stevep
Fleet admiral
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Post by stevep on Apr 1, 2018 14:28:09 GMT
(92)August 1983: Kennedy had been intending to wait until September before he made his big announcement. His aim was to spend the summer having official contacts made with fellow governments and shoring up domestic support at home for his decision on withdrawing selected American forces from Western Europe. Previous decisions had been unilateral and ended up distracting the prestige he hoped to get. He planned to go ahead regardless of what was said, that was true, but at least give the pretence of listening to the opinions of others and taking that advice aboard etc. However, there had been leaks made and the Washington Post was planning to make revelations. This was a newspaper, like others, which were still sitting on personal stories about him, but the NATO issue was something which they were going to print: the drinking and sex allegations were kept under wraps. Kennedy pre-empted that release of his NATO plan, scooping them. He did the opposite of what he set out to do in being seen to listen and engage all so that he wouldn’t have to see the media get their story out first. It was almost like he was daring those newspapers to go and print their other revelations, laying down the gauntlet because he liked to live dangerously… What became known as the Kennedy Plan was something in fact drawn up by others at the Pentagon and among independent, outside advisors whom the president called in for their specialist knowledge. Up until the very end, the plan was kept secret. There were hints and rumours but nothing concrete. Official and unofficial statements were made said that there was no plan underway. Well, those were lies. The Kennedy Plan was revealed at the beginning of August and hadn’t come out of the blue. Troops, combat aircraft and tactical missiles (complete with nuclear warheads) would be removed from Western Europe starting next year. The earlier and ongoing Soviet withdrawals would be matched by American redeployments. Only a portion of United States’ military strength would be leaving and not all of it going back across the North Atlantic too but instead going elsewhere in Western Europe rather than remaining in West Germany. Just as the Soviets had done – pulling six divisions out of East Germany by now, elsewhere into Eastern Europe –, American forces wouldn’t be going far at the moment as long as hosting for them could be found. A wing of US Air Force F-16 multi-role fighter-bombers and another of A-10 attack-fighters would be removed along with the 56th Artillery Brigade from the US Army with their Pershing missiles. Also from the US Army would be combat formations in the form of one full division, two independent brigades and an armoured cavalry regiment; a corps headquarters would be coming out too. With those aircraft and the ground units, the Kennedy Plan called for the ability for those withdrawn forces to immediately return by leaving behind the infrastructure in-place. This meant that while combat forces were shrinking, combat-support (artillery, engineers & helicopters) and service-support elements (maintenance, supply & transportation) were staying behind. That wasn’t the same with the Pershing missiles, they were being fully withdrawn. The withdrawals would start in the New Year. As can be imagined, this caused quite the uproar. That uproar was in many places among all sorts of different people and institutions. Not all of that was honest too for there was some hint of what was coming due to the rumours coming out but more-importantly Kennedy’s behaviour leading up to his big announcement. There had come words of praise for the Soviets in their actions in pulling out their own forces while at the same time only minor condemnation of such recent events like the Chinese airliner shootdown: previous outrages like the invasion of Iran were forgotten too. Kennedy himself had point-black refused to answer questions on whether he was considering mirroring the troop redeployments out of the divided Germanys and left the denials to others. That too had been seen before with his administration, one which defied so many precedents set by those which had come before. It was the Sinatra Doctrine again, one which had started back in January two years ago when he was inaugurated, where he did things his way. Congress was in recess for the summer though members of both chambers, especially the Senate in Republican hands, made media appearances where there was a promise to take action on this, maybe even block the whole thing if they could. Former senior officials back from the Ford Administration came out in protest, so too did other influential former politicians no longer in Congress. One of those foreign affairs think-tanks – one of the ones which had been constantly issuing those dire warnings that were mocked in off-the-record briefings from the White House – had its spokesman claim that Andropov was ill and soon to die; once he was gone, his successor, whomever that might be, wouldn’t honour agreements made with Kennedy therefore returning Soviet troops and nuclear missiles to East Germany in a hurry leaving Western Europe exposed and open to attack. The real drama came across on the other side of the Atlantic though. One after another, Western European governments lined up to protest against yet another unilateral decision coming from Washington. None of the NATO members were happy at being left out of any discussions… no… not so much that, but instead ignored like they didn’t matter. NATO was an alliance of equals, the small countries mattered as equally as the big ones. All had a voice which counted the same as everyone else. The Kennedy Administration treated them like they didn’t matter. Initial comments coming from certain American figures that as this involved United States military forces, this was a solely American matter were met with incredulity at first and then outright anger. Kennedy spoke several times with Chancellor Vogel and calmed him somewhat but he was too busy to speak to other leaders such as Thatcher, Mitterrand, Craxi, Lubbers and Martens. Dealing with them was left to Glenn, Mondale and Muskie. Kennedy’s focus was on gaining West German acquiescence for the withdrawals to take place. He had been intending to do this before the announcement was made but ended up starting that process straight after he told the world. The Kennedy-Vogel talks were strained and demanded the president’s attention for some time. Vogel didn’t want US military forces to leave his country, even only in part, and did tell Kennedy that it would only strengthen the hand of domestic opponents-cum-allies of his (temporary allies) in the form of The Greens as they would present this as a victory for them and their people-power protests. Kennedy’s advisers told him that Vogel was taking nonsense – they had their own understanding of domestic politics in West Germany, an understanding surely better than the West German chancellor – and that Vogel was aiming to delay the inevitable in the hope that Kennedy would be voted out of office next year. Such remarks had been made to the president before, mirroring his own thinking when it came to many so-called allies, where they were all waiting for him to go down in flames next November. The Kennedy-Vogel talks (conducted through multiple phone calls) produced no meaningful result: the West Germans were still opposed to the withdrawals, especially in their unilateral manner. If the United States had gone through NATO with this, even government-to-government before a big domestic announcement, then things might have turned out differently. But that Kennedy hadn’t done. Thatcher came to an agreement with Glenn where the British Prime Minister agreed to host a small element of the withdrawing forces coming out of West Germany at temporary holding points in Britain. The Vice President could only get the UK to take some (space considerations were what it was all about), but it was better than none. He didn’t report back to Kennedy that he was told unofficially, in a nod-and-a-wink fashion by the British that they were banking on Kennedy being voted out of office in fifteen months time: he probably should have, but he didn’t. Mitterrand and Craxi, France’s president and Italy’s brand new prime minister, had a meeting between themselves when they got little of substance from Mondale and Muskie regarding American long-term military commitment to United States defence of Europe. What worried them, and then others later, was that the Americans would eventually remove all American troops from West Germany. The consequences from that didn’t bode well for the future of Western Europe. In one worse case scenario, without taking any casualties of their own in any Soviet invasion limited to West Germany, the United States might decide not to fight. In another hypothetical, without troops to hold the line straight away, the Americans might decide to at once ‘defend’ West Germany with nuclear weapons coming from strikes launched from outside of Western Europe. This didn’t have to happen this year nor this decade, under this president nor the next… but sometime in the future and all coming long after the announcement of the Kennedy Plan. These two leaders started talking about that future. Their talks would eventually, in the coming months, develop significantly away from where they started and be influenced by external events elsewhere in the world. Kennedy had killed NATO as something relevant. He nor anyone else were yet to know that, but the organisation was now on its last legs. Who would have ever thought that would happen starting back with Soviet tanks going east and not west? Am i the only person here that does not like the Kennedy Plan. Is there any person west of the Iron Curtain - other than in the White House and a few groups of fanatics - that aren't appalled at it? |
