Chapter 22
February 1, 1984
Miami, Florida
We interrupt this program to bring you a special report. From Washington, here is Chris Wallace.
“Good afternoon. We’ve just received notice from the Federal Aviation Administration that all air traffic in the state of Alaska has been suspended until further notice as a result of the downing of KLM Flight 146 in Bulgaria on January 29th. This morning, the Soviet Union issued a statement via Sweden that apologized for the deaths of innocent civilians, yet excoriated the West for “flying so many spy planes disguised as civilian aircraft that it has become impossible for the nations of the Warsaw Pact to defend themselves without such incidents happening.” The statement, authored by Foreign Secretary Gromyko, who stormed out of Geneva a few days ago with the Soviet delegation, went on to say that the deaths of those aboard Flight 146 were the responsibility of the United States and its allies for its “reckless and provocative behavior.”
The White House is expected to respond at the daily press briefing, scheduled in just about fifteen minutes from now, and we will be carrying that live here on NBC. However, the Soviet Union’s statement clearly resonated with the Reagan Administration, as the FAA’s action shows. Two days ago, the FAA announced that it was ordering flights leaving Florida for Caribbean or South American destinations to take alternate air corridors to avoid flying near Cuba. This directive, though, represents a first in the history of air travel in the United States. Flights have never been suspended for an entire state since commercial air travel began some fifty years ago.
Joining me now to discuss this is NBC News commentator John Chancellor. John, you’ve been covering the Cold War for years now. You served in a number of European capitals, NATO headquarters, and even served as head of the Voice of America radio network. Tell me, is these recent events unprecedented, or are we merely facing a troubled time that will be resolved, like the Cuban Missile Crisis?”
“Chris, it’s hard to say. You probably don’t remember as well as I do, but the Hungary invasion by the Soviet Union in 1956 at the same time that the Suez Crisis was taking place. Many people faulted President Eisenhower for not taking action against the Soviets, especially since we had numerical superiority in nuclear arms at the time, but he did the right thing. It would’ve been an ugly event, and President Kennedy’s forbearance in 1962 also likely saved the world. In both cases, those men dealt with Nikita Khrushchev, an emotional, slightly erratic man who did possess great pragmatism in times of crisis. He knew when to stop, in other words.
The problem the world faces today is this: The men running the Kremlin are old, tired, and incredibly set in their ways. Yuri Andropov is a longtime KGB chairman, intelligent yet paranoid of American actions. Dmitri Ustinov, the defense minister, is another longserving hardliner. Andrei Gromyko, the foreign secretary, is the famous “Mr. Nyet,” the man who lied to Kennedy’s face during the early stages of the Missile Crisis. Other hardliners like Konstantin Chernenko, Brezhnev’s right-hand man, and Grigoriy Romanov, Secretary Andropov’s military-industrial chief, are also near the head of the table. Unlike 1956 and 1962, when those who sat at the head of the table still had fresh memories of Nazi wartime destruction in their heads and didn’t want to fight anew, those there now are long removed from those thoughts and have ossified in office. They are locked into a dark vision of America and its allies, and are loathe to admit mistakes. It has been eleven months since President Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech. Six months ago, KAL 007 was shot down by the Soviets. Five months ago, the Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up, and we then invaded Grenada. The East German populace protested, leading to the Berlin Wall incident. Forces built up on both sides, the Soviets stood down, and then new protests led to the Soviets taking over, in effect, all of East Germany. The Cuban fighter jet battle off the Miami coastline. The call-up of reserves. I could keep going, but I think the point has been made, Chris. The November standdown of forces in Germany was probably the last chance for real peace. Once the crackdown began anew on their side of the Berlin Wall, and the Cubans aggressively moved on our shores, the chances for peace disappeared.
I know that our government is still trying to talk the Soviets down, but if you look at Europe, those nations are operating under emergency powers now. Nobody believes this will end peacefully. I am not trying to alarm anyone with what I’m saying, but this very much resembles World War I, where once the machinery started moving, nobody could stop it. I fear we’re reliving history now, and we can only pray that the Soviet leadership remembers that the costs of war far outweigh those of peace.”
