For its first two years, coups struck in Suriname like a Swiss watch. Bouterse witnessed no fewer than six attempts to wrest power back from his fledgling government. The drama began nine weeks after he’d freed his comrades from prison. A former commanding officer—a sergeant major named Fred Ormskerk (think Carl Weathers in "Action Jackson" meets Colonel Jessup from "A Few Good Men")— was incensed that his proteges had stolen what he believed to be his old 1979 blueprint for a takeover. He came out of retirement, told his family he was vacationing in Paris, and then veered off to Suriname via French Guiana for a clandestine comeback.
This audacious move was allegedly bankrolled by the Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation, drawing on funds earmarked for 200-300 mercenaries. Among the invasion force were members of a Bavarian club in Santa Cruz, Bolivia—a haunt of none other than Nazi Klaus Barbie.
Next on deck were the three liberated leftists of the original sixteen, freed during the bombing of the police station. Sergeants Neede, Sital, and Abrahams (I call them the Kung Fu Communists for their love of both pastimes) were spotted taking an unauthorized jaunt to Managua to toast Nicaragua's at the anniversary of the Sandinista revolution alongside notables like Cuba's Fidel Castro and Palestine's Yasser Arafat, who encouraged them to launch their own proper revolution.
And we can't overlook the doctor who tried to extort $20 million from Heineken for a takeover, threatening to spike their beer with drugs, nor Mizra “Edo” Joeman, a teacher, who bailed last minute on his plot, convinced his co-conspirators harbored racist motives. It seemed like everyone and their uncle was itching for a shot at Bouterse.
As the Cold War's temperatures soared, the Reagan administration threw its hat into the ring, adopting novel strategies to curb the spread of Communism. A key initiative in this crusade was the launch of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), symbolically christened by the President’s June 1982 address to the British Parliament. Spearheaded by ex-CIA maverick Constantine “Constant Menace” Menges and RAND Corporation’s former president Henry S. Rowen, NED was envisioned as a levee for pro-democracy forces globally. Garnering widespread, bipartisan backing, it funneled support to foreign book publishers and labor unions, among others, on the assurance by CIA Director William J. Casey that the Agency would keep its hands off.
In an unexpected turn of events, Suriname became a testing ground for the America’s covert strategies, culminating in an operation dubbed Project Democracy. This operation was shrouded in such secrecy that Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), was left out of the loop. Bouterse's flirtation with Castro set the stage for the establishment of a Soviet embassy and Cuban ambassadorship in Suriname, leading to the deployment to Paramaribo of Richard LaRoche, the alleged architect behind the destabilization of Chile and the death of their president Salvador Allende.
LaRoche, tasked with rallying pro-democracy elements, convened with Surinamese labor leader Cyriel Daal at the U.S. embassy, unaware that Bouterse was tailing Daal and recording their conversations. Their collaborative blueprint for union mobilization using CIA front organizations1 would not only cripple the country but also leave Bouterse red-faced during a visit by Maurice Bishop of Grenada, when an orchestrated air traffic controller strike plunged the city into unexpected darkness, nearly preventing Bishop's plane from landing and forcing a candlelight dinner between two heads of state.
Roy Horb, Bouterse's right-hand man, soon found himself ensnared in this espionage drama, moonlighting as a CIA informant. A seemingly innocuous vacation to Pittsburgh (by way of Korea) transformed into a pivotal rendezvous, where Horb mingled with Henk Chin A Sen, Suriname's deposed president, leaders from ALCOA aluminum, and the U.S. State Department. Horb and Cesar Seedorf, his main political advisor, tried to convince ALCOA that were Suriname to nationalize SURALCO, that they would lost either their access to bauxite nor the end product, aluminum.2 The CIA at the State Department discussed the threat posed by Horb’s comrade, Badrissein Sital, a leader of the Kung Fu Communists, known for his iconic revolutionary look—fiery eyes, a beret, and a defiant beard—who allegedly trained 200 soldiers in Nicaragua.3 It was a meeting of strategic alignment, weaving together the threads of resistance against Bouterse's regime.