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Post by lukedalton on Apr 1, 2018 15:06:04 GMT
Am i the only person here that does not like the Kennedy Plan. Is there any person west of the Iron Curtain - other than in the White House and a few groups of fanatics - that aren't appalled at it? From the left it can be said that it's a move to increase the detente and showing reciprocity for the unilater move of the Soviet; from the right can be seen as a take back the troops at home in a moment they are much needed due to the worrysome things happening in Central America...plus having the influx of military personell will be an economical boon for many community; so it's very probable that except for some 'Old school' guys at foggy bottom and tired cold war warriors (aka people that had some working brain cell), everybody else in the USA will be happy about it. European concern will be adressed in a very diplomatic and intelligent way: If they want feel more safe, better start to pay for their security and not demand that the USA will save their bacon as usual and spent vast amount of money for them (make you remember of someone?  ) |
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James G
Squadron vice admiral
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Post by James G on Apr 1, 2018 18:07:52 GMT
You won't be alone. Some US military officers with resign their commission over this, a Cabinet official will be forced out as well. It is only a percentage of those in-place but it is the start. It will throw NATO into chaos too, especially with following events. In a year's time, when the US suddenly needs NATO, that is when this - combined with everything else - will bite very hard. Those Pershing missiles BTW, are the original Pershing-1s; Pershing-2 was never developed. V Corps headquarters along with 3rd Armored Division, the forward brigades for the 2nd Armored & 1st Infantry Divisions in West Germany plus the 2nd Cavalry Regiment are coming out too along with a pair of USAF wings. It is a big deal. Does the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron that operates out of Soesterberg Air Base also departs as part of the Kennedy Plan. No, that unit is not part of the Kennedy Plan. The whole plan, the structured pull outs with timescales and certain units ordered to go and others to transfer elsewhere is all subject to change as events overtake things. Expect them to show up once the war starts, probably across on the other side of the North Sea due to Dutch neutrality. |
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James G
Squadron vice admiral
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Post by James G on Apr 1, 2018 18:09:00 GMT
Am i the only person here that does not like the Kennedy Plan. Is there any person west of the Iron Curtain - other than in the White House and a few groups of fanatics - that aren't appalled at it? From the left it can be said that it's a move to increase the detente and showing reciprocity for the unilater move of the Soviet; from the right can be seen as a take back the troops at home in a moment they are much needed due to the worrysome things happening in Central America...plus having the influx of military personell will be an economical boon for many community; so it's very probable that except for some 'Old school' guys at foggy bottom and tired cold war warriors (aka people that had some working brain cell), everybody else in the USA will be happy about it. European concern will be adressed in a very diplomatic and intelligent way: If they want feel more safe, better start to pay for their security and not demand that the USA will save their bacon as usual and spent vast amount of money for them (make you remember of someone? ) As Luke says, many people will be happy for a variety of reasons. Their motivations will contradict those of others who share the same end goal. |
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James G
Squadron vice admiral
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Post by James G on Apr 1, 2018 18:09:37 GMT
(93)
August 1983:
Endemic corruption at the top had brought about the situation where Mexico was open to an economic hit like it had done. Politicians and civil servants weren’t all on the take and all of them hadn’t stolen from the state, but so many had. El coronel could find few he trusted to sort out the mess his country was in. His only recourse was to turn to his fellow military officers, those free of the stain of corruption. He appointed dozens of them to senior positions at the federal level to try to repair the damage done. Elsewhere in the country though, he decided that there was enough honest people in positions of power to hold the reins of power there. Mexico was officially known as the United Mexican States. There were thirty-one of those plus the special federal territory in which Mexico City lay. Those states were granted emergency powers by el coronel to sort out the problems within them though were also expected to work together, guided by central authority in the form of him. If he had been trying to create further problems with such a scheme to apparently fix things, he couldn’t have a better job. This was a disaster in the making. Corruption went all the way down to the state level. There were rich states and poor states. There were existing disputes between them. Some had been hit by recent violence while others hadn’t. All Mexicans were meant to be in this together: now el coronel created the conditions to turn them against one another. Federal military forces, apart from those in Chiapas who remained on the Guatemalan border, were withdrawn back to the Mexico City area leaving police and local militia – the Rurales – to reestablish order. The previous violence petered out in most places following the immediate withdrawal of troops. The lightly-armed, locally-recruited and unpaid militia patrolled the streets alongside the police who came back out in most cases despite the outstanding issue of wages.
From Mexico City, el coronel carried on keeping his word on what he would do to fix everything that had gone wrong. There were arrests made of corrupt officials – causing others to begin to flee the country – and a comprehensive action plan announced to make sure that there were food and jobs for all. How would this be paid for? There remained money in Mexico, it was just that it was in what el coronel decided was the wrong places. There needed to be a fair distribution of wealth and then everything would sort itself out. At the US Embassy in the capital, the ambassador heard this and reported to Washington that while that might have sounded like communism, it wasn’t: el coronel was just fumbling in the dark and clutching at straws. Due consideration was given to that analysis at the State Department and there was an agreement that Mexico’s new leader was no communist. What he was though was a fool. The state governments, suddenly given plenty of power, didn’t want to do what they were told by Mexico City. Sharing out what little wealth some had by giving it to others was refused. Others demanded more and that more to come now. Within the state governments themselves there were disagreements. Capital flight had come downwards when it had happened and had hit hard on a local level as well as a national one, hence the violent riots. Everyone needed what they had and needed more in fact, especially right now. Food was one concern but so too were medical supplies and other basic essentials which was no longer coming in from abroad. El coronel lost his temper with several state governments, especially those he saw as infected with corrupt officials linked to the regime which he had taken apart. Nuevo León was one, Sonora another and Tamaulipas a third. They were all northern states and while different in their attitudes and needs, caused him problems. He signed a decree declaring their state governments not fit to rule. This was wholly illegal and the mark of the dictator which he repeatedly said he wasn’t. Those state governments were to be taken control of by military personnel leading civil servants selected for their honesty. Such teams were dispatched.