“Thank you, John, we take you now to the White House, where Larry Speakes, press secretary for President Reagan, is beginning his briefing…”
Jan Klima watched the whole thing from his desk. When Chancellor finished speaking, he got up and moved into Grimes’ office (stripped bare of everything but the telephone, desk, and chair) to call home.
“Rosa, it’s me, baby. It’s time to go. We just shut down all flights within Alaska now. The government wouldn’t do that unless they believed war was about to start. I know that wouldn’t happen otherwise.” She replied, “Honey, I don’t want to go yet. Maybe it’s just precautionary, like they said.” Her voice was pleading.
Jan sighed. “Rosa, there is nothing I want less in this world than you and Adriana leaving for anywhere. I promise you, though, this isn’t a precautionary move. The Russians would have to come well over the coastline to shoot down a plane in Alaska. The fact that flights can’t even leave the state for the continental 48 is obvious. They expect total war, and Alaska is a frontline for any battle with the Russians. You need to go before people start panicking, because then you’ll never find anywhere and you and Adriana won’t be safe. Please.”
Rosa choked back a sob. “O—Okay, Jan, I’ll go. I take it you’re going to call my father next?”
“Yes, babe, I am. The Bronco has all the other stuff in it under that tarp. Just pack some clothes and head out. Call me tonight, ok? I love you.”
“Love you too, Jan. Be careful.”
*****
In a conference room at the South Florida federal building, Janet Reno was in the midst of a rather strange meeting. Miami DEA agents who were clued in about the Rivera case said they had a witness who could help her, so she and her top deputy drove over as quickly as they could. They had entered a conference room to find two DEA agents and their supervisor, along with a man who could best be described as rumpled. Average height, overweight, hairline slightly receding, he certainly did not look very impressive to Reno, who had a couple of inches on him.
“Okay, gentlemen, who is this, and what can he possibly do to help me?” asked Reno.
“Mrs. Reno, this is a pilot we arrested months ago. He smuggled in a large amount of cocaine in from Colombia and Panama for years, and claims he also flew CIA arms to Honduras for the contras. Our friends at the Agency have, of course, denied this claim of Mr. Seal’s. He offered to work as an informant for us, but we declined. He went to Washington to see the Vice President’s drug task force, but as you might imagine, the Veep hasn’t had any time to deal with that, and the staffers thought he should come back down and talk to us. Since it came from Washington, we had to listen this time. We asked him about your case, and he had answers,” said one of the agents.
“If he tells me useful information, I’d like for him to get transactional immunity. He might be able to help us with other cases too. I’d need the US Attorney to sign off on that, of course,” Reno said.
“Ma’am, if he helps you bring down this Rivera guy, I’ll be the first one in front of the boss asking for the agreement,” the DEA supervisor said.
“Okay, sir,” Reno said to the Pilot. “Let’s hear what you have to say.”
The Pilot proceeded to detail a flight he made for Manny Rivera two months before he had been arrested. He’d transported cocaine and weapons from Torrijos International Airport in Panama City to Kendall Tamiami Executive Airport west of Kendall, where he’d loaded the cargo into the waiting van and gone with one of Rivera’s men to the warehouse, where Rivera paid him. He gave them the address of the warehouse and described the man who had driven with him to it. He detailed what the refining process looked like when he was there.
“Who was your contact in Panama?” Reno’s deputy asked.
“He was a colonel in the army. Very full of himself, lots of macho posturing, but his face…it looked like someone stabbed him with an ice pick. I guess if your face looks like that, you have to posture if you’re gonna get any pussy,” the Pilot told him.
One of the agents sucked in his breath. “Christ, he just described Noriega.” His supervisor glared at him, and the agent shut his mouth. Reno looked at them, realized they knew something more than she did, but didn’t want to pursue it right now. She’d indeed gotten another potential lead on Rivera’s organization, and with this, she could now get a search warrant for the warehouse. Her deputy smiled next to her. Maybe they'd get this bastard now.
