Altruistic World Online Library

by **admin** » Mon Jan 08, 2018 5:01 am

BBB Community Member: Tucson GLBT Chamber of Commerce
by bbb.org
Accessed: 1/7/18

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(520) 615-6436
Tucson GLBT Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 14312
Tucson, AZ 85732-4312

BBB File Opened: 04/09/2009
Started: 01/01/1998
Type of Entity: Referral Agency
Contact Information: Principal: Ms. Jane Kaskel, Administrator; Principal: Mr. Chad Froeschke, President
Category: Chamber of Commerce
Alternate Names: Tucson Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Chamber of Commerce; TGLBTCC

Tucson GLBT Chamber of Commerce

BBB COMMUNITY MEMBER SINCE 09/03/2014

This organization is a community member of BBB, which means it supports BBB's services to the public.

by **admin** » Mon Jan 08, 2018 5:54 am

Jerome B. Bookin-Weiner
by zoominfo.com
Accessed: 1/7/18

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Director at Study Abroad & Outreach
Company: Study Abroad & Outreach
Direct Phone: (202) ***-****
Get Phone

General Information

Experience

Executive Director of International Programs - Colorado State University
Partner - Host Institution
Director of Education Abroad - AMIDEAST Inc
Vice President for Academic Affairs - The Scholar Ship

Education

B.A. - history, Dickinson College
Ph.D. - modern Middle Eastern and North African history, Columbia University
doctoral degree - modern Middle East and North African history, Columbia University
master's Degree - modern Middle East and North African history, Columbia University

Affiliations

Board Member - Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies
Active Member - Association of International Education Administrators
Former Board Member - Tangier American Legation Museum Society
TALMS Fellow and Member of the Friends - Morocco Board
Volunteer - Peace Corps
Founder - Virginia Center for World Trade

Recent News

Fellows

Dr. Jerome B. Bookin-WeinerDirector of Study Abroad and Outreach, Director of Study Abroad and Outreach, AMIDEAST, 1730 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. Has also served as Academic Vice President of The Scholar Ship (2005-07), Executive Director of International Programs at Colorado State University (2001-2004), Dean of International Education at Bentley College (1987-2001) and Director of the Center for International Programs at Old Dominion University (1977-1987). He has written on the origins of US-Moroccan relations. Former Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco (1971-73). PhD. Columbia University, 1976.

Staff | AMIDEAST

Jerome B. Bookin-Weiner, Ph.D. Director of Study Abroad and Outreach

AMIDEAST Senior Staff

Jerome Bookin-Weiner, Director, Study Abroad and Outreach

by **admin** » Mon Jan 08, 2018 6:02 am

Big news at the Port of Virginia
by J. Robert Bray
The Virginian-Pilot
Oct 9, 2016

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Stephen M. Katz | The Virginian-Pilot
A view from the window during Wednesday, September 21, 2016, afternoon's announcement of the long-awaited lease of the Virginia International Gateway container terminal by the Virginia Port Authority. The deal provides for an expansion of the facility, which will roughly double its capacity.

THE PORT OF VIRGINIA, quite possibly, had the most important day in its history on Sept. 21. On that day, the governor and the leadership of the port signed a new lease agreement for Virginia International Gateway and in doing so set this one-of-a-kind, state-owned maritime asset on a path to be the leading venue for trade on the East Coast.

J. Robert Bray, Port of Virginia

The news, however, was lost in the pages of The Pilot. That’s too bad, given the importance of the moment and what this means for the commonwealth’s economy for decades to come.

A growing port means jobs and not just in Hampton Roads, but across this state. It is estimated that this lease agreement will generate 166,000 new jobs in Virginia, in addition to the 375,000 jobs the port already generates. Moreover, the lease will spur an estimated $22 billion in spending and result in $630-plus million in state and local taxes. Those estimates would be on top of the billions the port and its related industries and jobs already generate for the state.

This new lease agreement clears the way for developing the second phase at Virginia International Gateway. Combine that project with the renovation of Norfolk International Terminals’ South Berth, and by 2020 we will have the capacity to handle more than 1 million additional containers annually. These projects keep us competitive with our East Coast peers and give the big ocean carriers the assurance that we will have the capacity and facilities to handle their ships for years to come.

Most importantly, these strategic investments provide ample time to develop the fourth state-owned marine terminal at Craney Island.

The table is now set for growth at the Port of Virginia, and when this growth phase reaches its limit – and it will as the ships get bigger and we continue to consume – we will be prepared for the next phase, at Craney Island. The state’s investment of today is creating the necessary capacity buffer for reaching tomorrow without a panic. That is why it is called strategic growth.

In 10 years or so, when that tomorrow comes, we will be having a similar discussion about the positive economic benefits – job creation, new tax revenue and investment – that Craney Island Marine Terminal will have throughout the commonwealth.

For nearly 30 years I was fortunate enough to lead the Port of Virginia. During that time, our effort was to grow the port and do our best to look forward and see what was needed for it to become truly great.

Our work resulted in an expanded and modernized Norfolk International Terminals, channels that today are 50 feet deep, the rail corridor in the median of 164 in Portsmouth and the start of the federal funding to begin the long-term project of developing Craney Island.

The team that led the port during that period is proud of those accomplishments, but the VIG news outweighs that work because the path to the future is now clear, and all of the pieces are in place.

No other port on the East Coast has the natural or manmade assets the Port of Virginia does, and no other port has the opportunity to expand and help drive their state’s economy like we do here.

J. Robert Bray is executive director emeritus of the of the Virginia Port Authority.

by **admin** » Mon Jan 08, 2018 6:23 am

A Father Lost
by Scott Shane
Baltimore Sun
August 1, 2004

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Since 1953, Eric Olson has heard more than one explanation for his father's mysterious death. Now he believes it was murder.

He was 9 years old when his mother woke him before dawn half a century ago in Cold War America. Eric Olson came blinking into the living room of their Frederick home, where his father's boss and friend, Col. Vincent Ruwet, sat with the family doctor.

"Everybody had this stony-faced expression," Olson recalls. "I remember Ruwet saying, 'Your father was in New York and he had an accident. He either fell out the window or jumped.'"

After decades of dogged inquiry, Eric Olson now has a new verb for what happened to his father, Frank Olson, who worked for the Army's top-secret Special Operations Division at Fort Detrick, where he developed bioweapons and experimented with mind-control drugs.

Eric Olson found the verb in a 1950s CIA manual that was declassified in 1997 - one more clue in a quest that has consumed his adult life.

The verb is "dropped." And the manual is a how-to guide for assassins.

"The most efficient accident, in simple assassination, is a fall of 75 feet or more onto a hard surface," the manual says, adding helpfully: "It will usually be necessary to stun or drug the subject before dropping him."

Eric Olson believes his father - who developed misgivings about his work and tried to resign - was murdered by government agents to protect dark government secrets.

To find out what happened in the Statler Hotel on the night of Nov. 28, 1953, Eric once spent a sleepless night in the room from which his father fell. He confronted his father's close-mouthed colleagues. He had his father's mummified body exhumed. And he built a circumstantial case that Frank Olson was the victim of what he calls a "national security homicide."

The government has long denied the charge of murder. But it has admitted what might be called negligent manslaughter. Its version: that Frank Olson crashed through the window in a suicidal depression nine days after he was given LSD without his knowledge in a CIA mind-control experiment.

Eric never bought that argument. His devotion to the case derailed a promising career as a clinical psychologist that began with a doctorate from Harvard. In some Frederick circles, you'll hear disapproving murmurs about Eric's obsession - contrasted with the success of his younger brother, Nils, a dentist. But Nils Olson, 55, says he admires his brother's tenacity and agrees with his conclusion.

"At every point there seems to be a convergence of the evidence," Nils Olson says. "It all points to my father's being murdered."

The patriotic community surrounding Fort Detrick has long been reluctant to believe such a possibility. Once, Eric Olson says, he was, too.

"I'm not essentially conspiratorial in my worldview," says the lanky psychologist, who seems almost boyish at 59. "In my father's case, I just started turning over stones, and there was a snake under every one."

It may well be that Olson is wrong - that the government merely drugged his father with LSD, treated him thoughtlessly when he fell into madness and covered it up for 22 years. But if Frank Olson was murdered, then part of the plan would naturally be a cover-up.

"No assassination instructions should ever be written or recorded," says the CIA assassination manual. "Decision and instructions should be confined to an absolute minimum of persons."

It adds: "For secret assassination ... the contrived accident is the most effective technique. When successfully executed, it causes little excitement and is only casually investigated."

Whether the truth is homicide or suicide induced by a reckless drug experiment, the Olson saga is a cautionary tale in an era that echoes the early days of the Cold War. In the war on terror, America again appears tempted to use extreme measures.

In Olson's case, it took the government until 1975 to admit to the LSD experiment. When an investigation of CIA abuses exposed the facts in 1975, two White House aides named Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld helped set up a meeting at which President Gerald Ford apologized to the Olson family.

The goal, according to a declassified White House memo, was to avert a lawsuit in which it "may become apparent that we are concealing evidence for national security reasons."

What evidence was concealed, the memo does not reveal. But people who are far from wild-eyed conspiracy theorists accept the plausibility of Frank Olson's death as an execution.

Among them is Army intelligence veteran Norman G. Cournoyer, 85, who worked with Olson at Detrick and became one of his closest friends.

"If the question is, did Frank commit suicide, my answer is absolutely, positively not," says Cournoyer, now frail and wheelchair-bound, living in Amherst, Mass.
Why would he have been killed?

"To shut him up," Cournoyer says. "Frank was a talker ... . His concept of being a real American had changed. He wasn't sure we should be in germ warfare, at the end."

William P. Walter, 78, who supervised anthrax production at Detrick, says Olson's colleagues were divided about his death. "Some say he jumped. Some say he had help," Walter says. "I'm one of the 'had-help' people."

So is James Starrs, a George Washington University forensic pathologist who examined Olson's exhumed corpse in 1994 and called the evidence "rankly and starkly suggestive of homicide."

Based on that finding, the Manhattan district attorney's office opened a homicide investigation in 1996. Two cold-case prosecutors, Steve Saracco and Daniel Bibb, conducted dozens of interviews, hunted records at the CIA and went to California with a court order to question CIA retiree Robert V. Lashbrook, who shared Olson's room the night he died. (Like everyone known to be directly involved, Lashbrook is now dead.)

In 2001, they gave up.

"We could never prove it was murder," says Saracco.

But Saracco, now retired, found plenty to fuel his suspicions: a hotel room so cramped it was hard to imagine Olson vaulting through the closed window; motives to shut Olson up; the ambiguous autopsy; and the CIA assassination manual.