The Sonoran state government in Hermosillo rolled over; those in Monterrey and Ciudad Victoria refused to give in. Nuevo León and Tamaulipas were not about to be illegally subsumed into federal authority to strip them of what was theirs. When el coronel sent troops to their state capital (the numbers were extremely small and not a real combat force), the Rurales were called upon to face them down. In Monterrey especially but on a smaller scale in Ciudad Victoria, civilians assembled with the Rurales and blocked the passage of federal forces aiming to assert control. Mexicans were pointing guns at Mexicans soon enough and then it just took one mistake, one nervous rifleman, one idiotic troublemaker in the watching crowd. Both state capitals were hit with unplanned violence where federal forces coming up from Mexico City were turned away with bloodshed. Word spread fast despite all efforts of the el coronel and his control over the media to silence the news. This was news that couldn’t be stopped. It was also news which was fast subject to exaggeration by accident or design. Mexico had another Santa Anna, another Porfirio Díaz. That is what many had been expecting to happen and the news which came only confirmed that. State governments further afield which were wary of Mexico City taking what they had or not sending them enough, let alone having a military strongman take charge, reacted accordingly. Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Veracruz were foremost among them: each hit with violence beforehand and struggling with the financial collapse more than others. These waited for their recently-given powers to be revoked and planned accordingly to defy such measures coming from Mexico City. There was a lot of honest intention in this, as had been the case in the other states, but also the work of agitators as well.
El coronel saw rebellion. He saw that spreading too. Mexico would collapse into anarchy if he didn’t put it down. He sent out warnings to state governments of retribution for rebellion and then mobilised the Mexican Army again. His focus was on those two states which lay across the Rio Grande from Texas and while he was making many fatal mistakes, he did have the presence of mind to make sure that the Americans were informed less there be any misunderstanding. The ambassador told him not to do it. Dialogue would solve this. El coronel told the ambassador that he didn’t understand Mexico, especially this new Mexico, one created by stock markets and banks in the United States doing what they had to his country. The ambassador shot off an urgent message to Washington saying that Mexico’s leader was out of control. He also included in his message a prophetic message warning of the flight of Mexicans when violence came their way. There was only one place where they would go: to the Rio Grande and across it. As to putting down the rebellions taking place in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, el coronel sent troops against those in rebellion from afar but also within those states. Local troops which answered to federal control were ordered to come under central command for operations to restore federal authority. Officers in most cases responded positively; some cited delays. Those latter officers were unsure about their men who, like them, lived in those states apparently in rebellion but who knew the truth of the matter.
Federal troops started to take control over the rebellious states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Where they met resistance, the troops overcame this. Civilian volunteers and the Rurales were wholly unable to stop this. Access to weaponry was one problem for those two states but more so lack of organisation and the inability to defend against multi-directional attacks. When fighting took place, civilians fled. The very first refugees, a few thousand who would precede several million within a year, went towards Texas. The anti-rebellion measures went excellent at first and within days, the Mexican Army looked to be wholly victorious. It appeared that nothing could stop them from retaking control. Then the mutinies began. These started small and among selected units based locally in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas now sent to fight civilians and militia from those states. Groups of soldiers wouldn’t fight. They refused to do so. Clashes occurred where an attempt was made to enforce discipline: orders from el coronel said that there must be discipline and while he wouldn’t have wanted to see the men refusing to obey orders, his primary concern had been that soldiers wouldn’t mistreat civilians when he wrote those orders. They were interpreted differently by those at the front. Soldiers who reused to fight were to be shot. Others flocked to their cause. The anti-rebellion offensive, on the cusp of success, was suddenly stalled by fighting in the rear with Mexican Army troops shooting each other. There was score-settling of unpopular officers which took place yet overall the refusal from so many to follow what were the orders from a dictator in Mexico City. Breathing space was given to the embattled state governments of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas to prepare for if the Mexican Army started advancing again. Other state governments, which had been aghast at what was happening, decided that they could no longer sit on the fence: they would have to take sides. News spread across Mexico of what had been going on with the military shooting civilians once again. Mexico’s Revolution now was getting going. Abroad, countries near and far were now really paying attention to the truly unexpected events in Mexico: supposedly a stable country, now one where there was the start of civil war taking place. How the hell had that happened?