But the plot thickened the evening of Sunday, October 30th with Horb's hasty recall to Suriname, tasked with squashing the uprising sparked by Daal's mobilization efforts.
Bouterse, ever vigilant, peeled back the layers of deceit to expose President Reagan and the CIA's machinations. It was Maurice Bishop, Grenada's charismatic leader, who had whispered to Bouterse that true respect from the masses could only be found in a bloody revolution. Taking this counsel to heart, Bouterse launched a ferocious crackdown, a tragic overture that crescendoed into the December Massacre. This grim spectacle saw the kidnapping, torture and cold-blooded murder of 15 souls, among them Cyriel Daal, outspoken journalists who’d rallied for free elections, and staunch legal advocates for the insurgent cause, all sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
Horb’s CIA contacts in the U.S embassy in Suriname, seeking to garner favor, fulfilled their asset’s request and shipped him a pair of small ponies which where discovered in Paramaribo ships, two days after the murders.4 For his suspected treachery, Horb would be found hanging by his drawstring in his jail cell months later, an imperceptible dot marking the spot of lethal injection by a Hindu army doctor.
On the very day Bouterse silenced his opposition, Congressman Edward Boland (D-MA) was making moves in Washington. Up until then, the President had implied that his interest in Nicaragua was stopping the flow of weapons to El Salvador. But it was clear the mission had grown. Boland sponsored an amendment to the 1983 Defense Appropriations Bill, designed to cut off U.S. funding to foreign groups intent on overthrowing their governments, but leaves open a loophole to stop the flow of weapons into El Salvador. Although his concerns were primarily with Nicaragua, not Suriname, the legislative measures did little sway President Reagan's resolve. With the geostrategic importance of Suriname in mind, Reagan started looking for loopholes.5
Surinamese news claimed Foreign Minister, Andre Haakmat, who briefly succeeded Chin A Sen, was the spiritual father to a Christmas Day coup attempt of which the massacres narrowly prevented. He escaped an assassination attempt and fled to the Netherlands where, he was covertly met by two National Security Council agents, known as “Bob Hogan” and “Gregory Hale.” Their discussions suggested the possibility of orchestrating a coup from American soil, with the Dutch providing support for all actions short of a full-scale invasion. “Hogan,” closely connected to the president, shared a light-hearted story with Haakmat about a National Security Council meeting where the possibility of invading Suriname was brought up. The president humorously inquired, "Where the hell is Suriname?" after affirming the need to halt Cuban influence.
However, the agents showed a lack of grasp of political subtleties. When Haakmat tried to outline his vision of 'social democracy'—a system where capitalism supports social safety nets like healthcare and education—the concept was lost on the Americans, who called it communism. Eventually, they settled on understanding Haakmat as not being a communist, but what Americans would call a liberal. Haakmat left astounded that high-ranking, policy-making officials could only recognize two political currents: communism and anti-communism.
The situation escalated when Chin A Sen arrived in the Netherlands from Pittsburgh, sparking speculation about the formation of a Council for the Liberation of Suriname, a replacement government-in-exile backed by Dutch allies. The presence of NSC agents in the Netherlands around the Council's formation raises questions, particularly in light of the CIA's history of establishing similar organizations—such as the Cuban Freedom Committee or the Committee for a Free Asia—to combat perceived communist threats.67 8
With President Reagan's approval, preparations for a covert operation in Suriname began. Delta Force operatives discreetly scouted Paramaribo, gathering intelligence for the upcoming operation. However, when these plans were brought before Congress, CIA Director William J. Casey faced criticism for the administration's haste towards drastic measures and its fixation on anti-communism.
Bipartisan opposition emerged, strengthened by the testimony of the U.S. ambassador to Suriname, who argued that the conflict was internal and posed no threat to American interests. This led to a public reevaluation of the intervention strategy. Nevertheless, Reagan, convinced of the looming communist threat near U.S. borders, was determined to proceed. His decision was clear: Project Democracy would continue, albeit under the radar, and this time only confirmed anti-communists need apply.
