The War of the Americas - Part X

Author’s preface: It is important to emphasize that this is a work of fiction and that while the current presidents of both the United States and Mexico are featured as key elements of the plot, what is said by them and/or about them is totally fictional and is in no way meant to suggest that is how they are in real life or what they believe in real life. The actions they do or do not take in the story are also of course totally made up. I have no idea how either would respond if this situation were actually to arise and my knowledge of the specifics of the politics of Mexico is very limited. My knowledge of the structure of their military, etc. is based on what it publicly available and may be less than accurate or completely wrong. I know nothing as to the existence or not of a Mexican intelligence apparatus let alone the level of sophistication it may or may not possess if it does in fact exist. Hopefully it is also obvious that I have no idea what the CIA’s assessment of the mental fitness of any world leader is, nor do I even know if they produce such an assessment. I also have no special knowledge of the CIA, its operations, policies, procedures, or history. In that way I am like 99.999% of all people on the planet.

“There are those who believe that your President is insane Dr. Platt” the General said, interrupting Sylvia before she could speak again. She felt better for having had the chance to express her genuine and heartfelt regret and sadness over the death of his man, the young Mexican soldier, who had been killed by a Navy SEAL sniper during her attempted rescue in the wake of the surprise attack on Mexico by the United States. However, it was not clear what impact, if any, her words had on the General. That death had been less than a week ago, but right now it felt like another lifetime. The General paused for only a moment then continued. “Our intelligence analysts disagree. They say he is a narcissist and falls somewhere on the spectrum of narcissistic personality disorders but that this is a trait shared by many world leaders. Fortunately, because of his limited intellectual capacities, he cannot be considered a malignant narcissist like many of humanities greatest tyrants of the past, Hitler, Genghis Kahn, Pol Pot, to name just a few.” He paused there, waiting for her to speak. She decided to continue to play up the dumb American stereotype that she had adopted as her cover for all interactions with Mexican soldiers and the other American POWs and said “I wouldn’t know General; I've never met the man, and I barely have seen him on TV. I hate politics and avoid it like the plague.” In truth the CIA’s own assessment of the current president mostly aligned with that of Mexican intelligence. Much of her own interview process for her current CIA role revolved around the president and her views with respect to his fitness for duty, political positions, etc. She felt certain she would be disqualified many times for the things she had said during those discussions, which included suggestions on multiple occasions that he was quite possibly suffering from dementia or from the effects of long haul COVID.

During one of those interviews, after she had gone a particularly long-winded tirade about the lack of mental fitness of President Trump, her CIA interviewer had responded by saying “Dr. Platt, the CIA has dealt with presidents possessing a range of intellectual capabilities and with varying levels of mental fitness. Our job is to ensure the continued existence of the United States of America. To protect her from all threats. That includes threats of the internal variety. We have done and will continue to do what is necessary to that end.” The implications of that statement were chilling. Her reaction must have been evident in her face because her interviewer went on to say. “Let me reassure you Dr. Platt that policies and procedures are in place to ensure we don’t go too far. Contrary to popular opinion and belief, the CIA has no interest in political power. Not in the traditional sense at least. The potential dangers of an organization like the CIA were well recognized at its founding and design elements were put in place to limit that danger. You will learn about some of them, and about others you will never know anything at all. This is the nature of the business we are in Dr. Platt. No one, from the head of the agency to its newest field agent knows more than they need to know, and no one needs to know everything, and that includes the president of the United States.”

“Of course, Mexico knows it stands no chance in a conventional war with the United States. We will not even attempt to fight one and have already agreed to cede the Baja Peninsula to US control. However, we will not give up the mainland and if President Trump continues to press, we will fight using the tools we do have at our disposal. To that end President Sheinbaum has already signed a peace and reconciliation agreement with New Generation Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels. They have agreed to call a truce in their war with each other, and to join with the government and Mexican military in the fight against the US aggressors. In addition to providing munitions and tactical support they intend to increase narcotic drug manufacturing to its highest possible levels and open the floodgates on distribution to every major and minor US city using every available channel. Your country will be awash in narcotics at rock bottom prices, within months. The North Korean and Chinese drug syndicates have agreed to participate to some extent as well, and at the very least will not interfere. Additionally, our friends and old enemies in Central and South America have agreed to join in our defense as well. Guatemala, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, and many others have signed a mutual non-aggression and defense pact. Trump attacking Mexico has united us like nothing ever could before. Meanwhile in the United States, addiction, homelessness, and crime will skyrocket. Your prisons, which are already overflowing, will be bursting at the seams, and social unrest will grow. Eventually it will boil over. If Mexico can survive long enough to see that happen, we may just win this war as the United States will self-destruct from within.” He paused there, took a deep breath, closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, appearing deep in thought.