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lordroel
Administrator
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Post by lordroel on Apr 1, 2018 19:05:11 GMT
(93)August 1983: Endemic corruption at the top had brought about the situation where Mexico was open to an economic hit like it had done. Politicians and civil servants weren’t all on the take and all of them hadn’t stolen from the state, but so many had. El coronel could find few he trusted to sort out the mess his country was in. His only recourse was to turn to his fellow military officers, those free of the stain of corruption. He appointed dozens of them to senior positions at the federal level to try to repair the damage done. Elsewhere in the country though, he decided that there was enough honest people in positions of power to hold the reins of power there. Mexico was officially known as the United Mexican States. There were thirty-one of those plus the special federal territory in which Mexico City lay. Those states were granted emergency powers by el coronel to sort out the problems within them though were also expected to work together, guided by central authority in the form of him. If he had been trying to create further problems with such a scheme to apparently fix things, he couldn’t have a better job. This was a disaster in the making. Corruption went all the way down to the state level. There were rich states and poor states. There were existing disputes between them. Some had been hit by recent violence while others hadn’t. All Mexicans were meant to be in this together: now el coronel created the conditions to turn them against one another. Federal military forces, apart from those in Chiapas who remained on the Guatemalan border, were withdrawn back to the Mexico City area leaving police and local militia – the Rurales – to reestablish order. The previous violence petered out in most places following the immediate withdrawal of troops. The lightly-armed, locally-recruited and unpaid militia patrolled the streets alongside the police who came back out in most cases despite the outstanding issue of wages. From Mexico City, el coronel carried on keeping his word on what he would do to fix everything that had gone wrong. There were arrests made of corrupt officials – causing others to begin to flee the country – and a comprehensive action plan announced to make sure that there were food and jobs for all. How would this be paid for? There remained money in Mexico, it was just that it was in what el coronel decided was the wrong places. There needed to be a fair distribution of wealth and then everything would sort itself out. At the US Embassy in the capital, the ambassador heard this and reported to Washington that while that might have sounded like communism, it wasn’t: el coronel was just fumbling in the dark and clutching at straws. Due consideration was given to that analysis at the State Department and there was an agreement that Mexico’s new leader was no communist. What he was though was a fool. The state governments, suddenly given plenty of power, didn’t want to do what they were told by Mexico City. Sharing out what little wealth some had by giving it to others was refused. Others demanded more and that more to come now. Within the state governments themselves there were disagreements. Capital flight had come downwards when it had happened and had hit hard on a local level as well as a national one, hence the violent riots. Everyone needed what they had and needed more in fact, especially right now. Food was one concern but so too were medical supplies and other basic essentials which was no longer coming in from abroad. El coronel lost his temper with several state governments, especially those he saw as infected with corrupt officials linked to the regime which he had taken apart. Nuevo León was one, Sonora another and Tamaulipas a third. They were all northern states and while different in their attitudes and needs, caused him problems. He signed a decree declaring their state governments not fit to rule. This was wholly illegal and the mark of the dictator which he repeatedly said he wasn’t. Those state governments were to be taken control of by military personnel leading civil servants selected for their honesty. Such teams were dispatched. The Sonoran state government in Hermosillo rolled over; those in Monterrey and Ciudad Victoria refused to give in. Nuevo León and Tamaulipas were not about to be illegally subsumed into federal authority to strip them of what was theirs. When el coronel sent troops to their state capital (the numbers were extremely small and not a real combat force), the Rurales were called upon to face them down. In Monterrey especially but on a smaller scale in Ciudad Victoria, civilians assembled with the Rurales and blocked the passage of federal forces aiming to assert control. Mexicans were pointing guns at Mexicans soon enough and then it just took one mistake, one nervous rifleman, one idiotic troublemaker in the watching crowd. Both state capitals were hit with unplanned violence where federal forces coming up from Mexico City were turned away with bloodshed. Word spread fast despite all efforts of the el coronel and his control over the media to silence the news. This was news that couldn’t be stopped. It was also news which was fast subject to exaggeration by accident or design. Mexico had another Santa Anna, another Porfirio Díaz. That is what many had been expecting to happen and the news which came only confirmed that. State governments further afield which were wary of Mexico City taking what they had or not sending them enough, let alone having a military strongman take charge, reacted accordingly. Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Veracruz were foremost among them: each hit with violence beforehand and struggling with the financial collapse more than others. These waited for their recently-given powers to be revoked and planned accordingly to defy such measures coming from Mexico City. There was a lot of honest intention in this, as had been the case in the other states, but also the work of agitators as well. El coronel saw rebellion. He saw that spreading too. Mexico would collapse into anarchy if he didn’t put it down. He sent out warnings to state governments of retribution for rebellion and then mobilised the Mexican Army again. His focus was on those two states which lay across the Rio Grande from Texas and while he was making many fatal mistakes, he did have the presence of mind to make sure that the Americans were informed less there be any misunderstanding. The ambassador told him not to do it. Dialogue would solve this. El coronel told the ambassador that he didn’t understand Mexico, especially this new Mexico, one created by stock markets and banks in the United States doing what they had to his country. The ambassador shot off an urgent message to Washington saying that Mexico’s leader was out of control. He also included in his message a prophetic message warning of the flight of Mexicans when violence came their way. There was only one place where they would go: to the Rio Grande and across it. As to putting down the rebellions taking place in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, el coronel sent troops against those in rebellion from afar but also within those states. Local troops which answered to federal control were ordered to come under central command for operations to restore federal authority. Officers in most cases responded positively; some cited delays. Those latter officers were unsure about their men who, like them, lived in those states apparently in rebellion but who knew the truth of the matter. Federal troops started to take control over the rebellious states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Where they met resistance, the troops overcame this. Civilian volunteers and the Rurales were wholly unable to stop this. Access to weaponry was one problem for those two states but more so lack of organisation and the inability to defend against multi-directional attacks. When fighting took place, civilians fled. The very first refugees, a few thousand who would precede several million within a year, went towards Texas. The anti-rebellion measures went excellent at first and within days, the Mexican Army looked to be wholly victorious. It appeared that nothing could stop them from retaking control. Then the mutinies began. These started small and among selected units based locally in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas now sent to fight civilians and militia from those states. Groups of soldiers wouldn’t fight. They refused to do so. Clashes occurred where an attempt was made to enforce discipline: orders from el coronel said that there must be discipline and while he wouldn’t have wanted to see the men refusing to obey orders, his primary concern had been that soldiers wouldn’t mistreat civilians when he wrote those orders. They were interpreted differently by those at the front. Soldiers who reused to fight were to be shot. Others flocked to their cause. The anti-rebellion offensive, on the cusp of success, was suddenly stalled by fighting in the rear with Mexican Army troops shooting each other. There was score-settling of unpopular officers which took place yet overall the refusal from so many to follow what were the orders from a dictator in Mexico City. Breathing space was given to the embattled state governments of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas to prepare for if the Mexican Army started advancing again. Other state governments, which had been aghast at what was happening, decided that they could no longer sit on the fence: they would have to take sides. News spread across Mexico of what had been going on with the military shooting civilians once again. Mexico’s Revolution now was getting going. Abroad, countries near and far were now really paying attention to the truly unexpected events in Mexico: supposedly a stable country, now one where there was the start of civil war taking place. How the hell had that happened? It surprise me that Yucatan has not declared their independence as the Third Republic of Yucatán. |
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James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
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Post by James G on Apr 1, 2018 20:00:02 GMT