"Whether the manual is a complete coincidence, I don't know," Saracco says. "But it was very disturbing to see that a CIA manual suggested the exact method of Frank Olson's death."

Covert work

For 20 years after its creation in 1949, Detrick's Special Operations Division developed covert germ weapons - dart guns and aerosol sprayers to assassinate foreign enemies.

There is no evidence they were ever used. In fact, the only death that clearly resulted from the program was that of Frank Olson, one of its senior officers.

The son of Swedish immigrants, Frank Rudolph Olson earned a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and joined the World War II bioweapons program at what was then Camp Detrick.

In 1949, Olson was recruited by Detrick's Special Operations Division. Within months, the Korean War was raging, Sen. Joseph McCarthy was launching his hunt for Communist agents, and pressure was on to build new U.S. germ weapons.

By 1951, the Special Operations Division had won praise from a Pentagon committee for the "the originality, imagination and aggressiveness it has displayed in devising means and mechanisms for the covert dissemination of bacteriological warfare agents."

In October 1952, Olson was promoted to acting director of the division. Although his family didn't know it, he had also been recruited by the CIA for a program code-named Artichoke, part of a decades-long hunt for drugs to make enemy prisoners spill their secrets.

As his career prospered, Olson and his wife, Alice, built a dream house on a hillside above Frederick. They became regulars at Detrick's officers' club.

"He and his wife were both fun people," recalls Curtis B. Thorne, a Detrick veteran who pioneered anthrax studies at the University of Massachusetts.

But promotions and parties concealed Olson's qualms about his work. Suffering from ulcers, he left the Army and stayed on at Detrick as a civilian - though he bridled at the Army's strict oversight. A 1949 security document reported: "Olson is violently opposed to control of scientific research, either military or otherwise, and opposes supervision of his work."

The same year, colleagues recall, Olson was influenced by a new book by a mentor. In Peace or Pestilence: Biological Warfare and How To Avoid It, Theodor Rosebury said science should combat disease, not find devious ways to spread it.

Cournoyer, the Army intelligence veteran, says Olson began to raise ethical issues the friends had discussed during night courses in philosophy at the Catholic University of America. Colleagues were astonished to spot Olson chatting with the pacifists who protested outside Detrick's gates.

"He was turning, no doubt about it," Cournoyer says.

By the fall of 1953, according to Cournoyer, Olson was approaching a crisis of conscience. He had witnessed "special interrogations" of prisoners under the Artichoke program during a secret trip to Europe in July.

After returning, Cournoyer recalls, Olson asked, "Have you ever seen a man die?"

"He actually called it torture," Cournoyer recalls. "He said they went so far as to take a life - lives, definitely more than one. Whatever they got out of them, he didn't consider it worth a life."

One colleague, who spoke on condition of anonymity, thinks Olson was upset because he believed the U.S. had used biological weapons against North Korea. Two Canadian researchers, Stephen Endicott and Edward Hagerman, wrote a 1998 book arguing that such attacks occurred.

But the U.S. government has long denied using bioweapons, and most U.S. experts reject the charge. The issue may not be resolved until all the relevant documents are declassified, if ever.

Whatever its source, Olson's disillusionment came to a head after the LSD experiment on Nov. 19, 1953, at a rented cabin on Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland. Olson - who had stepped down to deputy chief of Special Operations - joined six Army colleagues and three CIA men led by Sidney Gottlieb, the eccentric and powerful CIA liaison to Detrick.

By his own account, Gottlieb served Cointreau to seven of the men without telling them he had laced it with LSD, ostensibly to study the drug's effects.

A 'terrible mistake'

Alice Olson would recall that her husband returned home deeply depressed. He told her he had made a "terrible mistake" but wouldn't elaborate. He said he planned to leave the Army and retrain as a dentist.

According to the official CIA version of events, made public in 1975, Olson became increasingly despondent and paranoid. On Nov. 24, concerned colleagues took him to New York to see a doctor, Harold Abramson, who had experimented with LSD.

Three days later, Olson agreed to be admitted to a Rockville psychiatric hospital. He and CIA officer Robert Lashbrook decided to spend the night at the Statler and head south the next morning.

But at 2:45 a.m., Lashbrook told investigators, he awoke to the sound of breaking glass. Olson had thrown himself through the closed shade and closed window, falling 170 feet to his death on the sidewalk below.

From 1953 to 1975, as Alice Olson descended into alcoholism and fought back to sobriety, she and her children were told nothing about LSD. When the story finally surfaced in the Rockefeller Commission report on CIA abuses, they got official apologies from President Ford and from CIA Director William Colby, who handed over CIA documents on the case. They later received $750,000 in compensation.

But 22 years of deception made it difficult to persuade the family that the new official story was the whole truth.

The betrayal was deeply personal. The LSD cover-up had involved Frank Olson's colleagues, particularly his boss, the late Col. Vincent Ruwet - who had consoled Eric with the gift of a darkroom set and a jigsaw after his father's death.

"Whenever suspicions came up, the family would say: 'This can't be correct, because Ruwet would have known, and Ruwet wouldn't deceive us.' Our relationship to Ruwet was symbolic of our relationship to the whole Detrick community," Eric said.

As a teenager, Eric was a patriotic member of that community, where he became an Eagle Scout in the base-sponsored troop. But in college and graduate school, he grew skeptical.

If his mother shared his doubts, Eric said, she never acted on them: "My mother's mantra was: 'You are never going to know what happened in that hotel room.' It's an injunction, a kind of threat, a taboo and a prediction."

Eric's younger sister, Lisa, was killed in a 1978 plane crash along with her husband and 2-year-old son. Ironically, she died on the way to inspect a lumber mill as a place to invest her share of the government's compensation for Frank's death.

His brother, Nils, who was only 5 in 1953, consciously chose dentistry, the alternate career his father had considered.

But Eric, the eldest, couldn't settle down. He moved to Sweden, his father's ancestral home, and had a son, Stephan, with a Swedish woman. Then he returned to the family home, determined to explain his father's death.

One clue came from Armand Pastore, the assistant night manager at the Statler in 1953. He approached the family in 1975 to report what he'd heard from the hotel switchboard operator that night. Immediately after Olson's fall, CIA officer Lashbrook phoned Abramson, the physician. Instead of shocked and emotional voices, the operator had told Pastore, there was a brief and seemingly expected exchange.

"He's gone," Lashbrook said.

"That's too bad," Abramson reportedly answered.

A similar impression came from a CIA investigator's report in Colby's documents. Dispatched to New York immediately after Olson's death, the investigator listened through a closed door as Abramson told Lashbrook he was "worried as to whether or not the deal was in jeopardy" and thought "the whole operation was dangerous and the whole deal should be reanalyzed."

In a report to the CIA on the death, Abramson wrote that the LSD experiment was designed "especially to trap [Olson]." This conflicted with Gottlieb's story and raised a troubling possibility: that the LSD experiment was actually designed to see whether Olson could still be trusted to keep the agency's dark secrets.

And there was Frank Olson's mummified body, exhumed in 1994, the year after Alice Olson died. Starrs, the pathologist, found none of the facial cuts the original autopsy described, but he did find a contusion to the head that he thought was caused by a blow struck before the fall.

All these anomalies Eric Olson has duly recorded on a Web site devoted to his father's memory: http://www.frankolsonproject.org.

A half-century after his father's death, Eric Olson seems to be struggling to put it behind him. He says he believes he knows what happened, even if he doesn't know details of perpetrators and motives. "You can see the truth through the fog," he says. "But you can't quite make out what it is."

Sometimes, in moments of frustration - which come often because he's struggling to earn a living - he says he's sorry he ever looked into his father's death.

"I've ruined my life," he says in one interview. "I regret everything. I regret digging my father's body up ... . For me, the end has come with facing a hard truth, confronting my own naivete. I thought I wanted knowledge. I didn't think that if knowledge is knowledge of murder, then it's not enough - because then you want justice. And you don't get justice with a secret state murder."

At other times, he seems eager for any new scrap of information. He explains the contradiction by citing the Shakespearean son who pursues the truth about his father's murder.

"Read Hamlet," he says. "Hamlet has become like a friend to me. Once you start looking into your father's death, you go to the end."

by **admin** » Mon Jan 08, 2018 6:32 am

CIA Publishes Its Own "Assassin's Manual," Proving It Condones Killing Those Who Oppose U.S. Policy
The CIA 'Killer's Manual' was kept out of the public eye for years, but now we know it teaches the 'fine art' of assassination as if it was a mandatory college course.
by Greg Szymanski
8 Sep 2005

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

If there are any lingering doubts about whether the U.S. government acts like a bunch of mafia hit men, the following documents, classified for years, should clear things up.

And as the “CIA’s Killer’s Instruction Manual” points out remember that possibly the only thing separating the mafia from the U.S. government is that the thugs in the underworld are much, much smarter.

Never in a month of Sundays would mafia thugs ever think of leaving behind a paper trail, like the following CIA documents indicate, on how exactly to pull off the perfect assassination attempt.

But that’s exactly what the U.S. government did when the CIA distributed a training manual for would-be killers called “A Study of Assassination,” distributed to agents and operatives taking part in the agency’s 1953 covert coup in Guatemala, which ousted the country’s democratically elected President.

The killer’s training manual. hidden and classified until 1997, until the National Security Archive, a Washington D.C. public-interest group, obtained a copy among roughly 1,400 pages found by the group concerning the Guatemala coup, in light of CIA statements that it has destroyed all other secret files about the coup.

Since the release of the documents, however, their contents have remained virtually hidden from the public eye, the messy details of how to pull off the perfect assassination never making it into the mainstream press and only viewed by a select few elsewhere.

Presented by the CIA almost like a college course for future killers, the Department of Defense and CIA spokesmen this week denied knowing anything about the manual, adding they were not aware of any such teaching tool being distributed to agents or operatives.

As the manual verifies purely by its publication, the U.S. government is involved up to its neck in the killing business, the involvement going back to the early 1950’s and most likely much farther back.

And it’s safe to say nothing has changed today, since reports by John Perkins in his latest book, “The Economic Hit Man” and other reports surfacing, seem to indicate the killing business is booming for the government.

Take, for example, the recent story told by former Army wife Kay Griggs of Virginia, who recounts how her husband for more than 10 years told her about his involvement with training and participating in government hit squads, knowledge of which leads to the doorstep of some of the most powerful leaders in our country, including the Oval Office.