Fortunately for the president, breaking laws for Jesus was an unspoken evangelical tradition. At mission conferences, you might overhear discussions about a new business in India, established not for profit, but as a cover for missionary work. Family gatherings are peppered with tales of smuggling Bibles into the Soviet Union—not to mention those illegal family photos near sites of military interest. It was a clear message (for those with ears to hear): render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s…unless you're on a mission from God.
Pat Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Network was among the most vocal anti-communists of the 1980s. He promised missionaries and billions in support to Guatemala's Efrain Rios Montt, the country's first Pentecostal president. Montt was recruited from Catholicism by the Gospel Outreach Church, associated with the Latter Rain Movement. My grandfather in New York knew Montt's spiritual advisor. Many saw Montt as a godly warrior against Marxism, tragically ignoring the atrocities of rape, torture and genocide committed under his regime against the Ixil Maya.
But the king of the higher calling was Oliver North, code name: "Steel Hammer" or "Blood and Guts." As a Marine Corps lieutenant colonel on the National Security Council, he led Project Democracy, carefully avoiding direct CIA involvement to circumvent legal issues. North was instrumental in supporting the Contras against Nicaragua's Sandinista government, which had overthrown the oppressive Somoza dictatorship in 1979, sparking U.S. fears of socialism.
He also initiated a domestic propaganda campaign, with a little PSYOPS help from his CIA friends, to garner American support for the Contras. Top advertising executives were called in to sell Central America’s Contras to the American people. President Reagan delivers a speech on March 2nd, 1985 calling the Contras the moral equivalent of the founding fathers.
An Office of Public Diplomacy chaired by Otto Reich created “experts” to deliver opinions on the news. Professor John F. Guilmartin, Jr., a history professor at Rice University and a former Air Force lieutenant colonel, wrote article for the Wall Street Journal, published on March 11, 1985, as part of this campaign. His article, "Nicaragua is Armed for Trouble," was prepared at the request of government officials and funded by government money.910
With future presidential candidate, Pat Buchanan's assistance11, Document 217 outlined strategies to sway public opinion and secure Congressional support, transforming ordinary Americans into ardent fans of foreign intervention. An ad below by the Young Republicans, placed shortly before our move to Suriname, illustrates these efforts, rallying citizens to a cause they barely understood. Soon, everyday individuals—construction workers, cab drivers, and clinical psychiatrists—became weekend warriors, ready to leave their homes and take up arms against sovereign nations.
But how could we have known we were being duped? We received our information from trusted military personnel, pastors, and politicians, many of whom believed they were sharing the God’s honest truth.12 All the while, they were being targeted by organizations like the CAUSA Institute in New York, backed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his Unification Church, who believe that propaganda was justified to prevent the spread of communism.13
Into this shadowy world entered a fresh-faced young lawyer from Indiana University, the future Vice President, Dan Quayle. At the time, Quayle was making his mark as Indiana's state senator, following a commendable five-year tenure in the House. His wading into the murky waters of Project Democracy came at a pivotal moment when Oliver North sought to construct a network of private-sector operatives off the radar of Congressional scrutiny.