(93)August 1983: Endemic corruption at the top had brought about the situation where Mexico was open to an economic hit like it had done. Politicians and civil servants weren’t all on the take and all of them hadn’t stolen from the state, but so many had. El coronel could find few he trusted to sort out the mess his country was in. His only recourse was to turn to his fellow military officers, those free of the stain of corruption. He appointed dozens of them to senior positions at the federal level to try to repair the damage done. Elsewhere in the country though, he decided that there was enough honest people in positions of power to hold the reins of power there. Mexico was officially known as the United Mexican States. There were thirty-one of those plus the special federal territory in which Mexico City lay. Those states were granted emergency powers by el coronel to sort out the problems within them though were also expected to work together, guided by central authority in the form of him. If he had been trying to create further problems with such a scheme to apparently fix things, he couldn’t have a better job. This was a disaster in the making. Corruption went all the way down to the state level. There were rich states and poor states. There were existing disputes between them. Some had been hit by recent violence while others hadn’t. All Mexicans were meant to be in this together: now el coronel created the conditions to turn them against one another. Federal military forces, apart from those in Chiapas who remained on the Guatemalan border, were withdrawn back to the Mexico City area leaving police and local militia – the Rurales – to reestablish order. The previous violence petered out in most places following the immediate withdrawal of troops. The lightly-armed, locally-recruited and unpaid militia patrolled the streets alongside the police who came back out in most cases despite the outstanding issue of wages. From Mexico City, el coronel carried on keeping his word on what he would do to fix everything that had gone wrong. There were arrests made of corrupt officials – causing others to begin to flee the country – and a comprehensive action plan announced to make sure that there were food and jobs for all. How would this be paid for? There remained money in Mexico, it was just that it was in what el coronel decided was the wrong places. There needed to be a fair distribution of wealth and then everything would sort itself out. At the US Embassy in the capital, the ambassador heard this and reported to Washington that while that might have sounded like communism, it wasn’t: el coronel was just fumbling in the dark and clutching at straws. Due consideration was given to that analysis at the State Department and there was an agreement that Mexico’s new leader was no communist. What he was though was a fool. The state governments, suddenly given plenty of power, didn’t want to do what they were told by Mexico City. Sharing out what little wealth some had by giving it to others was refused. Others demanded more and that more to come now. Within the state governments themselves there were disagreements. Capital flight had come downwards when it had happened and had hit hard on a local level as well as a national one, hence the violent riots. Everyone needed what they had and needed more in fact, especially right now. Food was one concern but so too were medical supplies and other basic essentials which was no longer coming in from abroad. El coronel lost his temper with several state governments, especially those he saw as infected with corrupt officials linked to the regime which he had taken apart. Nuevo León was one, Sonora another and Tamaulipas a third. They were all northern states and while different in their attitudes and needs, caused him problems. He signed a decree declaring their state governments not fit to rule. This was wholly illegal and the mark of the dictator which he repeatedly said he wasn’t. Those state governments were to be taken control of by military personnel leading civil servants selected for their honesty. Such teams were dispatched. The Sonoran state government in Hermosillo rolled over; those in Monterrey and Ciudad Victoria refused to give in. Nuevo León and Tamaulipas were not about to be illegally subsumed into federal authority to strip them of what was theirs. When el coronel sent troops to their state capital (the numbers were extremely small and not a real combat force), the Rurales were called upon to face them down. In Monterrey especially but on a smaller scale in Ciudad Victoria, civilians assembled with the Rurales and blocked the passage of federal forces aiming to assert control. Mexicans were pointing guns at Mexicans soon enough and then it just took one mistake, one nervous rifleman, one idiotic troublemaker in the watching crowd. Both state capitals were hit with unplanned violence where federal forces coming up from Mexico City were turned away with bloodshed. Word spread fast despite all efforts of the el coronel and his control over the media to silence the news. This was news that couldn’t be stopped. It was also news which was fast subject to exaggeration by accident or design. Mexico had another Santa Anna, another Porfirio Díaz. That is what many had been expecting to happen and the news which came only confirmed that. State governments further afield which were wary of Mexico City taking what they had or not sending them enough, let alone having a military strongman take charge, reacted accordingly. Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Veracruz were foremost among them: each hit with violence beforehand and struggling with the financial collapse more than others. These waited for their recently-given powers to be revoked and planned accordingly to defy such measures coming from Mexico City. There was a lot of honest intention in this, as had been the case in the other states, but also the work of agitators as well. El coronel saw rebellion. He saw that spreading too. Mexico would collapse into anarchy if he didn’t put it down. He sent out warnings to state governments of retribution for rebellion and then mobilised the Mexican Army again. His focus was on those two states which lay across the Rio Grande from Texas and while he was making many fatal mistakes, he did have the presence of mind to make sure that the Americans were informed less there be any misunderstanding. The ambassador told him not to do it. Dialogue would solve this. El coronel told the ambassador that he didn’t understand Mexico, especially this new Mexico, one created by stock markets and banks in the United States doing what they had to his country. The ambassador shot off an urgent message to Washington saying that Mexico’s leader was out of control. He also included in his message a prophetic message warning of the flight of Mexicans when violence came their way. There was only one place where they would go: to the Rio Grande and across it. As to putting down the rebellions taking place in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, el coronel sent troops against those in rebellion from afar but also within those states. Local troops which answered to federal control were ordered to come under central command for operations to restore federal authority. Officers in most cases responded positively; some cited delays. Those latter officers were unsure about their men who, like them, lived in those states apparently in rebellion but who knew the truth of the matter. Federal troops started to take control over the rebellious states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Where they met resistance, the troops overcame this. Civilian volunteers and the Rurales were wholly unable to stop this. Access to weaponry was one problem for those two states but more so lack of organisation and the inability to defend against multi-directional attacks. When fighting took place, civilians fled. The very first refugees, a few thousand who would precede several million within a year, went towards Texas. The anti-rebellion measures went excellent at first and within days, the Mexican Army looked to be wholly victorious. It appeared that nothing could stop them from retaking control. Then the mutinies began. These started small and among selected units based locally in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas now sent to fight civilians and militia from those states. Groups of soldiers wouldn’t fight. They refused to do so. Clashes occurred where an attempt was made to enforce discipline: orders from el coronel said that there must be discipline and while he wouldn’t have wanted to see the men refusing to obey orders, his primary concern had been that soldiers wouldn’t mistreat civilians when he wrote those orders. They were interpreted differently by those at the front. Soldiers who reused to fight were to be shot. Others flocked to their cause. The anti-rebellion offensive, on the cusp of success, was suddenly stalled by fighting in the rear with Mexican Army troops shooting each other. There was score-settling of unpopular officers which took place yet overall the refusal from so many to follow what were the orders from a dictator in Mexico City. Breathing space was given to the embattled state governments of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas to prepare for if the Mexican Army started advancing again. Other state governments, which had been aghast at what was happening, decided that they could no longer sit on the fence: they would have to take sides. News spread across Mexico of what had been going on with the military shooting civilians once again. Mexico’s Revolution now was getting going. Abroad, countries near and far were now really paying attention to the truly unexpected events in Mexico: supposedly a stable country, now one where there was the start of civil war taking place. How the hell had that happened? It surprise me that Yucatan has not declared their independence as the Third Republic of Yucatán. Things have only just got started. |
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 1, 2018 20:04:39 GMT
It surprise me that Yucatan has not declared their independence as the Third Republic of Yucatán. Things have only just got started. Now i have a picture in my hands of the people of Yucatán declaring their independence as the People Republic of Yucatán while Cuban SF begin to move ashore to aid the people of Yucatán. |
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lordbyron
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Post by lordbyron on Apr 1, 2018 21:44:03 GMT
Oh, this is really going to end in tragedy...