Also, consider the recent stories coming out of Venezuela where democratically elected President Hugo Chavez is running for his life from the CIA after he publicly on numerous occasions has announced to the world that the Bush administration wants him dead for not cooperating with policies that would leave his country bankrupt and his people starving.

And in a sick, twisted manner, working on a theory that the end justifies the means, the CIA published it s killer’s manual, breaking down the art of committing the perfect assassination into eight major categories, including definition, employment, justification, classification, the assassin, planning, techniques and examples.

Here are the portions of the manual, the words taken directly from the CIA writers illustrating just how sick, twisted and distorted they really are:

DEFINITION

According to the CIA, assassination is a term thought to be derived from "Hashish", a drug similar to marijuana, said to have been used by Hassan al-Sabbah to induce motivation in his followers, who were assigned to carry out political and other murders, usually at the cost of their lives.

It is here used to describe the planned killing of a person who is not under the legal jurisdiction of the killer, who is not physically in the hands of the killer, who has been selected by a resistance organization for death, and whose death provides positive advantages to that organization.

EMPLOYMENT

Assassination is an extreme measure not normally used in clandestine operations. It should be assumed that it will never be ordered or authorized by any U.S. Headquarters, though the latter may in rare instances agree to its execution by members of an associated foreign service.

This reticence is partly due to the necessity for committing communications to paper. No assassination instructions should ever be written or recorded. Consequently, the decision to employ this technique must nearly always be reached in the field, at the area where the act will take place. Decision and instructions should be confined to an absolute minimum of persons. Ideally, only one person will be involved. No report may be made, but usually the act will be properly covered by normal news services, whose output is available to all concerned.

JUSTIFICATION

Murder is not morally justifiable. Self-defense may be argued if the victim has knowledge which may destroy the resistance organization if divulged. Assassination of persons responsible for atrocities or reprisals may be regarded as just punishment. Killing a political leader whose burgeoning career is a clear and present danger to the cause of freedom may be held necessary.

But assassination can seldom be employed with a clear conscience. Persons who are morally squeamish should not attempt it.

CLASSIFICATIONS

The techniques employed will vary according to whether the subject is unaware of his danger, aware but unguarded, or guarded. They will also be affected by whether or not the assassin is to be killed with the subject hereafter, assassinations in which the subject is unaware will be termed "simple"; those where the subject is aware but unguarded will be termed "chase"; those where the victim is guarded will be termed "guarded."

If the assassin is to die with the subject, the act will be called "lost." If the assassin is to escape, the adjective will be "safe." It should be noted that no compromises should exist here. The assassin must not fall alive into enemy hands.

A further type division is caused by the need to conceal the fact that the subject was actually the victim of assassination, rather than an accident or natural causes. If such concealment is desirable the operation will be called "secret"; if concealment is immaterial, the act will be called "open"; while if the assassination requires publicity to be effective it will be termed "terroristic."

Following these definitions, the assassination of Julius Caesar was safe, simple, and terroristic, while that of Huey Long was lost, guarded and open. Obviously, successful secret assassinations are not recorded as assassination at all. [Illeg] of Thailand and Augustus Caesar may have been the victims of safe, guarded and secret assassination.

THE ASSASSIN

In safe assassinations, the assassin needs the usual qualities of a clandestine agent. He should be determined, courageous, intelligent, resourceful, and physically active. If special equipment is to be used, such as firearms or drugs, it is clear that he must have outstanding skill with such equipment.

Except in terroristic assassinations, it is desirable that the assassin be transient in the area. He should have an absolute minimum of contact with the rest of the organization and his instructions should be given orally by one person only. His safe evacuation after the act is absolutely essential, but here again contact should be as limited as possible. It is preferable that the person issuing instructions also conduct any withdrawal or covering action which may be necessary.

In lost assassination, the assassin must be a fanatic of some sort. Politics, religion, and revenge are about the only feasible motives. Since a fanatic is unstable psychologically, he must be handled with extreme care. He must not know the identities of the other members of the organization, for although it is intended that he die in the act, something may go wrong. While the Assassin of Trotsky has never revealed any significant information, it was unsound to depend on this when the act was planned.

PLANNING

When the decision to assassinate has been reached, the tactics of the operation must be planned, based upon an estimate of the situation similar to that used in military operations. The preliminary estimate will reveal gaps in information and possibly indicate a need for special equipment which must be procured or constructed. When all necessary data has been collected, an effective tactical plan can be prepared. All planning must be mental; no papers should ever contain evidence of the operation.

In resistance situations, assassination may be used as a counter-reprisal. Since this requires advertising to be effective, the resistance organization must be in a position to warn high officials publicly that their lives will be the price of reprisal action against innocent people. Such a threat is of no value unless it can be carried out, so it may be necessary to plan the assassination of various responsible officers of the oppressive regime and hold such plans in readiness to be used only i f provoked by excessive brutality. Such plans must be modified frequently to meet changes in the tactical situation.

TECHNIQUES

The essential point of assassination is the death of the subject. A human being may be killed in many ways but sureness is often overlooked by those who may be emotionally unstrung by the seriousness of this act they intend to commit. The specific technique employed will depend upon a large number of variables, but should be constant in one point: Death must be absolutely certain. The attempt on Hitler's life failed because the conspiracy did not give this matter proper attention.

The techniques portion of the manual then went on to provide details about the particular effectiveness and use of an assortment of weapons, including all types of firearms, explosives as well as blunt and sharp-edged weapons. However, the most interesting assassination techniques recommended by the CIA were:

1. Manual

It is possible to kill a man with the bare hands, but very few are skillful enough to do it well. Even a highly trained Judo expert will hesitate to risk killing by hand unless he has absolutely no alternative. However, the simplest local tools are often much the most efficient means of assassination. A hammer, axe, wrench, screw driver, fire poker, kitchen knife, lamp stand, or anything hard, heavy and handy will suffice. A length of rope or wire or a belt will do if the assassin is strong and agile. All such improvised weapons have the important advantage of availability and apparent innocence. The obviously lethal machine gun failed to kill Trotsky where an item of sporting goods succeeded.

In all safe cases where the assassin may be subject to search, either before or after the act, specialized weapons should not be used. Even in the lost case, the assassin may accidentally be searched before the act and should not carry an incrimin ating device if any sort of lethal weapon can be improvised at or near the site. If the assassin normally carries weapons because of the nature of his job, it may still be desirable to improvise and implement at the scene to avoid disclosure of his identity.

2. Accidents

For secret assassination, either simple or chase, the contrived accident is the most effective technique. When successfully executed, it causes little excitement and is only casually investigated.

The most efficient accident, in simple assassination, is a fall of 75 feet or more onto a hard surface. Elevator shafts, stair wells, unscreened windows and bridges will serve. Bridge falls into water are not reliable. In simple cases a private meeting with the subject may be arranged at a properly-cased location. The act may be executed by sudden, vigorous [excised] of the ankles, tipping the subject over the edge. If the assassin immediately sets up an outcry, playing the "horrified witness", no alibi or surreptitious withdrawal is necessary. In chase cases it will usually be necessary to stun or drug the subject before dropping him. Care is required to insure that no wound or condition not attributable to the fall is discernible after death.

Falls into the sea or swiftly flowing rivers may suffice if the subject cannot swim. It will be more reliable if the assassin can arrange to attempt rescue, as he can thus be sure of the subject's death and at the same time establish a workable al ibi.

If the subject's personal habits make it feasible, alcohol may be used [2 words excised] to prepare him for a contrived accident of any kind.

Falls before trains or subway cars are usually effective, but require exact timing and can seldom be free from unexpected observation.

Automobile accidents are a less satisfactory means of assassination. If the subject is deliberately run down, very exact timing is necessary and investigation is likely to be thorough. If the subject's car is tampered with, reliability is very low. The subject may be stunned or drugged and then placed in the car, but this is only reliable when the car can be run off a high cliff or into deep water without observation.

Arson can cause accidental death if the subject is drugged and left in a burning building. Reliability is not satisfactory unless the building is isolated and highly combustible.

3. Drugs

In all types of assassination except terroristic, drugs can be very effective. If the assassin is trained as a doctor or nurse and the subject is under medical care, this is an easy and rare method. An overdose of morphine administered as a sedative will cause death without disturbance and is difficult to detect. The size of the dose will depend upon whether the subject has been using narcotics regularly. If not, two grains will suffice.

If the subject drinks heavily, morphine or a similar narcotic can be injected at the passing out stage, and the cause of death will often be held to be acute alcoholism.

Specific poisons, such as arsenic or strychine, are effective but their possession or procurement is incriminating, and accurate dosage is problematical. Poison was used unsuccessfully in the assassination of Rasputin and Kolohan, though the latte r case is more accurately described as a murder.

EXAMPLES

Agents may be presented brief outlines, with critical evaluations of the following assassinations and attempts:

Marat, Hedrich, Lincoln, Hitler, Harding, Roosevelt, Grand Duke Sergei, Truman, Pirhivie, Mussolini, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Benes, Rasputin, Aung Sang, Madero, Kirov ,Abdullah, Huey Long, Gandhi, Alexander of Yugoslvia, Trotsky.

Greg on the Radio.

Listen to my Radio Broadcast live every Monday night at 8pm Pacific time on LewisNews Radio. Look for program scheduling each week at http://webs.lewisnews.com/radio/index.htm. Greg is also a weekly regular on "The Power Hour with Joyce and Dave," a three-hour syndicated daily radio broadcast on the Genesis Network, broadcasting on many AM/FM stations nationwide. Greg appears every Monday at 7a.m to 8a.m. Pacific time.

Streaming audio can be heard at:
Internet: http://www.m2ktalk.com ; http://www.whri.com

On-air call in numbers for our listeners:

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International: 952-707-9960x125.

Greg Szymanski is an independent investigative journalist and his articles can been seen at http://www.LewisNews.com. He also writes for American Free Press http://www.AmericanFreePress.net and has his own site http://www.arcticbeacon.com. Greg has a live Radio show every Monday night on mms://media.LewisNews.com/Greg and on mms://media.LewisNews.com/RadioLewisNews at 8 pm Pacific time. Greg is also looking for sponsors for his popular new show and he can be contacted at patriott2424@aol.com.

by **admin** » Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:44 pm

A Study of Assassination
by Central Intelligence Agency
Estimated Publication Date: December 31st, 1953
Transcription Ebooked and Revised by Sokol (2002)

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• PREFACE
• A STUDY OF ASSASSINATION: DEFINITION. EMPLOYMENT. JUSTIFICATION
• CLASSIFICATIONS. THE ASSASSIN
• PLANNING. TECHNIQUES
• EXAMPLES
• ANNEX 1: CONFERENCE ROOM TECHNIQUE
• ANNEX 2: ORIGINAL 'A STUDY OF ASSASSINATION' DOCUMENT PAGES
• ANNEX 3: ORIGINAL GUATEMALA '54 COUP ASSASSINATION LISTS

PREFACE

Here you find a transcript of the CIA file titled 'A Study of Assassination'. This unsigned and undated (estimated publication date: Dec 31st, 1953) 19-page typewritten file was part of a collection of CIA documents pertaining to Operations PBFORTUNE and PBSUCCESS and was declassified under the Freedom of Information Act on May 15, 1997.

