LBS#2: The Background Set-Up

Posted by dt on Thursday, 4 September 1997, at 5:32 p.m.

Readers:

It's 1969, my mentor is in Costa Rica preparing for a meeting in Brazil with
the EBE's. The first outside the U.S.

The meeting site was suggested by Vernon Walters, deputy director of CIA,
because of his past association with a Brizilian military officer, General
Castelo Branco. Back in the WWII days, Walters served with Branco as an
interpreter for the Brazilian Expeditionary Force which fought in Italy
(this was the only Latin American combat troop to fight in WWII I believe)
and after WWII, was a Defense Attaché at the Embassy, in other words he was
a spy. The important point is that Branco and Walters built huge aircraft
staging bases on Brazilian territory - some well known and deactivated after
the Big One and some not so well known (small isolated jungle locations,
such as near Carauari) and kept in reserve for a rainy day (I won't go into
their possible uses but you can guess better than I).

The point that I'm making is that Branco and Walters were tight, that is,
drinking buds. In fact these two were behind the creation of the Escola
Superior de Guerra (Higher War College) in Rio de Janeriro which was
patterned after the National War College in Washington, D.C. Good grief, the
CIA has no imagination. Anyway, believe it or not, guess what both of these
clowns had in common....yes....they had an unusual interest in ufos, little
green men, etc., etc. Although neither was a part of the ufo working group,
this interest of theirs was highlighted in both of their dossiers.

[an aside- for those who might remember and that might be interested, this
is where my wife's father was assigned and why my wife can sing the
Brazilian national anthem whenever she's happy. I was judged harshly, maybe
rightfully so, for mentioning some personal things but keep this fact with
those, it supports my interest in ufos and my questioning my wife's family
background - and I've always suspected, some relationship to my Nevada
desert meeting with the junior and senior officer....quien sabe?]

I should also note that Branco owed Walters big time. In early 1960's
Branco headed the military coup and overthrow of the Brazilian
constitutional government of President Goulart. Key to allowing this to
happen was Walters input to President Kennedy that Goulart was turning
commie. This may sound funny today, but then, it was a tag you wanted to
avoid in foreign relations with the U.S. for those of you that may not know,
Branco started what is considered one of the most brutal dictatorships in
all of South America.

This is why when Walters was asked if he knew of a nice, quiet place to
conduct business, he responded "sure do" with the support of the Brazilian
government.

This is where Jacobo comes in as a liaison between mentor and Branco's
military people. Although he was a drop-out from the Escola Superior de
Guerra, he did believe all the anti-communistic bs being taught, but he had
his talents. As my mentor related to me, while at Jose Figueres plantation
home, he was asked by my mentor about security of the meeting site with
regards to the locals. Without missing a beat, he said, "No problem, no one
will be around. I got assurances from the mayor. The beautiful Rigoberta
(that's how my mentor described her) said, "tell mentor how you got 'your'
assurances." Jacobo said, "It was easy." He proceeded described one of his
favorite persuasive techniques that he learned in Panama at the academy (the
precursor to the infamous School of the Americas).

He and his men took the mayor and performed the following: they placed the
end of a reed in the anus of the naked mayor while he was hanging suspended
downwards on a "pau de arara" (parrot's perch), then a piece of cotton was
soaked in petrol and placed at the other end of the reed. The cotton was lit
with a match. The request was then put forward to the mayor......he agreed.

Senor Figueres reaction was "very amusing." My mentor smirked and said, "Oh,
come on, Pepe (as Figueres was called by his friends), you know damn well
you wish Jacobo worked for you." Everyone laughed.

What my mentor's team was waiting for was for their equipment to be put into
place in Peru. During the mid-1960's everybody knew the CIA had established
a "miniature Fort Bragg" in the Peruvian jungle near Mazanari. It was
staffed with CIA Special Operations Division personnel and Green Berets
instructors on loan from the US Army. The black helicopters and other combat
equipment were donated by funding from the US Office of Public Safety (OPS)
and AID (I think Aide for Industrial Development or something like that).
Some of mentors team was already at this base in order to handle "special"
equipment. The military types did not like the mentor's team members, but
everybody knew something big was going to happen because of the black box
classification of the mission.

Pepe and even Jacobo didn't know who the other meeting participants were.
Pepe knew mentor was worried. Jacobo didn't care one way or the other. Only
Rigoberta, generally, and mentor, specifically, knew the mission, but both
were fully aware of the back up plan should something go wrong at the meeting
site- there were to be no witnesses or survivors including themselves.

-dt