[originally published on Patreon February 23, 2024] In this episode I discuss Colombia's relationship to United Fruit Company aka El Pulpo. In particular, I open with the massive strikes against UFC in 1928 culminating in the massacre at Ciénaga which was so memorably fictionalized in Gabriel García Márquez's Cien años de soledad.  From there, I discuss the curious case of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán and his assassination in 1948 which triggered El Bogotazo, a wave of civil unrest and violence that would affect Colombia for years to come. I discuss the Rosicrucian-brainwashed patsy shooter Juan Roa Sierra and his manipulation by a German astrologer spy named Johann Umland Gerät.  It gets even weirder as a track down claims by a Sicilian-American WWII vet named John Meeples Espirito who appears to have been involved in Operation ARTICHOKE and who found his way to revolutionary Cuba. When arrested, he told Cuban intelligence of his role in the assassination of Gaitán - claims which Cuban intelligence could never definitively prove and so did not widely publish.  The potential reason for that, according to some, was because of Fidel Castro's role and actions in El Bogotazo, which remains obscured, as through a glass darkly. Much remains unknown.

[originally published on Patreon February 15, 2024] Today I discuss more criminals involved in the banana trade, introducing the Vaccaro Brothers and Sam the Banana Man Zemurray. I discuss that intersection between organized crime and Wall Street that intersected precisely in the banana trade through these figures.  I go through Zemurray's career, from his start in Alabama, his Cuyamel Fruit Company, the Honduran coup of 1911 and the concurrent takeover of Honduran national debt by JP Morgan bank, and the ensuing takeover of Honduras by United Fruit Company. Then, I discuss Zemurray's takeover of United Fruit Company (brokered by Sullivan & Cromwell) as well as the decisions Zemurray took at the helm of the company. After that, I discuss Zemurray's role in the creation of the modern state of Israel, especially regarding the multiple votes at the United Nations for the Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947. Then, I cannot avoid discussing Zemurray's children who just so happened to have become scholars of Central American studies.  [note: at the time I wrote and recorded this episode, I had not purchased The Heritage of the Conquistadors: Ruling Classes in Central America from Conquest to the Sandinistas by "Samuel Z. Stone", but I subsequently purchased the book and confirmed that it does not mention Samuel Zemurray or Cuyamel whatsoever. The book does mention United Fruit Company, though the author does not see fit to mention that his grandfather at one time ran said company.] Finally, I end the episode mentioning the Melville Collective's guerrilla actions against UFC offices in 1969. Songs: Osbie's Banana Song by the Thomas Pynchon Fake Book Yes, We Have No Bananas by Louis Prima

[originally published on Patreon March 15, 2024] Today is the opening salvo for a 15-part series on the rolling waves of crimes involving the Octopus that is United Fruit Company, the banana trade, Guatemala specifically, and Central America more generally, culminating in the Guatemalan Genocide. In this episode, I discuss the origins of the Octopus. aka Boston Fruit Company aka the United Fruit Company aka the New Orleans Banana Trust. I know for a fact that much of this history has not been pulled together in this way before. I trace the official and sanctioned history of Boston Fruit Company via Lorenzo Dow Baker, Andrew Preston, and get into less savory types such as Henry Meiggs and JP Macheca. I cover how Preston and Meiggs used railroad construction as land-grab exercises which also necessarily required slave labor. This in turn spawned the Banana Wars including an approximate 28 different interventions/invasions in 11+ countries. Along the way I go over the Innocenti and related quasi-masonic quasi-klan terrorist groups, the Reconstruction-era wars with the federal government, the growth of Italian/Italian-American organized crime, the Crescent City Lynchings, and how it all intersected with the fruit trade. Here we see con men and mafiosi in bed with Wall Street, fucking over Central America in unison. This sets the stage for what is to come. Banana In Your Fruit Basket by Bo Carter I Like Bananas Because They have No Bones by George Elrick Thirty Thousand Pounds of Bananas by Harry Chapin