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James G
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Post by James G on Apr 2, 2018 14:36:02 GMT
Now i have a picture in my hands of the people of Yucatán declaring their independence as the People Republic of Yucatán while Cuban SF begin to move ashore to aid the people of Yucatán. Not a bad idea actually! Oh, this is really going to end in tragedy... The worst kind. |
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James G
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Post by James G on Apr 2, 2018 14:36:32 GMT
(94)
September 1983:
Cuba’s armed forces conducted their third big combined arms exercise of the year come September. It was much larger than the preceding war games which had occurred in January and then in May. The former had taken place across western parts of Cuba and the latter had occurred inside Nicaragua. This third one was spread from the island of Cuba, down to Central America and as far out as Grenada too. There were parachute drops made of Cuban soldiers and an amphibious assault made as well. Live-fire exercises took place within the whole series of war games with Cuban aircraft making attack runs overland but also above the Caribbean as well. There were major ground operations inside both Guatemala and Nicaragua with the use of the new armies built for those nations taking place alongside Cuban forces. Cuba and its allies – who were starting to be called ‘LAComs’ (Latin American Communists) up in United States in short-hand form – were showing off not just all of their new military equipment but testing it out in realistic fashion should the situation where it might have to be used. Observers from many friendly nations were present to watch and so too were the training teams from across the Eastern Bloc who watched all their hard work put into practice.
The use of so many Cuban and LACom troops across many different theaters for the September war games wasn’t just to test everything out. There was a political angle too. Nicaragua, just like Grenada and Guatemala, was now firmly back in the Castro camp after a little flirtation with independence from Havana by Managua had seen Borge then killed, apparently by the CIA too (because that made so much sense!). Panamanian military officers from the army which Noriega was slowly building down in his country were watching and Cuba was aiming to impress upon Panama that they could too have access to all of this firepower if Noriega was willing to play the same game as the LAComs were doing. The exercises were also aimed further afield. The Belize War had left Guatemala humiliated but also Cuba too for it had been a Cuban proxy war: Cuban military units ‘transferred’ to Guatemala in the form of combat aircraft had been shot out of the sky by the British. Those were MiG-21s and older versions of the MiG-23; Cuba now had better-quality MiG-23s in service, was seeing the introduction of the MiG-27 and there was also a Soviet training team in Cuba (which didn’t take part in the exercises) with the brand-new MiG-29 aircraft. There were new tanks as well: more Soviet-manufactured equipment. Cuba was receiving upgrades to its T-55s while also getting its hands upon T-72s. Passed down to its allies were Cuban T-54s removed from service going to both Guatemala and Nicaragua while at the same time, Nicaragua was being directly supplied further T-72s by the Soviets. Such military equipment, the high-end visible pieces of gear like this used in the exercises, but also the necessary supporting equipment (the ‘boring’ stuff like trucks, engineering vehicles and signals gear), was being sent as foreign aid. Cuba nor her allies were able to pay for all of this directly even with cash crops being dispatched to the Soviets. Ammunition and military fuel was exchanged for the military equipment though and so Moscow was getting something out of the deal where there was this huge military build-up taking place, but there was still a loss being made with such supplies sent. It went regardless: it wasn’t like anyone in the Soviet Union had to answer to voters or stockholders.
The British with their commitment to Belize watched the exercises and so too did the Americans. Intelligence staffs shared the view that this was all for show and the big exercises were a façade because there was little behind-the-scenes activity. It was all great to have the crash of tank cannons, drop bombs from aircraft and have paratroopers assault the Isle of Pines in a mock assault, but where was the support network to support such armed forces? Cuba and the LAComs were front-loaded, that was how they saw it. There remained a Guatemalan threat to Belize and Cuba was still meddling elsewhere – El Salvador and Honduras were still having their civil wars –, yet there was no serious danger overall to the region from the Cuban / LACom alliance. The dots weren’t being connected though. There was that rear support being built for the LACom armies. Panama wasn’t seen for how Noriega saw the future of his country. And there was the five hundred pound elephant in the room which was Mexico now entering a civil war of its own, one on a far grander scale than the ‘little’ ones in Central America, to distract intelligence services of the West looking at Latin America.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 2, 2018 14:44:46 GMT
(94)September 1983: Cuba’s armed forces conducted their third big combined arms exercise of the year come September. It was much larger than the preceding war games which had occurred in January and then in May. The former had taken place across western parts of Cuba and the latter had occurred inside Nicaragua. This third one was spread from the island of Cuba, down to Central America and as far out as Grenada too. There were parachute drops made of Cuban soldiers and an amphibious assault made as well. Live-fire exercises took place within the whole series of war games with Cuban aircraft making attack runs overland but also above the Caribbean as well. There were major ground operations inside both Guatemala and Nicaragua with the use of the new armies built for those nations taking place alongside Cuban forces. Cuba and its allies – who were starting to be called ‘LAComs’ (Latin American Communists) up in United States in short-hand form – were showing off not just all of their new military equipment but testing it out in realistic fashion should the situation where it might have to be used. Observers from many friendly nations were present to watch and so too were the training teams from across the Eastern Bloc who watched all their hard work put into practice. The use of so many Cuban and LACom troops across many different theaters for the September war games wasn’t just to test everything out. There was a political angle too. Nicaragua, just like Grenada and Guatemala, was now firmly back in the Castro camp after a little flirtation with independence from Havana by Managua had seen Borge then killed, apparently by the CIA too (because that made so much sense!). Panamanian military officers from the army which Noriega was slowly building down in his country were watching and Cuba was aiming to impress upon Panama that they could too have access to all of this firepower if Noriega was willing to play the same game as the LAComs were doing. The exercises were also aimed further afield. The Belize War had left Guatemala humiliated but also Cuba too for it had been a Cuban proxy war: Cuban military units ‘transferred’ to Guatemala in the form of combat aircraft had been shot out of the sky by the British. Those were MiG-21s and older versions of the MiG-23; Cuba now had better-quality MiG-23s in service, was seeing the introduction of the MiG-27 and there was also a Soviet training team in Cuba (which didn’t take part in the exercises) with the brand-new MiG-29 aircraft. There