The ideal candidate would hate red tape, couldn’t stand bureaucracy and knew how to do whatever it takes to get things done. Enter Robert Owen, a confident and ambitious Stanford graduate standing at an impressive 6-foot 4 inches, with thick sandy blonde hair, who served as a legislative aide to Dan Quayle. Owen, with his brief stint working with Taiwanese refugees, jokingly remarked his experience was "long enough to be dangerous, but not long enough to be an expert." His background included roles as a private school administrator and a special assistant for international liaison at a Christian ministry, focusing on expanding European and Soviet Union relations. Owen's affiliation with the Christian Broadcasting Network and appearances on the 700 Club further cemented his standing within conservative and evangelical circles.14
Dan Quayle's network also included a notable Indiana constituent, John Hull, a former army flight instructor and wealthy rancher from Patoka, about 30 miles north of Evansville, where they still measured things by how far you lived from the local Shell station. Hull had dual citizenship with substantial landholdings in northern Costa Rica where he began farming in the 1960s. He had just emerged from the Nicaraguan jungles and was rumored to be deeply involved with the CIA and an ardent supporter of the Contra movement.151617
In 1984, amidst the Reagan administration's secret war against the Sandinista government and Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign, Hull's ranch became a source of moral quicksand. According to Senate investigations, Hull’s jungle airstrip served as a critical waypoint, receiving weapons shipments for the Contras and flying back loads of cocaine into the United States. The escapades at Hull's ranch and its alleged dual-purpose operations are notably captured in the bizarre romp of a documentary, "The Invisible Pilot."
Owen promised God, his family, and friends that his actions would be moral, legal, and in the best interests of his country. He was still willing to stand and fall with the rightness and righteousness of the cause he served—a veritable David facing a Central American Goliath (his words). At first, his role was fairly vanilla—brainstorming and implementing strategies to funnel humanitarian and non-lethal aid to the Contras through a web of non-profit organizations. But soon, his involvement took on a more direct and perilous dimension. Owen undertook covert trips to Central America, where he earned the nickname “The Courier,” or “T.C.” for short, delivering not only monetary assistance but also military intelligence—maps, photographs, and strategic information—that North had acquired from his sources "across the river," a euphemism for the Pentagon or the CIA.
When he wasn’t doing that, he was flying into Denver to meet with the owners of “Soldier of Fortune” who were running ads for mercenaries and glamorizing North’s covert ops in their magazine. Owen soon realized that the picture of clear-eyed and noble freedom fighters, who were like America’s own founding fathers, as North had painted, wasn’t all it had cracked up to be. Many were, in his words, “liars, greed-and-power-motivated.” War and cocaine were a business, and business was good. 18
TAKE IT TO THE BUSH," proclaimed an advertisement in "Gung-Ho: The Magazine for the Traveling Military Man," offering an intensive $250 course that included rappelling off cliffs, operating explosives, and handling and shooting semi-automatic weapons used by NATO forces. The course also covered tactics in quick kills, ambushes, and infiltrations. Near John Hull’s property in Evansville, the Midwest Training Center established its base, presenting itself as a private military training camp. Its business cards advertised the ability to conduct “covert operations anywhere,” branding itself as a “security force group” with expertise in “strikes, rescues, and training.”19
The center was founded in 1983 by Billy Logan Powell on a 300-acre ranch owned by former hydroplane racer James “Jim” McCormick, (played by Jim Caviezel in the film "Madison,") located across the Ohio River, roughly 30 miles southeast of Evansville, near Fordsville, KY. Following a successful FBI background check, Powell began vetting applicants and made plans to open a gun repair and army surplus store on the premises.20
Locals observed as men in fatigues, drawn by ads in “Soldier of Fortune,” arrived at the site. Among them was Fred Leroy Rich, a horse trainer around 40 years old from near Columbia, Missouri, with a thick brown mustache and a tattoo on his left bicep that said, “U.S. Paratrooper.” Fred, a Vietnam special forces veteran, offered a unique perspective for attending. "Other people play softball, baseball, or tennis," he explained. "I like to soldier...I consider myself normal. I've been successful in nearly everything I've tried, but this is the only activity that truly satisfies me. The uniforms, the sense of brotherhood—I'm revisiting skills I haven't practiced in years."21
For eight days, participants immersed themselves in explosive operation and firearm handling, specifically semi-automatic weapons used by NATO forces. The tranquility of the area was disrupted by the sound of gunfire and explosions, with trip wires and booby traps scattered across the landscape. Rumors circulated that the camp was training covert American forces for combat in El Salvador.