After years of answering Freedom of Information Act requests with its standard "we can neither confirm nor deny that such records exist," the CIA has finally declassified some 1400 pages of over 100,000 estimated to be in its secret archives on the Guatemalan destabilization program. An excerpt from this assassination manual appears on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times on Saturday, May 31, 1997.

Operations PBFORTUNE and PBSUCCESS were the CIA code-names of the 1952-54 attempts to topple the Guatemalan government under the democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman.

Arbenz Guzman was elected President of Guatemala in 1950 to continue a process of socio-economic reforms that the CIA disdainfully refers to in its memoranda as "an intensely nationalistic program of progress colored by the touchy, anti-foreign inferiority complex of the 'Banana Republic.'"* The first CIA effort to overthrow the Guatemalan president - a CIA collaboration with Nicaraguan dictator Anastacio Somoza to support a disgruntled general named Carlos Castillo Armas and codenamed Operation PBFORTUNE - was authorized by President Truman in 1952.

As early as February of that year, CIA Headquarters began generating memos with subject titles such as "Guatemalan Communist Personnel to be disposed of during Military Operations," outlining categories of persons to be neutralized through "Executive Action" (= murder) or through imprisonment and exile. The "A" list of those to be assassinated contained 58 names, all of which the CIA has excised from the declassified documents.

PBSUCCESS, authorized by President Eisenhower in August 1953, carried a US$2.7 million budget for "psychological warfare and political action" and "subversion," among the other components of a small paramilitary war. But, according to the CIA's own internal study of the agency's so-called "K program," up until the day Arbenz Guzman resigned on June 27, 1954, "the option of assassination was still being considered."

While the power of the CIA's psychological war, codenamed "Operation SHERWOOD," against Arbenz Guzman rendered that option unnecessary, the last stage of PBSUCCESS called for "roll-up of Communists and collaborators."

Although Arbenz Guzman and his top aides were able to flee the country, after the CIA installed Castillo Armas in power, hundreds of Guatemalans were rounded up and killed.

Between 1954 and 1990, human rights groups estimate that the repressive operatives of successive military regimes killed more than 180,000 individuals. Among them are the Mayans massacred in 626 documented government-sponsored or government-committed attacks on native villages, today only remembered by a rather small number of people abroad as the cause for 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, an ethnic Mayan, to start her struggle for civil rights and peace in the region.

This document has been carefully reformatted (and in instances where the HTML transcript had obvious errors not related to the original document, corrected*) and put into e-book format to be read onscreen or printed out and read at leisure by sokol. This introductory text has been in most parts adapted from George Washington University's National Security Archive website at http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/

sokol, June 2002

__________________________________________________________________

THE COVER OF THE ORIGINAL CIA FILE

ORIGINAL DOCUMENT – PAGE 1

ORIGINAL DOCUMENT – PAGE 4

ORIGINAL DOCUMENT – PAGE 5

FIRST PAGE OF ONE OF THE MANY ASSASSINATION LISTS COMPILED BY THE CIA DURING PLANNING FOR OPERATION PBSUCCESS. AS THE MEMORANDUM INDICATES, THE CHIEF OF ONE OF THE CIA'S DIVISIONS INVOLVED IN THE COUP (THE DIVISION TITLE HAS BEEN DELETED) REQUESTED A LIST OF NAMES OF ARBENZ GUZMAN GOVERNMENT LEADERS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY, AND INDIVIDUALS "OF TACTICAL IMPORTANCE WHOSE REMOVAL FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL, ORGANIZATIONAL OR OTHERS REASONS IS MANDATORY FOR THE SUCCESS OF MILITARY ACTION."

THE MEMO ASKS THAT CIA PERSONNEL READ THROUGH THE LIST AND INITIAL THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO SHOULD BE INCLUDED ON A "FINAL LIST OF DISPOSEES." THE LIST (AND THE INITIALS OR NAMES OF ALL CIA OFFICERS APPEARING IN THE DOCUMENT) HAS BEEN WITHHELD. A HANDWRITTEN NOTE ATTACHED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE MEMO READS:

Elimination List April [illeg] - [Illeg] is taking a copy of list of names for checking with the [illeg] April 7 - Original Memo with attached Biographic data has been passed to [deleted] Returned by [deleted] on 1 June 1954

FIRST PAGE OF ANOTHER VERSION OF THE ASSASSINATION LISTS COMPILED BY THE CIA AND CARLOS CASTILLO ARMAS (CODE-NAMED CALLIGERIS) IN THE COURSE OF PREPARING FOR THE 1954 COUP. THE NAMES OF THE AGENCY'S INTENDED VICTIMS WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES: PERSONS TO BE DISPOSED OF THROUGH "EXECUTIVE ACTION" (I.E. KILLED) AND THOSE TO BE IMPRISONED OR EXILED DURING THE OPERATION. BEFORE RELEASING THIS DOCUMENT TO THE PUBLIC, THE CIA DELETED EVERY NAME, LEAVING ONLY THE ROWS OF NUMBERS TO INDICATE HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE TARGETED.

'ATTACHMENT # 1' OF THE ABOVE. THE LIST OF INDIVIDUALS TO BE MURDERED CONTAINED 58 NAMES.

'ATTACHMENT # 2' OF THE ABOVE. 74 INDIVIDUALS WERE SINGLED OUT FOR IMPRISONMENT OR EXILE. AS NAMES HAVE BEEN DELETED IN BOTH LISTS, IT HAS BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO VERIFY THE CIA'S CLAIM THAT IN SPITE OF THE NUMBER OF ASSASSINATION PROPOSALS, NO SUCH KILLINGS WERE ACTUALLY CONDUCTED DURING THE COUP.

_______________

Notes:

* That Arbenz Guzman confiscated two-thirds of United Fruit Co.'s land did not endear him to the USA. In these days, anti-communist paranoia was at its highest, and a politician who took away United Fruit's land (even if to improve the lives of the plantation workers, who were living in slavery but by name) had to be a closet Ruskie.

* like the doubled lines in the 'Explosives' section.

by **admin** » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:51 pm

Ana Maria Quintero Lowry
allauthor.com
Accessed: 1/8/18

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Ana Maria Quintero Lowry is president and C.E.O. of A & P International, Inc., an International Consulting and Training corporation providing Cross Cultural Business Solutions for entrepreneurs and corporate America.

For 28 years, Mrs. Lowry has created and built programs and trainings which have been delivered nationally and internationally. As a consultant and executive trainer, Mrs. Lowry and her multi-ethnic team provide professional advice to large corporations developing their diversity supplier procurement programs. In addition, Ana Maria serves as a business coach and business developer to Diverse and Women Owned Business Enterprises who want to become winners of multi-million dollar contracts.

Mrs. Lowry received her Juris Doctorate and Master Degree in International Trade in 1981 from The Pontifical Javeriana University in Bogotá Colombia, the sister College of George Town University. Right after her graduation she started traveling around the world assisting corporations and minority entrepreneurs with clients from other cultures.

Mrs. Lowry was recognized as “A Woman Who Mean Business – Business Owner of the Year” by the Orlando Business Journal in 2017 among other several awards and recognitions for her and her corporation.

by **admin** » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:59 pm

Norte del Valle Cartel
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 1/8/18

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Norte del Valle Cartel
Years active Late 1990s – 2012
Territory Valle del Cauca department of Colombia
Ethnicity Colombian
Criminal activities Drug trafficking, murder, money laundering, gun-running and human trafficking
Allies Sinaloa Cartel[1]
Rivals Medellin Cartel (defunct)

The Norte del Valle Cartel, or North Valley Cartel, was a drug cartel that operated principally in the north of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia. It rose to prominence during the second half of the 1990s, after the Cali and Medellín Cartels fragmented, and it was known as one of the most powerful organizations in the illegal drug trade. The drug cartel was led by the brothers Luis Enrique and Javier Antonio Calle Serna, alias "Los Comba", until its takedown in 2012 by the authorities of the United States.

History

It is alleged that the Norte del Valle cartel was formed after an event where the brothers Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela and Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, leaders of the Cali Cartel, came to an agreement with the Colombian government that if they surrendered themselves and their organization to the Colombian justice system they would be given perks, such as imprisonment in Colombian prisons for not more than five years and the promise of no expropriation of their substantial assets. It is stated that they organized a meeting with their lieutenants, main subordinates, and junior partners in the business, to inform them that the decision had already been taken to stop all the illicit business immediately. Those members who refused this sudden dissolution, including Carlos Alberto Rentería Mantilla, Juan Carlos Ortiz Escobar, Juan Carlos Ramírez Abadía, Diego León Montoya Sánchez, and Orlando Henao Montoya, formed the North Valley cartel.

Known members

Its members were Orlando Henao Montoya alias El Hombre Overol (The Overall Man), Colonel Danilo Gonzalez, Ivan Urdinola Grajales Alias El Enano (The Dwarf) Efrain Hernandez Ramirez Don Efra (Mr. Efra), Andres Lopez Lopez Florecita (Floweret); Arcangel de Jesus Henao Montoya El Mocho, middle brother of Orlando Henao, Lorena Henao Montoya La Viuda De La Mafia (The Mafia Widow) sister of Orlando Henao, Wilber Alirio Varela Fajardo, Jabón (Soap), Diego León Montoya Sanchez Don Diego (Mr. Diego), Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia Chupeta (Lollipop), Luis Hernando Gomez Bustamante Rasguño (Scratch), Victor Patiño Fomeque El Quimico (The Chemist) or La Fiera (The Beast). Ex member of Cali Cartel, Luis Alfonso Ocampo Fomeque Tocayo (Namesake) half brother of Victor Patiño, Carlos Alberto Renteria Mantilla Beto Renteria, Ramon Alberto Quintero Sanclemente RQ, Miguel Fernando Solano Don Miguelito (Mr. Miguelito) Juan Carlos Ortiz Escobar Cuchilla (Blade) and Jorge Eliecer Asprilla El Negro Asprilla.