were new tanks as well: more Soviet-manufactured equipment. Cuba was receiving upgrades to its T-55s while also getting its hands upon T-72s. Passed down to its allies were Cuban T-54s removed from service going to both Guatemala and Nicaragua while at the same time, Nicaragua was being directly supplied further T-72s by the Soviets. Such military equipment, the high-end visible pieces of gear like this used in the exercises, but also the necessary supporting equipment (the ‘boring’ stuff like trucks, engineering vehicles and signals gear), was being sent as foreign aid. Cuba nor her allies were able to pay for all of this directly even with cash crops being dispatched to the Soviets. Ammunition and military fuel was exchanged for the military equipment though and so Moscow was getting something out of the deal where there was this huge military build-up taking place, but there was still a loss being made with such supplies sent. It went regardless: it wasn’t like anyone in the Soviet Union had to answer to voters or stockholders. The British with their commitment to Belize watched the exercises and so too did the Americans. Intelligence staffs shared the view that this was all for show and the big exercises were a façade because there was little behind-the-scenes activity. It was all great to have the crash of tank cannons, drop bombs from aircraft and have paratroopers assault the Isle of Pines in a mock assault, but where was the support network to support such armed forces? Cuba and the LAComs were front-loaded, that was how they saw it. There remained a Guatemalan threat to Belize and Cuba was still meddling elsewhere – El Salvador and Honduras were still having their civil wars –, yet there was no serious danger overall to the region from the Cuban / LACom alliance. The dots weren’t being connected though. There was that rear support being built for the LACom armies. Panama wasn’t seen for how Noriega saw the future of his country. And there was the five hundred pound elephant in the room which was Mexico now entering a civil war of its own, one on a far grander scale than the ‘little’ ones in Central America, to distract intelligence services of the West looking at Latin America. LACom alliance, a nice name for a Cuban led version of the Warsaw Pact. |
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James G
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Post by James G on Apr 2, 2018 16:11:15 GMT
(94)September 1983: Cuba’s armed forces conducted their third big combined arms exercise of the year come September. It was much larger than the preceding war games which had occurred in January and then in May. The former had taken place across western parts of Cuba and the latter had occurred inside Nicaragua. This third one was spread from the island of Cuba, down to Central America and as far out as Grenada too. There were parachute drops made of Cuban soldiers and an amphibious assault made as well. Live-fire exercises took place within the whole series of war games with Cuban aircraft making attack runs overland but also above the Caribbean as well. There were major ground operations inside both Guatemala and Nicaragua with the use of the new armies built for those nations taking place alongside Cuban forces. Cuba and its allies – who were starting to be called ‘LAComs’ (Latin American Communists) up in United States in short-hand form – were showing off not just all of their new military equipment but testing it out in realistic fashion should the situation where it might have to be used. Observers from many friendly nations were present to watch and so too were the training teams from across the Eastern Bloc who watched all their hard work put into practice. The use of so many Cuban and LACom troops across many different theaters for the September war games wasn’t just to test everything out. There was a political angle too. Nicaragua, just like Grenada and Guatemala, was now firmly back in the Castro camp after a little flirtation with independence from Havana by Managua had seen Borge then killed, apparently by the CIA too (because that made so much sense!). Panamanian military officers from the army which Noriega was slowly building down in his country were watching and Cuba was aiming to impress upon Panama that they could too have access to all of this firepower if Noriega was willing to play the same game as the LAComs were doing. The exercises were also aimed further afield. The Belize War had left Guatemala humiliated but also Cuba too for it had been a Cuban proxy war: Cuban military units ‘transferred’ to Guatemala in the form of combat aircraft had been shot out of the sky by the British. Those were MiG-21s and older versions of the MiG-23; Cuba now had better-quality MiG-23s in service, was seeing the introduction of the MiG-27 and there was also a Soviet training team in Cuba (which didn’t take part in the exercises) with the brand-new MiG-29 aircraft. There were new tanks as well: more Soviet-manufactured equipment. Cuba was receiving upgrades to its T-55s while also getting its hands upon T-72s. Passed down to its allies were Cuban T-54s removed from service going to both Guatemala and Nicaragua while at the same time, Nicaragua was being directly supplied further T-72s by the Soviets. Such military equipment, the high-end visible pieces of gear like this used in the exercises, but also the necessary supporting equipment (the ‘boring’ stuff like trucks, engineering vehicles and signals gear), was being sent as foreign aid. Cuba nor her allies were able to pay for all of this directly even with cash crops being dispatched to the Soviets. Ammunition and military fuel was exchanged for the military equipment though and so Moscow was getting something out of the deal where there was this huge military build-up taking place, but there was still a loss being made with such supplies sent. It went regardless: it wasn’t like anyone in the Soviet Union had to answer to voters or stockholders. The British with their commitment to Belize watched the exercises and so too did the Americans. Intelligence staffs shared the view that this was all for show and the big exercises were a façade because there was little behind-the-scenes activity. It was all great to have the crash of tank cannons, drop bombs from aircraft and have paratroopers assault the Isle of Pines in a mock assault, but where was the support network to support such armed forces? Cuba and the LAComs were front-loaded, that was how they saw it. There remained a Guatemalan threat to Belize and Cuba was still meddling elsewhere – El Salvador and Honduras were still having their civil wars –, yet there was no serious danger overall to the region from the Cuban / LACom alliance. The dots weren’t being connected though. There was that rear support being built for the LACom armies. Panama wasn’t seen for how Noriega saw the future of his country. And there was the five hundred pound elephant in the room which was Mexico now entering a civil war of its own, one on a far grander scale than the ‘little’ ones in Central America, to distract intelligence services of the West looking at Latin America. LACom alliance, a nice name for a Cuban led version of the Warsaw Pact. Its an informal shorthand coined by the West really. They would have a better name. Though like Warsaw Pact was the Western name for Eastern Europe, it will be one which will stick. Over on ah.com, when the story was first written, Dan chose it... or maybe it was CACom (Central American Communists). Either way, the idea was his. |
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James G
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Post by James G on Apr 2, 2018 16:11:33 GMT
(95)
September 1983:
The Mexican states which signed the September Declaration made it clear that they weren’t in rebellion and there was no intention of succession. They were still part of the United Mexican States. Down in Mexico City, the federal government there was illegal and they were standing together in opposition to the usurper who was killing his fellow Mexicans. More states were invited to join them in their formal alliance against el coronel and there was a call for the people to help them get rid of him: ‘the people’ included Mexico’s soldiers. To see the replacement of an illegitimate regime with a legitimate one, the declaration made up in Monterrey and supported at first by eight states – joined later in the month by two more –, called on resistance to come in a non-violent form, if possible. Strike, the people were told; soldiers were called upon to refuse to obey orders to kill fellow Mexicans. However, if el coronel continued to send troops against the people, then fighting would be necessary. From Monterrey, there was a deliberate intent to involve Mexico’s neighbour as well. Not in a military sense – no Mexican wanted that – but to have the Americans cut ties with Mexico City and temporarily transfer diplomatic relations to Monterrey. Quite the collection of politicians, prominent citizens and military officers (local defectors) had gathered there in what they kept saying wasn’t a secessionist government even if it looked like one. The Monterrey Government was a chaotic grouping who couldn’t agree on anything among themselves behind the façade they put on of unity and they certainly weren’t all happy at that state of Nuevo León being suddenly at the centre of power. Arguments raged among them because they had the time to do so. Washington knew this and wouldn’t be sending anyone to Monterrey into that mess; in addition, Mexico City was recognised as the centre of government and the Monterrey Government was seen in the eyes of the United States as secessionist. El coronel took no follow-up action from his late-August offensive against the rebellion where mass munities had broken out. First one then a second state government, those down in the southeast, joined the alliance. There was talk of more coming over to their side. Efforts were made to coerce others on-side. There was hope that the domino effect would see el coronel give in when fifteen, then twenty, then thirty states all signed up. No real military preparations were made by the ten states united and disunited as they were by political squabbles but also geography.
The dictator who didn’t want to be a dictator down in Mexico City had made his own military preparations. The Mexican Army had been hit by shameful mutinies and desertions from locally-based units which were still not solved. He would have wanted to wait, to sort the problems out, but the clear secessionism which he saw forced his hand. The brigades of the regular army were all called-up and sent into action. Monterrey was the heart of the rebellion and it was there that the paratroopers went: a small airborne drop was made though the majority of the men were then flown in to take control of that city and get their hands on those who defied Mexico City. Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Veracruz – further states were the rebellion was strongest in the eyes of el coronel – also saw the entry into them of professional troops in mobile columns charging on their state capitals. Everything was thrown at this one effort to finally kill off the last of resistance. Orders were for once again there to be shooting only if necessary. Arrests for rebellion were favoured over killing. If armed units stood in the way, the orders were for them to be bypassed if possible, otherwise they were to be engaged in talks to get them to at least stand aside if they refused to help put down the rebellion. Unlike last time, this second mass offensive didn’t get off to a good start. The states were still unable to properly fight to defend themselves but the Mexican Army was torn once again by mutinies and defections. Once it came down to it, when the reality kicked in of killing their fellow Mexicans for the benefit of a military strongman down in Mexico City, the soldiers in the main wouldn’t do it. There were some who did fight but not many. In addition, of those who initially did, they soon afterwards decided that they didn’t want no more of this. Monterrey was taken by Mexican paratroopers whose commander detained large numbers of the government there before he then declared his allegiance to them. Further Mexican Army units went over to the Monterrey Government or declared their neutrality. The Mexican Army fell apart as an organised force. There was no stomach in them to do as ordered, especially when they were sent into action against their fellow Mexicans. The September Declaration had had the desired effect.
As before, news travelled fast. The rumours did too. Mexico City saw a protest march where the people came out to demonstrate against el coronel. The city’s police stood aside rather than try to stop them. Where were the military police who had put down trouble in Mexico City before? They were elsewhere in the country. This time there was little violence, this wasn’t a riot, but it was a peaceful protest. The police helped redirect traffic as the protesters marched on the centre of the city. The call went up in the crowd for the resignation of the acting president. If el coronel couldn’t resign, they would force him out of office. It all went really fast and those behind the demonstration lost control of it to the mob. Still, it was a non-violent mob. That was until they finally ran into soldiers near the National Palace, which was the centre of the federal government. The crowd was ordered to stop. Rocks were thrown and so were Molotov cocktails. Bullets – live ones – were fired back. Some in the crowd fell down dead, others surged forwards in anger. Panic went down the line of soldiers and some broke ranks to run to the rear. Then the mob was among them. Civilians attacked soldiers, taking out long-held frustration with fists and boots. Shots rang out to the very end but the soldiers lost and most were killed in an uncontrollable event. Then the National Palace was first trashed and looted before a fire started. It went up in flames and no one really knew why there was the need to do that. It was the centre of government but el coronel was using the official residence for Mexico’s presidents elsewhere. That was over at Los Pinos, next to the imposing Chapultepec Castle. Some in the mob headed that way; most of the crowd which had killed the soldiers in front of the National Palace just watched it burn.
El coronel watched the National Palace burn too. He was told of the massive crowds in the city where there were no more soldiers. He decided that he wanted none of this. He hadn’t taken power to oversee what had happened. He loved Mexico and was only trying to save it. The country refused to be saved though. No more could he do it. A helicopter was called and his personal pilot, a long-serving loyal man, arrived. El coronel left for a military airbase near to the city. He would find somewhere to go into exile… probably the United States. Staying and killing his own people wasn’t what he couldn’t face. He’d rather be a coward than a butcher. There was now to be a power vacuum in Mexico City. Plenty of candidates would love to fill it.
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James G
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Post by James G on Apr 2, 2018 16:14:16 GMT
This is a political map of Mexican states. Red and Blue doesn't mean communist and capitalist: the colours are just easy to use. It doesn't reflect the situation on the ground either with actual control of territory. It is just to show how wide the opposition is. It will also play into how things go after el coronel is gone because peace isn't coming.  |
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