[originally published on Patreon February 9, 2024] As if I didn't discuss the Tupamaros enough, I revisit the story in light of even more information I found. In particular, I look at a RAND report on the MLN-T and cross-reference it with several more books on the group. This leads us to the interestingly-named Plan Satán, as well as much more context for the Mitrione kidnapping. I also found more information on the Nixon administration's decisions at the time. Then, CJ and I act out a dramatic reading of Dialogue Before Death (1971), a portion of Mitrione's interrogation tapes by Tupamaros. We also discuss the curious publisher of this book, as well as more on the calculations that went into the decision to execute him. Then, I look at an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the MLN-T through the eyes of one of their inspirations - Abraham Guillén, author of Estrategia de la guerrilla urbana (1969), as well as similar assessments made in the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. I make a major tangent looking at the "Abraham Guillen Press/Arm the Spirit" publisher.  I make a few final notes about the Tupamaros including that they confirmed Hevia was in contact with them before he defected back to Cuba. Additionally, I tell the story of Henry Engler, the Swedish Tupamaro, as well as what Wikileaks disclosures showed us of diplomatic handwringing about Uruguayan cancer center negotiations in 2007. Diplomats be lying. To close out, I mention some of the wavy stuff relating to the Tupamaros' imprisonment, and discuss the Tupamaros leadership entering Uruguayan politics, culminating with Jose 'Pepe' Mujica becoming the President of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. [note: at some point, probably talking about Guillén, I accidentally said FIA instead of FAI. FAI meaning the Federación Anarquista Ibérica, of which he was a member] Songs: Adios by Los Tupamaros Anna was a Stool Pigeon by Laura Jane Grace En Esta Tarde Gris by Julio Sosa

[originally published February 7, 2024] I finish the story of Manuel Hevia Coscullela, the Cuban spy, based off his memoir, Pasaporte 11333 : ocho años con la CIA (1978). I examine what exactly Hevia was doing for the agency and what USAID's Office of Public Safety was up to. I discuss Lyndon B. Johnson's visit to Punta del Este, Uruguay for the Organization of American States (OAS) summits/conferences and how that affected the domestic political climate. I get obsessed with the story of Uruguayan military officer Colonel Ramon Trabal - assassinated by "the Raul Sendic International Brigade" in Paris, a story which quickly enters the funhouse hall of mirrors.  Then, to double back on the discussion of Gittinger's PAS files, entrapment ops, and MKULTRA death squad selection processes, I cover Hevia's explanation of the L and Q files. Just wait. He also explains the construction of a "parallel apparatus" and, in relation, discusses a police pimp.  Afterwards, Hevia ran a restaurant as part of ops the CIA and Uruguayan police were running in Uruguay. Finally, Mitrione appears in Hevia's story, and I go through some details left out in the prior episodes. Ice cold. [episode artwork based off the book cover] Songs: Dirty, Dirty Feeling by Elvis Presley De Cuba Traigo un Cantar by Carlos Puebla

[originally published on Patreon February 1, 2024] I continue the extended story of the Tupamaros by examining the life of Manuel Hevia Coscullela, the Cuban double (or triple) agent embedded in the CIA in Uruguay. I obtained his memoir, Pasaporte 11333 : ocho años con la CIA (1978) and translated various passages into English. As far as I know, this is the first time this has ever been done. Hevia's story begins before the Cuban revolution, and I explain his education and upbringing as well as his activities before, during, and after the Cuban Revolution. Hevia was involved with the Cuban AAA during the revolution and with Che's JUCEPLAN after the revolution. Hevia got in bed with some unsavory Uruguayans at their embassy and then defected, snitched and flipped for the CIA (wink), and was sent to Uruguay to work for the agency. From there, we get into Uruguayan deep state politics which is not uninteresting but which sets the stage for all the Mitrione stuff to come later. This is the story of deep espionage. [episode artwork based off the book cover] Songs: Todo por la Reforma Agraria by Carlos Puebla  Yo También Soy Miliciano by Carlos Puebla