Activities

According to Diego Montoya's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) profile, the U.S. government accuses him of being involved in the willing production and distribution of multiple tons of cocaine into the United States. It also considers him and his organization as heavily relying on violence enjoying the protection of both right-wing and left-wing illegal armed groups classified as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.[2]

According to a 2004 U.S. government Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) indictment, between 1990 and 2004, the Norte del Valle cartel exported more than 1.2 million pounds – or 500 metric tons – of cocaine worth in excess of $10 billion from Colombia to Mexico and ultimately to the United States for resale.

The indictment charges that the Norte del Valle cartel used violence and brutality to further its goals, including the murder of rivals, individuals who failed to pay for cocaine, and associates who were believed to be working as informants.

The indictment alleges that the cartel members employed the services of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a right-wing paramilitary organization internationally classified as terrorist, to protect the cartel's drug routes, its drug laboratories, and its members and associates. The AUC is one of the 37 Foreign Terrorist Organizations identified by the U.S. State Department in 2004.

Leaders of the Norte del Valle cartel allegedly bribed and corrupted Colombian law enforcement and Colombian legislators to, among other things, attempt to block the extradition of Colombian narcotics traffickers to the United States to be prosecuted for their crimes. According to the indictment, members of the Norte del Valle cartel even conducted their own wiretaps in Colombia to intercept the communications of rival drug traffickers and Colombian and United States law enforcement officials.

Changes in leadership

The chiefs of the Norte del Valle cartel at one time included Orlando Henao a.k.a. "el hombre del overol" ("The overall man"), Montìguéz Franco a.k.a. "Monty", Diego León Montoya Sánchez, a.k.a. "Don Diego", Wilber Varela, a.k.a. "Jabón" ("Soap"), and Juan Carlos Ramírez Abadía, a.k.a. "Chupeta" ("Lollipop").[citation needed] Until his capture in late 2007 Diego Montoya was part of the list containing the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

Fierce rivalries that divided the cartel into warring factions erupted in 2003 when Hernando Gómez, Wilber Varela and their inner circle, prompted by a rising number of extradition of cartel members to the United States, apparently attempted to negotiate a possible surrender deal with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in a move which was strongly rejected by Diego Montoya and several of the other cartel drug lords. After a failed hit on Varela left him in the hospital with multiple gunshots, Varela declared war on Diego Montoya who he held responsible for the attack.

This situation led to brutal gang warfare, which left a deathtoll of more than 1,000 people between 2003 and 2004 throughout different northern locations of the Valle del Cauca department.

The consequences of such an internal vendetta led Colombian authorities to intervene in order to increase law enforcement efforts against the cartel, which resulted in the 2004 arrest of some 100 assassins in the employ of both rival factions, and in the 2005 capture of Varela's close associate Julio César López (alias "Ojitos", or "Small Eyes"), and Montoya's chief hatchetman, Carlos José Robayo Escobar (alias "Guacamayo", or "Macaw"), among others. On June 4, 2008 Julio César López was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison by a federal court in New York. More than $100 million worth in properties and luxury assets was also seized, along with an almost complete fiberglass narco submarine that would have been built by the cartel in order to smuggle drugs into the United States and other foreign countries.

All of these events may have influenced several members of the Norte del Valle cartel to seek a deal with Colombian and U.S. drug enforcement authorities during late 2004 and early 2005, whether through direct negotiation proposals or employing the possible protection that they may gain through the infiltration of the AUC's then ongoing peace negotiations with the Colombian government.[3]

Diego Montoya was captured in Colombia on September 10, 2007. Wilber Varela was killed in the Venezuelan city of Mérida.[4]

Cartel arrests

The Norte del Valle Cartel is believed to be the single most powerful existing cartel in Colombia with exception of the smaller North Coast Cartel, the FARC Marxist guerrilla, and the right wing paramilitary group AUC. Due to their violent warfare that left more than 1,000 people dead between 2003 and 2004, the Colombian government with support of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have pursued the cartel heavily for over four years.

2003–2004

José Dagoberto Flores Ríos

The first significant blow to be dealt to the Norte del Valle Cartels internal membership came with the arrest of Juan Carlos Montoya Sánchez, brother to top Norte del Valle boss Diego Montoya. Juan Carlos was arrested in December 2003 in Colombia and extradited to the United States two years later on May 4, 2005 where he was sentenced to 262 months in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering, he was believed to be responsible for overseeing the cartels cocaine laboratories.[5][6][7][8] Along with Juan Carlos, Carlos Felipe Toro Sánchez, alias "Pipe", was arrested. Carlos Felipe was believed to be responsible for overseeing the drug shipments of cocaine to their destination in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe. Carlos Felipe was extradited to the United States ten days before Juan Carlos, on April 25, 2005.[6] The following month after the capture of Juan Carlos came the arrest of José Dagoberto Flores Ríos whose alias is "Chuma." Jose Dagoberto, who was the top lieutenant to Arcángel Henao Montoya, was arrested in January 2004 in Colombia and later extradited to the United States where he is in custody in New York.[9][10]

Arcángel De Jesús Henao Montoya: alias "El Mocho" being escorted by ICE agents.

In 2004, four additional captures occurred of Norte del Valle hierarchy. The capture of Arcángel Henao Montoya, also known as "El Mocho" ("The Amputee"), was a top leader of the cartel. Arcángel was arrested on January 10, 2004 in Panama and extradited to New York.[5][8][9][11][12][13] In July 2004 Luis Hernando Gómez Bustamante, alias "Rasguño" ("Scratch"), one of the founders and top leaders of the cartel, was arrested on July 2, 2004 trying to enter Cuba on a false passport. He was held in Cuba awaiting extradition to Colombia and ultimately to the U.S. In March 2004, the Colombian government seized properties belonging to Bustamante in excess of $100 million. He would not be extradited to the United States for over three years.[11] Gabriel Puerta Parra, alias "El Doctor" ("The Doctor"), was arrested on October 7, 2004 near Bogotá, Colombia. Gabriel Puerta was an attorney and counselor to the Norte del Valle cartel. He acted as a highly respected intermediary between the Norte del Valle Cartel and major Mexican cartels, assisted in resolving disputes within the cartel and, influencing the Colombian government with extradition matters. He invested his own money in drug shipments and facilitated money laundering operations through front companies he owned and setup for the cartel, as well as acquiring local and international real estate to launder the cartel's illegal proceeds.[7][10]

2005–2006

Jhonny Cano Correa

Arrests continued throughout 2005 as José Aldemar Rendón Ramírez, alias "Mechas", was arrested by Colombian authorities on July 15, 2005. José Aldemar operated as a financial officer within the Norte del Valle Cartel, responsible for the launder of its illegal proceeds.[11] Jhonny Cano Correa, alias "Flecha" ("Arrow"), was arrested later the year on October 29, 2005. Jhonny Cano operated as a chief of security for Luis Hernando Gómez Bustamante. He was responsible for ensuring the security of cocaine processing laboratories, drug shipments, and murdering rivals. He was eventually extradited to the United States in September 2006.[11]

Following the capture of Luis Hernando Gómez Bustamante, and his chief of security, Jhonny Cano, came the capture of Bustamante's lieutenant, Jaime Maya Durán, alias "Alejandro". Following Bustamante's arrest, Durán assumed more responsibility within the cartel. He was captured in Mexico in September 2006 and shortly after extradited to the United States.[14] The following month brought the capture of Orlando Sabogal Zuluaga, alias "Alberto", another high-ranking lieutenant to Luis Hernando Gómez Bustamante on October 31, 2006 in a shopping mall in Spain.[15]

2007

In 2007 five members of the cartel were captured, Eugenio Montoya Sánchez, alias "Don Hugo," younger brother to top cartel boss Diego Montoya, was arrested January 15, 2007 in the Cartel's stronghold town of El Dovio.[16] It is believed Eugenio took over his brother's major operations to allow his brother to remain at large from Colombian and U.S. authorities.[17]

Luis Gómez a.k.a. "Rasguño" (scratch)

February 2007 brought about the extradition of Luis Hernando Gómez Bustamante, arrested years prior. Bustamante was extradited to Colombia from Cuba on July 20, 2007, he was then handed over to DEA agents in Bogotá for transport to the United States. Bustamante reportedly offered to cooperate with U.S. authorities in exchange for protection after receiving numerous death threats while in Colombian custody.[18][19][20][21][22] February also led to the capture of Laureano Rentería, right-hand man to Juan Carlos Ramírez Abadía, Laureano Renteria was detained at one of Ramirez's stash houses containing $19 million. He tried convincing authorities he was a simple construction worker hired to remodel the house and accepted a plea deal to 44 months in prison. While in prison an informant in New York revealed he was Ramírez's confidant who protected Ramirez during their six-year prison term served in a Colombia during the 1990s. Laureano Renteria was responsible for managing Ramírez's financial structure including the stash house logistics and bribing of high Colombian government officials. When the DEA learned of this information they had the Colombian authorities transfer Rentería to a maximum security prison to await a speedy extradition to the US. On February 27, 2007 the extradition order was to be served, but authorities found Rentería dead in his cell due to cyanide poisoning. His death went unsolved, but Ramírez is suspected to have ordered the hit to prevent him from revealing vital cartel secrets.

On February 25, 2007, Eduardo Restrepo Victoria, also known as "El Socio", was arrested in Colombia. It is believed that Eduardo is the right-hand man and the partner of the cartel leader, Wilber Varela. On September 7, 2006, Colombian police seized 65 Restrepo properties in the cities of Bogota, Cali and no state of Tolima valued at more than US $ 25 million. Henry Loaiza Ceballos, "El Alacran" ("The Scorpion"). When it was captured and extradited Restrepo assumed its operations and in partnership with Varela. [23] The month following the capture of Juan Carlos Ramirez-Abadia, incidentally "Chupeta", one of the main masters of Cartel Norte del Valle. In January 2007, four separate raids of Ramírez's houses in the city of Cali, Colombia. Ramirez was arrested in Brazil on August 7, 2007. [24] Ramirez was extradited by Brazil to the United States on Friday, August 22, 2008. Diego León Montoya Sánchez, alias "Don Diego", "El Señor de la Guerra" ("The Warlord"), was arrested on September 10, 2007 at 8:20 a.m., in a rural farm house in Valle, Colombia. Montoya was believed to be the top leader of the Norte Del Valle Cartel. The arrest of Diego Leon ends the Montoya Clan's claim in drug trafficking, with Juan Carlos Montoya Sánchez serving a 262-month prison term in the United States and his younger brother Eugenio Montoya Sánchez detained in a maximum security prison in Colombia awaiting extradition. After news of Montoya's arrest, Colombian Defense Minister claimed his extradition to the US was inevitable.[5][8][23] He was extradited to Miami on December 12, 2008.[24]

2008

The Colombian and US governments were targeting Wilber Varela, believing he would try to take over Montoya's business as well and possibly start another war with the emerging leaders. However, Varela was found murdered on January 30, 2008 in a hotel resort in the state of Mérida in Venezuela. Colombian authorities believe he was murdered by his own men on orders of jailed paramilitary drug lord Carlos Mario Jimenez alias "Macaco" to end Varela's power struggle in the rival city Medellin and surrounding areas in Antioquia. Jimenez was later extradited to the United States on May 7, 2008 for failing to meet the terms of his surrender and for continuing to run his criminal organization in prison.

