost towns as cartels engage in gory turf wars, and in far too many cases, innocents are being caught in the crossfire.  But still, should you be worried?  

 

Today there are more than a million American citizens living in Mexico, mostly retirees who moved south for the warmer climate and lower cost of living.  It's really amazing considering that violence like we are seeing today has literally been going on for decades.  In fact, here's a piece I made about this issue ten years ago that could literally have been filmed this week.

 

https://vimeo.com/3766271

 

Well, if you are planning a trip south of the border, here are a few things you need to understand about violence in Mexico.  This holds true for most hot zones around the world, too.

 

1.  The majority of the violence is drug related.  Most killings are between rival narco traffickers, and if you stay away from them and the places they congregate, you are probably okay.  As my friend John Correia likes to stay, remember the rules of stupid.  Don't go stupid places with stupid people at stupid times and do stupid things.  You can probably get away with breaking one aspect of those rules, but two or more starts to put you in danger.
2. The violence is typically compartmentalized into a few bad areas within the country.  In Mexico, if you stay away from the border areas and places like Acapulco and Cancun, you would probably find Mexico to be fairly safe.  I took my family to live in Sonora state one winter and it was very peaceful.  We heard that the area we were in was kind of declared off limits by the cartels.
3. As we can see with the story of this American woman killed on Saturday, Whether you are in Mazatlan or Memphis, stuff happens No matter how careful you are.  For that reason, you should always be prepared wherever you go.  Carrying a tourniquet, for example might be a small inconvenience, but could literally save a life.  
4. When it's your time, it's your time.  Make sure you've said what needs to be said to your loved ones, and you're spiritually prepared for the end of your life because just like that unfortunate young lady Tatiana Mirutenko, you never know when your day is coming.  Make sure you've committed your life to Jesus.  That's got benefits both right now and after your day comes and they put you in the ground.

 

Okay, let's move on to Panama, where I happen to be located at the moment.  In 1989, this country was ruled by a dictator - Manuel Noriega.  He'd been in power since 1983 and was known for unspeakable cruelty towards his rivals.  He was the quintessential tin pot dictator.  He was as corrupt as the day is long and everybody knew it, but that didn't stop the CIA from using him as an asset in the war on drugs.  In fact, he'd been working covertly for the CIA since the 1950's.  

 

But Noriega was playing both sides of the fence, amassing a huge personal fortune through illicit drug and weapons sales.  So in 1988 he was  indicted by federal grand juries in Miami and Tampa on charges of racketeering, drug smuggling, and money laundering, and then-president George H. W. Bush decided he had to go.  

 

I was a young Ranger at the time, a specialist in the 3rd Ranger Battalion at Fort Benning, Georgia.  I'd just successfully graduated Ranger school and had been given the position of team leader in my squad.  We had been briefed on the deteriorating relations between the US and Panama, which was significant considering the United States had tens of thousands of troops stationed there already to protect the Panama Canal.  I myself had already deployed twice to Panama to attend the Jungle Warfare Training School at Fort Sherman, and so we were very familiar with the country already. 

 

On December 17, 1989, which was a Sunday, I went by my barracks to pack some clothes for Christmas leave.  Instead, we got locked down and could not communicate with the outside world.  Two days later on December 19th, we were loading C-130s and C-141s with our kit loaded down with live ammo, headed for Panama.  

 

It was actually about 1 in the morning when we jumped, which means technically it was December 20th.  I remember when the jumpmasters opened the doors of the aircraft six minutes out, and the rush of tropical humidity that flooded the bird.  We recited the ranger creed, shouting over the roar of the aircraft engines, and then stood up, hooked up and shuffled to the door.  One minute out we passed a tiny island just offshore from the airfield at Rio Hato.  There was a flash we later heard was from two 500 pound bombs dropped by American F-117 Stealth bombers, the first time those planes were ever used in combat.  And just seconds later, the green light and Rangers started stepping out into the night sky over Rio Hato.  The first American airborne combat mass-tactical parachute jump since grenada in 1983.  

 

I lost a good friend that night.  Phillip Scott Lear had been my Ranger buddy in Ranger school just months before.  I sat next to him on the plane and shook his hand before we jumped.  He was shot in the neck and killed not long after he hit the ground.  

 

That's the kind of experience that shapes a man.  Changes him.  I aged that night.  It's an experience I'd never want to repeat.  But we did a lot of good for the Panamanian people, and for America by taking out that evil drug kingpin turned dictator.

 

My buddies who were there still get in touch every year on this day, to remember what we did as young men so many years ago.  I always take a moment and remember my buddy Lear.  It helps me avoid taking my life for granted, remembering his sacrifice.  Lear didn't get to get married, to have a family.  To see his children grow up.  Whatever problems I have, Lear reminds me I have so much to be thankful for.

 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for being with me.  Are you enjoying this podcast?  If so, would you consider buying me a cup of coffee by becoming a subscriber?  It's only three dollars a month on my patreon page, and you'll get some perks too, like free copies of my books and more.  Just go to Patreon.com/hotzone.  You can help for free by simply liking and sharing this podcast with your friends.  I'm enjoying making it, I hope you are enjoying it too.

 

Have a great day, and I'll see you tomorrow on the Hot Zone.

 

End Notes: 

 

Panama mourns passing of Bush, who ordered country's invasion in 1989.

 

Manuel Noriega - Wikipedia

 

Operation Just Cause - Wikipedia