[originally published on Patreon January 25, 2024] Today I'm rejoined by Dr. Pig Bodine aka CJ (@pussy___teeth) to continue our discussion on the 1972 film State of Siege by Costa-Gavras. We open with a discussion on the death squad as a general concept and in its specific applications in Uruguay.  Then, we discuss exactly why the Tupamaros were so effective and, despite that, why they were brought down so quickly. As it turns out, they were brought down due to the same factors that made them so effective: espionage and infiltration. We discuss both Cuban, Uruguayan, and CIA intelligence. I introduce Manuel Hevia Cosculluela, the double (or triple) agent embedded within this story.  Then I tell the story of the Mormon Tupamaro within the story of the incredible jailbreak from the Punta Carreras prison of 1971. After, we discuss the infiltration against the Tupamaros by fascist drug and weapons smugglers. We talk about the JCR, the Junta Coordinadora Revolutionaria, and place the Tupamaros within the continental revolutionary context. Finally, we cover the downright cocaine cowboy shenanigans of Mitrione's son. Believe it or not, however, we are not done with the MLN-T. artwork by @DEEP_RED_BELLS Songs: Death Squad by Sacred Reich Por una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel Falling From Sleeves by Calexico Abre los Ojos by Los Muertos de Cristo Sprawl by Calexico Miami Vice Intro by Jan Hammer

[originally published on Patreon January 18, 2024] Today I am rejoined by old friend of the show Dr. Pig Bodine aka CJ (@pussy___teeth) to discuss the 1972 film State of Siege by Costa-Gavras. We begin by reviewing the plot of the film and the real-life events.  From there, we quickly descend into darkness as we discuss the life of Dan Mitrione (beyond all the Jim Jones stuff). This leads us to ask why the field of parapolitics research into MKULTRA has been so incredibly unfruitful since the 1970s and why Operation Midnight Climax has been so thoroughly shitcoated. We're talking deviancy and sexual blackmail operations. We ask what type of "sexual technologies" they developed and what Inquisition techniques have to do with MKULTRA.  We raise the spectre of the true nature of personality tests and their horrific usages including aforementioned deviancy blackmail ops and death squads. Finally, we discuss the question of torture. Don't worry; future episodes are not as bleak. artwork by @DEEP_RED_BELLS Songs: Hasta Siempre, Comandante by the Buena Vista Social Club Los Olvidados by Los Muertos de Cristo A Mi Manera by Gipsy Kings American Made Death Squad by Behind Enemy Lines

[originally published on Patreon Today I'm joined by Fergal Schmudlach (@irregnata) from the Kingless Generation podcast to discuss paleo-parapolitics.  We start by discussing several points of mutual interest regarding Japan. Then we get into what anthropology can tell us about Marxism and serial killing. We talk about The Power of Ritual in Prehistory: Secret Societies and Origins of Social Complexity by Brian Hayden among other works.  Links: ⁠https://twitter.com/irregnata⁠  ⁠https://www.patreon.com/irregnata/posts⁠  Songs: for the twin by Daisuke Tanabe hard off haul by Daisuke Tanabe dried donuts by Daisuke Tanabe

[originally published on Patreon January 5, 2024] Today I'm joined by Reid (@seriations) to continue our conversation about Ira 'the Unicorn' Einhorn. We get into Einhorn's relationship to Andrija Puharich, his involvement with Earth Day, Bell Telephone company, and the development of "Einhorn's Network". Reid explains the importance of the Diebold Corporation and how this all might be a sophisticated method of OSINT and espionage, among whatever else it may have been. Note: in the episode, Reid said that he hadn't nailed down the name of the guy who introduced Einhorn, and mistakenly said that Geller was introduced via an American army attaché. Reid later found that this was Paul Henshaw, the head biophysicist for the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1947, Henshaw was on the US scientific team that studied radiation after-effects in Hiroshima. This same Henshaw introduced Ira Einhorn to Andrija Puharich. Geller was introduced to Puharich by Itzhak Bentov, an Israeli scientist, army officer, and mystic. Songs: Starman by David Bowie Telephone Line by ELO People Been Talkin’ by Woody’s Truck Stop Trouble Every Day by the Mothers of Invention