2009–2010

On June 1, 2009 Aldemar Álvarez Tabares alias "Pelón", the supposed successor of Bustamante, was arrested in Cali. Ramón Quintero Sanclemente (alias "RQ" or "Lucas"), an old guard high-ranking member of the cartel, was arrested in Quito (Ecuador) and immediately deported to Colombia. Quintero is now being held in the Combita maximum security prison, awaiting extradition proceedings to the United States. Quintero was one of the 10 most wanted DEA drug traffickers in the world, and he had a reward for his capture, valued up to $5 million. Quintero was accused of being one of the last leaders of the NVC organization, and also of trafficking large amounts of cocaine through Mexico using his Mexican cartel connections / partners (some reports claim that his organization was moving up to 50 metric tons per year to the United States and Europe). The formal request for extradition was submitted by the United States in July 2009. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bonnie S. Klapper and Walter M. Norkin in the Eastern District of New York.[25]

Future

Diego Montoya's arrest and Wilber Varela's murder closed a chapter in Colombia's war on drugs. However, Colombian and US officials have identified the remaining cartel members that may fight for leadership of the organization. Authorities have identified the following targets as possible successors for both the Montoya and Varela Organization.[citation needed] As a preventive initiative, the Colombian government has issued arrest warrants for all these men before they can organize and restructure the cartel. Close to $250,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of each suspect. All suspects have extradition requests from the United States.[citation needed]

Los Machos (Diego Montoya Organization)

Los Machos is a Colombian drug trafficking paramilitary organization.[26] The group started as Montoya's security force. Oscar Varela Garcia alias "Capachivo" is posed as the most likely candidate to assume leadership. Fifty-four-year-old Varela, along with the Robayo brothers, has control of Montoya's security force of Los Machos. Varela started his career as a hitman with Wilber Varela for the late drug baron Orlando Henao Montoya. Varela remained friends with Wilber Varela until he sided with Montoya during the Montoya-Varela war. Oscar Varela's name became known after he organized the Jamundí massacre, where ten investigative agents were murdered by a corrupt military unit. On July 5, 2008 Varela was captured by Colombian authorities in a farmhouse in Palmira, Valle del Cauca. The operation was during the early morning where Varela was captured while he was sleeping in his underwear with his girlfriend.[citation needed]

Jorge Urdinola Perea alias "La Iguana" ("The Iguana") is another potential candidate. Urdinola is 42 years old and is cousin to the late drug baron Ivan Urdinola Grajales. He owns and operates many drug laboratories in the cartel's stronghold of the Canon Of Garrapatas and in the Colombian state of Choco. He is also the current leader of Diego Montoya's private army and hit squad "Los Machos". If Urdinola assumes control, his brother Hilbert Urdinola Perea alias "Don H" (Mr. H), will also co-lead. On June 25, 2008 Jorge Urdinola Perea was captured by Colombian authorities in Zarzal, Valle del Cauca.[citation needed]

The fourth possible candidate was 39-year-old Gildardo Rodriguez Herrera alias "El Señor de la Camisa" ("The Man of the Shirt"). He started his career as a leftist guerrilla and after spending ten years at Montoya's side he learned the trade. He also managed Montoya's security forces of Los Machos. After Montoya's arrest, Gildardo was starting to gain strength until Colombian authorities captured him on May 16, 2008 in a farmhouse in the Colombian state of Cundinamarca. The arrest was made possible on information provided by an informant who was paid the reward money.[citation needed]

Los Rastrojos (Wilber Varela Organization)

Los Rastrojos is a Colombian drug trafficking paramilitary organization. The group was formed by Norte del Valle cartel capo Wilber Varela, alias "Jabon" and one of his right-hand men, "Diego Rastrojo", around 2004 when Varela fell out with fellow-capo Diego Leon Montoya, alias "Don Diego".[27] The group became independent after the murder of its main founder in Venezuela in 2008 and has since become one of the most important drug trafficking organization in Colombia.

Authorities now believe Wilber Varela's main captains Diego Perez Henao alias "Diego Rastrojo" and Luis Enrique Calle alias "Combatiente" ("Combatant") conspired with AUC commander Carlos Mario Jiménez alias "Macaco" to murder Varela.[citation needed] With the murder of Varela, Jimenez consolidated himself as the maximum authority in drug trafficking in Colombia controlling the drug trade in ten Colombian states and having authority over the cartel. His control lasted until his extradition in 2008. Luis Enrique Calle's rise to power will include his brother Javier Antonio Calle.[citation needed] Together they operated Varela's drug laboratories and oversaw transportation through their controlled drug routes. Under Jimenez's conditions, the Varela organization was to leave any interests in Medellin and Antioquia and share power between Henao and the Calle brothers.[citation needed]

Other Varela organization members of interest include Gilmer Humberto Quintero, alias "Cabezon" ("Big Head"), Ramon Quintero Sanclemente alias "Lucas" (arrested in Ecuador on April 2010, deported to Colombia for extradition proceedings to the United States), Jaime Umberto Palomino alias "Piernas Locas" ("Crazy Legs"), Roberto Londono Velez, Jaime Alberto Marin Zamora alias "Beto" (beto was captured in Venezuela in 2010[28]), Jose Ignacio Bedoya Velez, and Diego Perez Henao's brother Wilmar Perez Henao. Longtime Varela partner Ramon Quintero is suspected of being the most powerful and experienced target but is suspected of being at war with Diego Perez Henao over a 10 million dollar dispute.[citation needed]

Gilmer Humberto Quintero was found dead inside a police station bathroom with a shot in the head. Apparently, he committed suicide with a .25 caliber pistol he had hidden from police when he was captured June 14, 2008.

North Valley remnants (Ramirez Abadía Organization)

After Laureano Renteria's mysterious murder in his jail cell and the capture of Juan Carlos Ramírez Abadía in Brazil,[29] authorities identified Aldemar Rojas Mosquera[30] as the most likely inheritor of Ramirez's organization.[31]

References

1. "La caída del principal narco del mundo, con conexiones en RD".
2. FBI.gov Archived March 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
3. "Capos del narcotrafico de Colombia ofrecen entregarse a EE.UU". terra. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
4. "Colombian drugs lord found dead". BBC News. February 1, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
5. "Top Colombian drug suspect seized". BBC. January 11, 2004.
6. b "High-ranking Colombian Drug Traffickers Sentences on Cocaine Charges". United States Department of Justice. February 27, 2006.
7. The Drug Enforcement Administration's International Operations(PDF). United States Department of Justice. pp. 113, 123, 133, 138.
8. "Cali cartel leader caught in drug swoop". Sydney Morning Herald. January 11, 2004. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012.
9. "Jose Dagoberto Flores Rios". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2008-02-15. Retrieved 27 July2012.
10. "Colombian police nab reputed leader of drug cartel". USA Today. December 28, 2004.
11. "ICE, Colombians Work Together To Dismantle Norte Valle Cartel". United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
12. "Man Accused Of Being Kingpin Is Arrested". New York Times. January 14, 2004.
13. "Colombia drug cartel suspect nabbed". CNN. January 11, 2004. Archived from the original on December 10, 2007.
14. "Jaime Maya Duran". United States Department of State.
15. "Orlando Sabogal Zuluaga". United States Department of State.
16. Kingpin Eugenio Montoya Sanchez nabbed after gunbattleArchived January 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., a January 16, 2007 Associated Press story via CNN
17. "Eugenio Montoya-Sanchez". United States Department of State.
18. "Colombia extraditing suspected drug kingpin to U.S". Associated Press. July 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-26.
19. Hugh Bronstein (July 19, 2007). "Colombia extradites cocaine lord "Scratch" to U.S". Reuters.
20. "Colombia cartel raid nets $100m". BBC. March 11, 2004.
21. "Cuba deports suspected drug baron". BBC. February 9, 2007.
22. "Cuba seizes Colombia 'drug chief'". BBC. July 9, 2004.
23. Sibylla Brodzinsky (September 11, 2007). "Colombian drug lord captured".
24. "Despegó vuelo de la DEA que lleva extraditado a E.U. a 'Don Diego'". El Tiempo. December 12, 2008.[permanent dead link]
25. "USDOJ: US Attorney's Office - Eastern District of New York". Justice.gov. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
26. "La tardía guerra contra las llamadas Bacrim, Opinión". Semana.com. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
27. "Rastrojos". Colombia Reports. 2012-09-18. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
28. Vheadline.com, 17 September 2010, "Top Colombian narco-trafficker 'Beto Marin' captured in Venezuela"
29. Martes 29 de julio de 2014. "Autoridades persiguen en Colombia al heredero de 'Chupeta', Aldemar Rojas Mosquera - Archivo - Archivo Digital de Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo desde 1.990". eltiempo.com. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
30. [1] Archived May 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
31. "Autoridades persiguen en Colombia al heredero de 'Chupeta', Aldemar Rojas Mosquera" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. Retrieved 11 October 2010.

by **admin** » Tue Jan 09, 2018 1:54 am

Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.: 8th & I
"Oldest Post of the Corps"
by Marines: The Official Website of the United States Marine Corps
Accessed: 1/8/18

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Nov 10, 2017
World War II Memorial - The official party [General Alfred M. Gray] returns from laying the wreath at the Pacific Arch of the World War II Memorial during the Marine Corps’ Birthday Wreath Laying Ceremony, Washington D.C., Nov. 10, 2017. The wreath laying ceremony is an annual event held to celebrate the U.S. Marine Corps’ birthday and honor those who gave the last measure of devotion to country and Corps. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Damon A. Mclean/Released)

Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., also known as "8th & I," is the oldest active post in the Marine Corps. It was founded by President Thomas Jefferson and Lt. Col. William Ward Burrows, the second commandant of the Marine Corps, in 1801.