As he sat quietly Sylvia’s mind was hard at work running through scenarios and options for how best to manage her current predicament. Briefly she considered flirting with the General but quickly dismissed the thought. He wore a wedding ring, but more than that, there was something about his personality and demeanor that reinforced her opinion that such an approach would be worthless in the best case, and actively damaging to her cause in the worst. She remembered well one of her classes at Langley in which an entire week had been dedicated to the art of flirting for both male and female agents in training. The fact that the topic would be the focus of an entire week of study was a huge surprise to Sylvia, and she found it bemusing and embarrassing in the extreme. The instructor noticed her discomfort at the material and decided to use her as the example case and working partner in example after example, mostly of what not to do. CIA and other data had shown clearly that for both men and women, flirting was one of the most effective methods for achieving almost any intelligence objective. As it turns out, making another person believe you are interested in them in a romantic/sexual manner is one of the quickest routes to getting that person to do almost anything you ask. The CIA data also showed that this approach was much easier and effective for women to use with men, but men who were good flirters also tended to be highly effective agents and they each credited that skill as a major reason for their success. Despite its effectiveness, instructors had gone to great pains to point out that it is also one of the riskiest techniques if used incorrectly or with the wrong person. Flirting can trigger feelings of jealousy, suspicion, and even anger, and in the line of work of a CIA agent those emotions can easily result in deadly outcomes. She remembered well the admonition of her instructor, “Flirting well is a very difficult thing to do, but it is child’s play compared to knowing when it is appropriate and useful to flirt. If you are not 100% certain, don’t do it. The risk of something going terribly wrong is very high.” She somehow knew that would be the case if she tried such a move with General Ramirez.

After what felt like minutes, but was only about fifteen seconds, the General broke the silence. “I will tell you something else that may surprise you Dr. Platt. We approached the senior government leadership of your state of California with an offer, secede from the United States and join Mexico in the fight against tyranny.” That was shocking news indeed, and, as she thought about the offer, she realized she did not know exactly how California would respond so she asked with genuine curiosity. “And what was their answer?” “They did not say no, exactly, but that they needed more time. They wanted to hear directly from the President before doing or saying anything in response to the attack on Mexico.” He paused there and stood up from his chair, walked slowly around to the front of his desk before taking a seat on the edge of it, perched directly in front of her. He was a big man and combined with the height of his desk from that position he towered over Sylvia. It was intimidating, and she was also sure that was intentional. The general looked down at Sylvia as he began to speak again. “You may be wondering why I would tell you all this Dr. Platt. Why would a married working woman, a research scientist with a normal everyday job like yourself care about such things? What would you know about them?” The sarcasm evident in his voice made Sylvia very nervous. It was obvious he knew something, much more than he had let on so far. She remained icy calm on the outside only sighing and saying “I have no idea General. Care to enlighten me?” “You must know after what I have told you so far you will never be allowed to leave this place alive. That is unfortunate, but, since it is the case I can tell you everything. We know who you are. Who you really are and who you really work for. There is no need to feign ignorance, Doctor. Despite what we have led many to believe, Mexico has a very sophisticated and deep human intelligence network with agents stationed around the world, including at the highest levels of the US government, up to and including members of congress. We know you are an agent of the CIA, only recently recruited after Moving to Mexico.” The General paused there to assess Dr. Platt’s reaction to what he had said. He stared at her intently, looking deep into her eyes, watching her body movements, scanning for signs of nervousness or fear, expecting her to try something stupid, like a move to escape. He knew she was deadly and highly skilled in the martial arts, an expert in krav maga, the fighting discipline pioneered by the Israeli special forces, which takes only the best and most practical elements of each of the martial arts as its core curriculum. Sylvia liked to call it Martial arts without the arts, but her instructors were less thrilled with that description than herself. The general was aware he would have a difficult time handling her in a one-on-one combat situation, but he also knew he was not alone. Armed guards, the best and most highly trained and capable of all his men in Mexico surrounded the perimeter of the room. They were invisible and silent, but he knew they were there and watching and would react instantly if she made the slightest move to attack or escape.