Located on the corners of 8th & I Streets in southeast Washington, D.C., the Barracks supports both ceremonial and security missions in the nation's capital.

The Barracks is home to many nationally recognized units, including the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Marine Band, the official Marine Corps Color Guard, and the Marine Corps Body Bearers. It is also the site of the Home of the Commandants, which, along with the Barracks, is a registered national historic landmark.

by **admin** » Tue Jan 09, 2018 2:41 am

Gaeta
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 1/8/18

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

Gaeta
Comune
Comune di Gaeta

Gaeta's historic quarter from Monte Orlando.

Location of Gaeta in Italy
Coordinates: 41°13′N 13°34′E
Country Italy
Region Lazio
Province / Metropolitan city Latina (LT)
Frazioni Arenauta, Ariana, Fontania, Porto Salvo, Sant'Agostino, Sant'Erasmo, San Vito, Serapo
Government
• Mayor Cosmo Mitrano (PdL)
Area
• Total 28.48 km2 (11.00 sq mi)
Elevation 2 m (7 ft)
Population (9 October 2011)
• Total 20,762
• Density 730/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Gaetani
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 04024
Dialing code 0771
Patron saint Saint Erasmus
Saint day 2 June
Website Official website

The natural sea grotto of the Turchi.

Gaeta (Italian pronunciation: [ɡaˈeːta]; Latin: Caiēta, Ancient Greek: Καιέτα) is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Rome and 80 km (50 mi) from Naples.

The town has played a conspicuous part in military history: its fortifications date back to Roman times, and it has several traces of the period, including the 1st-century mausoleum of the Roman general Lucius Munatius Plancus at the top of the Monte Orlando.

Gaeta's fortifications were extended and strengthened in the 15th century, especially throughout the history of the Kingdom of Naples (later the Two Sicilies). Present day Gaeta is a fishing and oil seaport, and a renowned tourist resort. NATO maintains a naval base of operations at Gaeta.

History

Ancient times

It is the ancient Caieta, situated on the slopes of the Torre di Orlando, a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Gaeta was an ancient Ionian colony of the Samians according to Strabo, who believed the name stemmed from the Greek kaiétas, which means "cave", probably referring to the several harbours. According to Virgil's Aeneid (vii.1–9), Caieta was Aeneas’ (another legend says Ascanius') wet-nurse, whom he buried here.

In the classical age Caieta, famous for its lovely and temperate climate, like the neighbouring Formia and Sperlonga, was a tourist resort and site of the seaside villas of many important and rich characters of Rome. Like the other Roman resorts, Caieta was linked to the capital of the Empire by Via Appia and its end trunk Via Flacca (or Valeria), through an opposite diverticulum or by-road. Its port was of great importance in trade and in war, and was restored under Emperor Antoninus Pius. Among its antiquities is the mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus.

Middle Ages

At the beginning of the Middle Ages, after the Lombard invasion, Gaeta remained under suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire. In the following years, like Amalfi, Sorrento and Naples, it would seem to have established itself as a practically independent port and to have carried on a thriving trade with the Levant.

As Byzantine influence declined in Southern Italy the town began to grow. For fear of the Saracens, in 840 the inhabitants of the neighbouring Formiæ fled to Gaeta. Though under the suzerainty of Byzantium, Gaeta had then, like nearby ports Naples and Amalfi, a republican form of government with a dux ("duke", or commanding lord under the command of the Byzantine Exarch of Ravenna), as a strong bulwark against Saracen invasion.

Around 830, it became a lordship ruled by hereditary hypati, or consuls: the first of these was Constantine (839–866), who in 847 aided Pope Leo IV in the naval fight at Ostia. At this same time (846) the episcopal see of Gaeta was founded when Constantine, Bishop of Formiae, fled thither and established his residence. He was associated with his son Marinus I. They were probably violently overthrown (they disappear suddenly from history) in 866 or 867 by Docibilis I, who, looking rather to local safety, entered into treaties with the Saracens and abandoned friendly relations with the papacy. Nevertheless, he greatly expanded the duchy and began construction of the palace. Greatest of the hypati was possibly John I, who helped crush the Saracens at Garigliano in 915 and gained the title of patricius from the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII.

The principle of co-regency governed the early dynasties: Docibilis associated John with him and John in turn associated his son Docibilis II with him. In 933, three generations were briefly co-ruling: John I, Docibilis II, and John II. On the death of Docibilis II (954), who first took the title dux, the duchy passed from its golden age and entered a decline marked by a division of territory. John II ruled Gaeta and his brother, Marinus, ruled Fondi with the equivalent title of duke. Outlying lands and castles were given away to younger sons and thus the family of the Docibili slowly declined after mid-century.

Allegedly, but improbably, from the end of the 9th century, the principality of Capua claimed Gaeta as a courtesy title for the younger son of its ruling prince. In the mid-10th century, the De Ceremoniis of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus lists the ceremonial title "prince of Gaeta" among the protocols for letters written to foreigners.[2]

Prince Pandulf IV of Capua captured Gaeta in 1032 and deposed Duke John V, assuming the ducal and consular titles. In 1038, Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno took it from him and, in 1041, established the Norman counts of Aversa, who were afterwards princes of Capua, as puppet dukes. The native dynasty made a last attempt to wrest the duchy from Guaimar in 1042 under Leo the Usurper.

In 1045, the Gaetans elected their own Lombard duke, Atenulf I. His son, Atenulf II, was made to submit to the Norman Prince Richard I of Capua in 1062, when Gaeta was captured by Jordan Drengot. In 1064, the city was placed under a line of puppet dukes, appointed by the Capuan princes, who had usurped the ducal and consular titles. These dukes, usually Italianate Normans, ruled Gaeta with some level of independence until the death of Richard of Caleno in 1140. In that year, Gaeta was definitively annexed to the Kingdom of Sicily by Roger II, who bestowed on his son Roger of Apulia, who was duly elected by the nobles of the city. The town did maintain its own coinage until as late as 1229, after the Normans had been superseded by the centralising Hohenstaufen.

In the many wars for possession of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Gaeta, owing to its important strategic position, was often attacked and defended bravely. In 1194 the Pisans, allies of Emperor Henry VI in the conquest of the kingdom, took possession of the city and held it as their own.

In 1227 the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II was in the city and strengthened the castle. However, in the struggle between Emperor Frederick and the Papacy, in 1228 it rebelled against Frederick II and surrendered to the pope, after the Papal forces destroyed the imperial castle in the fray. After the peace of San Germano of 1230, it was given back to the Sicilian kingdom. In 1233, Frederick regained control of the important port and fortress. In 1279 Charles I of Anjou rebuilt the castle and enhanced the fortifications. In 1289 King James II of Aragon besieged the city in vain. From 1378 Gaeta hosted for some years antipope Clement VII. The future King of Naples Ladislaus lived in Gaeta from 1387. Here, on 21 September, he married Costanza Chiaramonte, whom he repudiated three years later.

King Alfonso V of Aragon (as Alfonso I of Naples) made Gaeta his beachhead for the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples in 1435, besieged it, and to his own disadvantage displayed great generosity, by aiding those unable to bear arms who had been driven out from the besieged town. After a disastrous naval battle he captured it, and gained control of the kingdom. He enlarged the castle, which became his royal palace, and created a mint. In 1451 the city was home to the Treaty of Gaeta, stipulated between Alfonso V and the Albanian lord, Skanderbeg: the treaty ensured protection of the Albanian lands in exchange for political suzerainty of Skanderbeg to Alfonso.[3]

Modern era

In 1495, king Charles VIII of France conquered the city and sacked it. The following year, however, Frederick I of Aragon regained it with a tremendous siege which lasted from 8 September to 18 November.

In 1501 Gaeta was retaken by the French; however, after their defeat at the Garigliano (3 January 1504), they abandoned it to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Ferdinand the Catholic's general.

In 1528 Andrea Doria, admiral of Charles V, defeated a French fleet in the waters off Gaeta and gave the city to its emperor. Gaeta was thenceforth protected with a new and more extensive wall, which also encompassed Monte Orlando.

In the War of the Spanish Succession, on 30 September 1707 Gaeta was stormed and taken after a three-month siege by the Austrians under General Daun. On 6 August 1734 it was taken by French, Spanish and Sardinian troops under the future King Charles of Naples after a stubborn defense by the Austrian viceroy of four months. Charles' own daughter Infanta Maria Josefa of Spain was born here in 1744. The fortifications were again strengthened; and in 1799 it was temporarily occupied by the French.

On 18 July 1806 it was captured by the French under André Masséna, after an heroic defence. It was created a duché grand-fief in the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples, but under the French name Gaete, for finance minister Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin, in 1809 (family extinguished in 1841).

On 8 August 1815 it capitulated to the Austrians after a three months' siege. It had been attacked and partially reduced by ships of the Royal Navy on 24 July 1815.

After his flight from the Roman Republic, Pope Pius IX took refuge at Gaeta in November 1848. He remained in Gaeta until 4 September 1849.

On 1 August 1849, the USS Constitution while in port at Gaeta, received onboard King Ferdinand II and Pope Pius IX, giving them a 21-gun salute. This was the first time that a Pope set foot on American territory or its equivalent.

Finally, in 1860, it was the scene of the last stand of Francis II of the Two Sicilies against the forces of United Italy. The king offered a stubborn defense, shut up in the fortress with 12,000 men and inspired by the heroic example of Queen Maria Sophie after Garibaldi's occupation of Naples. It was not until 13 February 1861 that Francis II was forced to capitulate when the withdrawal of the French fleet made bombardment from the sea possible, thus sealing the annexation of the Kingdom of Naples to the Kingdom of Italy. Cialdini, the Piedmontese general, received the victory title of Duke of Gaeta. During the functioning of the Government of Montenegro in exile from 1919 to 1924, the headquarters of Montenegrin nationalist regular troops and rebels that supported the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty and opposed the unification of Yugoslavia (The Greens) were located in Gaeta.

Contemporary age

Gaeta within the province of Latina

After the Risorgimento and until World War II, Gaeta grew in importance and wealth as a seaport. The nearby town of Elena, separated after the Risorgimento and named after the queen of Italy, was reunited to Gaeta following World War I. Mussolini transferred Gaeta from the southern region known today as Campania (formerly Terra di Lavoro, to which it is historically and culturally attached) to the central region of Lazio.

After the king dismissed Mussolini in the summer of 1943, the latter was initially taken via Gaeta to the island prison of Ponza. After Italy surrendered to the Allies, however, the town's fortunes began to decline. Recognizing its strategic importance, and fearful of an Allied landing in the area, German troops occupied the city and expelled most of the population. The zone of exclusion began with a five-kilometre border from the historical city centre. Soon after, however, the population was expelled even beyond this point. The Gaetani were finally ordered to leave the area completely. Those who could not were placed in a concentration camp, and a few were taken to Germany.

Following the Allied advance across the Garigliano and the Allied occupation of Rome, the Gaetani were allowed to return to their city and begin the process of rebuilding. In subsequent decades the city has boomed as a beach resort, and it has seen some success at marketing its agricultural products, primarily its tomatoes and olives. Many of its families count seamen among their number. However, the decades since World War II have been as difficult for Gaeta as they have been for most of Italy's Mezzogiorno. In particular, its importance as a passenger seaport has nearly vanished: ferries to Ponza and elsewhere now leave from the nearby town of Formia. All attempts to build a permanent industry as a source of employment and economic well-being for the town have failed. Notable losses include the Littorina rail line (now used as a parking lot and a marketplace), the AGIP refinery (nowadays a simple depot), and the once-thriving glass factory, which has become an unused industrial relic.

Gaeta does have a viable tourism industry, as it is a popular seaside resort. Its warm, rain-free summers attract people to its numerous beaches along the coastline, such as Serapo and Sant'Agostino Beaches. Nearly equidistant to both Naples and Rome, Gaeta is a popular summer tourist destination for people from both cities' metropolitan areas.

Castle of the houses of Anjou and Aragon

The famous bell tower of the Cathedral

Dome of San Giovanni a Mare church

Main sights

The main attractions of the city include:

• The massive Aragonese-Angevine Castle. Its origins are uncertain: most likely it was built in the 6th century, in the course of the Gothic War, or during the 7th century to defend the town from the Lombards' advance. First documents mentioning it date to the age of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, who strengthened it in 1233. The current structure is made of two different edifice: the "Angevine" one, in the lower sector, dating to the House of Anjou's rule in the Kingdom of Naples; and the "Aragonese", at the top, built by emperor Charles V, together with the other fortifications that made Gaeta one of the strongest fortresses in southern Italy. The Angevine wing housed a military jail until the 1980s (German war criminal officers Walter Reder and Herbert Kappler were imprisoned here). Now it is a property of the Gaeta municipality, which uses it for conferences and exhibitions. In the dome of the tallest tower is the Royal Chapel, built by King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies in 1849.
• The Mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus (22 BCE) is a cylindrical travertine monument at the top of Monte Orlando (168 m). It stands at 13.20 m and has a diameter of 29.50 m. Another important Roman public man, Lucius Sempronius Atratinus, Mark Antony's fleet commander, has a mausoleum, sited in the more recent district of Gaeta: of similar diameter, it is however not as well preserved.
• The Sanctuary of SS. Trinità, mentioned as early as the 11th century and visited, among the others, by St. Francis and Saint Philip Neri. The Crucifix Chapel was built in 1434 over a rock which had fallen from the nearby cliffs. From the sanctuary the Grotta del Turco can be visited: it is a grotto which ends directly in the sea and where the waves create atmospheric effects of light.
• Sanctuary of Santissima Annunziata - A church and adjacent hospital were built at the site in the 14th century, but rebuilt at the beginning of the 17th century in Baroque style by Andrea Lazzari. It houses works by Renaissance painters including A Sabatini and GF Criscuolo; as well as late-Baroque artists such as Giordano, Conca and Brandi. The church has a Gothic-style sarcophagus of Enrico Caracciolo. Also notable is the Golden Chapel or Grotto, a Renaissance-style chapel where Pope Pius IX meditated before issuing the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.[4] The ceiling is gilded, and the walls contain 19 canvases (1531) by Criscuolo. The main altarpiece is an Immacolata by Pulzone.
• San Giovanni a Mare - The church was initially built outside the old sea walls, by the hypate Giovanni IV in the 10th century. It combines the basilica form with the Byzantineone. The simple façade has a Gothic portal and a dome, while the interior has a nave with two aisles. The inner pavement is slightly inclined to allow waters to flow away in the case of maritime floods.
• The Cathedral of Assunta e Sant'Erasmo was erected over a more ancient church, Santa Maria del Parco, and consecrated by Pope Paschal II in 1106: it had a nave with six aisles separated by columns with Gothic capitals. In 1778, however, two of the aisles were suppressed and the Gothic lines hidden. In the 13th century Moorish arches were added over the capitals. In 1663 the crypt was decorated in Baroque style. The interior houses a banner from the Battle of Lepanto, donated by Pope Pius V to Don John of Austria, who used it as his admiral's flag. The main sight of the church is however the marble Paschal candelabrum, standing 3.50 m tall, from the late 13th century: it is in Romanesque style, decorated with 48 reliefs in 4 vertical rows, telling the Stories of the Life of Jesus. There are also paintings by Giacinto Brandi and Giovanni Filippo Criscuolo. The cathedral contains the relics of St. Erasmus, transferred from Formia; the remarkable campanile, in Arab-Norman style, dates from the 12th century. At the base are slabs and parts of columns from ancient Roman edifices.
• The Cathedral has a great bell tower, standing at 57 m, which is considered the city's finest piece of art. The base has two marble lions, and the whole construction made large reuse of ancient Roman architectural elements. The upper part, octagonal in plan, with small Romanesque arches with majolica decoration, was completed in 1279.
• The Chapel of the Crucifix is a curiosity: built on a huge mass of rock that hangs like a wedge between two adjoining walls of rock. Legend tells how the rock was thus split at the moment of our Saviour's death.
• San Francesco - According to the legend, the church was constructed by the Saint himself in 1222, was in fact built by Frederick II, in very fine Gothic-Italian style, and contains paintings and sculpture by many of the most famous Neapolitan artists.
• The parish church of Santa Lucia, the former St. Maria in Pensulis, was once a Royal chapel and here prayed Margherita of Durazzo and king Ladislaus. It had originally Romanesque and Sicilian-Arab lines, but in the 1456 it was rebuilt in Renaissance style, and in 1648 adapted to a Baroque one. The side has a Mediaeval pronaos with ancient fragments and figures of animals.
• The Medieval Quarter of Gaeta is itself of interest. It lies on the steep sides of Mount Orlando and has characteristic houses from the 11th-13th centuries.

Gaeta is also the centre of the Regional Park of Riviera di Ulisse, which includes Monte Orlando, Gianola and the Scauri Mounts, and the two promontories of Torre Capovento and that of Tiberius' Villa at Sperlonga.

NATO base

View of Monte Orlando from a former anti-aircraft position on the harbour of Serapo. The Montagna Spaccata is the sharply vertical cliff on the right side of the promontory. The bastions of Charles V can be seen just on the lower left corner of the convent in the wood.

In 1967, a NATO base was established in Gaeta with support facilities on Monte Orlando.[5] This was done following the transfer of the responsibilities of Lead Nation for NATO Naval Forces in the Mediterranean from the United Kingdom to the United States. The British Mediterranean Fleet was abolished - its former base in Malta was no longer exclusively under British control due to that nation having achieved independence from the UK.

It is currently used as the home port for the flagship of the United States' Sixth Fleet. The Sixth Fleet commander, typically a 3-Star US Navy Vice-Admiral, has operational control of Naval task forces, battle groups, amphibious forces, support ships, land-based surveillance aircraft, and submarines in the Mediterranean Sea. Gaeta's role has been important since the early 19th century to the US Navy’s commitment to forward presence. Pope Pius IX and King Ferdinand II of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, paid visits to the USS Constitution while in Gaeta in 1849. Nine ships have been stationed in Gaeta, with the primary mission of serving as the flagship for the Sixth Fleet commander. The first was USS Little Rock (CG-4). Other Sixth Fleet flagships included USS Springfield (CLG-7), USS Albany (CG-10), USS Puget Sound (AD-38), USS Coronado (AGF-11), USS Belknap (CG-26) and USS La Salle (AGF-3). The current flagship is USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20).

The town is host to the families of the crews who work on the ship. There was a DOD school for American children and the US Naval Support Activity, Gaeta, which provided health care and other services until it was closed down in 2005. The NATO base itself was located on Monte Orlando, which overlooks the Gulf of Gaeta. It has recently been transferred to a shore based facility where the Commander Sixth Fleet also operates.

Culture

Gaeta has erected a monument to Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), who, according to many sources, was born there - though other sources give Genoa or Chioggia. Other notables include the painters Giovanni da Gaeta and Giovan Filippo Criscuolo. For a full list, see People from Gaeta.

Gaetani speak a dialect of Italian that, while similar to the nearby Neapolitan, is one of the few Italian dialects to preserve Latin's neuter gender.

Distinctive local cuisine includes the tiella, which resembles both a pizza and a calzone. The tiella can be made with a number of stuffings. Typical stuffings include diced calamari with parsley, garlic, oil, hot pepper and just enough tomato sauce for color. Other stuffings include escarole and baccalà (dried codfish), egg and zucchini, spinach, rapini and sausage, and ham and cheese. The town is also notable for its distinctive brand of olives, marketed throughout the world (the main production, however, takes place in neighbouring Itri), and its beaches (Serapo, Fontania, Ariana, Sant'Agostino). Sciuscielle, mostaccioli, susamelli, and roccocò are also local desserts most often made during the Christmas season. A Latin text found in Gaeta dating from 997 AD contains the earliest known usage of the word "pizza".[6]

The most famous folklore event of Gaeta is Gliu Sciuscio of 31 December, in which bands of young Gaetani in traditional costumes head to the city's streets, playing mainly self-built instruments.

Notes

1. Demographic data from Istat
2. De ceremoniis Archived 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine.
3. Frashëri, Kristo (2002), Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu: jeta dhe vepra, 1405–1468 (in Albanian), Botimet Toena, pp. 310–316, ISBN 99927-1-627-4
4. Yachtmedfestival.com Archived 2010-04-23 at the Wayback Machine.
5. Globalsecurity.org
6. Ceccarini, Rossella (2011). Pizza and Pizza Chefs in Japan: A Case of Culinary Globalization. Leiden: Brill. p. 19. ISBN 978-90-04-19466-3.
7. "A Message from the Peace Commission: Information on Cambridge's Sister Cities," February 15, 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
8. Richard Thompson. "Looking to strengthen family ties with 'sister cities'", The Boston Globe, October 12, 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
9. "Online Directory: Alabama, USA". SisterCities.org. Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2007-11-17.

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gaeta". Encyclopædia Britannica. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 384–385.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "article name needed". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.

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