Fred's passion for the training led him to sign up as an instructor, alongside his friend and fellow Missouri native, Homer “Animal” Phillips, Jr., a part-time cab driver and body repairman from near Columbia. The duo became close with some locals, including instructor and heavy equipment operator Steven Larry Green from Newburgh, IN, who was on a 10-year probation for kidnapping a police officer at knifepoint in Victoria, TX. Another instructor, Daniel Lee Marchand, an employee at ALCOA aluminum, also ran a gun store in Boonville. And finally there was a former deputy sheriff named Jamie Bright with a tattoo of Christ's face on right forearm and sailor girl on left.
The war games got a bit too real one weekend when a pair of bikers accidentally stumbled upon the camp after riding down an abandoned country road. Suddenly, they found themselves staring down the barrel of Powell’s gun, backed by 11 of his allies. This confrontation was the culmination of their week's training. The men quickly shot out one of the bikers' tires with their rifles. Following Powell’s orders, they forced the bikers to a cabin, threatening lethal consequences for any attempt at escape. The incident led to a judge's order in the summer of 1985, giving an ultimatum: shut down the camp or face charges of wanton endangerment and terroristic threatening.
Rich and Phillips returned to Columbia, Missouri, where they, along with Jamie Bright, attempted to establish a security firm called Antietam Valor. However, when that venture did not succeed, it morphed into an escort service for women. After some time, Bright decided to move back to Ohio to buy a bar, while Rich embarked on a new venture called "Rich’s Love, Sweat & Tears," a survival camp, in partnership with Jim “Tank” Wester. Fred Rich, with his adventurous spirit, enjoyed telling people he was a spy, drawing on his experience working with the Montagnard tribesmen in Vietnam and his service in the Special Forces, always on the lookout for action.
Steven Larry Green paid a visit to Rich's camp before returning to Evansville. There, he teamed up with Don Merl Morton, a Vietnam veteran and father of three, and Vanus “Doc” Livingston, an older Korean War vet and trucker. The trio settled in Sugar Tree, TN, near the crossing of Interstate 40 and the Tennessee River, and formed their own group of "Freedom Fighters." Their activities, characterized by explosions and gunfire, did not go unnoticed by local residents. Livingston and Morton were vocal about their efforts to smuggle weapons to support the Contras in Nicaragua, drawing attention and concern.
Meanwhile, "Tank" Wester was deeply involved in international conflicts, commanding a group known as “Freedom Force One.”22 This group was dedicated to supporting anti-communist factions, providing medical supplies and other assistance to the Contras in Nicaragua and to the forces of Ríos Montt in Guatemala. Wester’s underlying philosophy was to back any group that stood against communism. He saw an opportunity for Fred to reengage with his passion for action and invited him to participate in these supply missions, offering a taste of the action Fred craved.23
However, the day-to-day reality of running a security guard business, with its meager $3.35 an hour pay, left Fred wanting more, especially as his friends secured lucrative, clandestine assignments in Central America, funded by the U.S. Government. Surrounded by tales of adventure and profit, Fred was determined to make one final, significant score that would set him up for life and that opportunity would soon present itself in Suriname.
Author and activist Sandew Hira claims in his book, “Balans van een coup : drie jaar 'Surinaamse revolutie',” that Bob Whitehouse of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and Curtis Augustus of the Caribbean Congress of Labour also visited Suriname in September 1982 as guests of the Mother Union and offered their full support. He cites ex-CIA agent Philip Agee’s book, in claiming that these organization were closely linked to the CIA and US State Department.
Suriname : de schele onafhankelijkheid. Amsterdam : Arbeiderspers, 1983. 250. http://archive.org/details/surinamedeschele0000unse.
Suriname only possessed 1,500 total personnel spread across the Army/Navy/Coast Guard and Air Force. Most of them were busy suppressing riots with the labor unions. It would have been tough to sneak over 10% of the armer
Suriname : de schele onafhankelijkheid. Amsterdam : Arbeiderspers, 1983. 251. http://archive.org/details/surinamedeschele0000unse.
The Boland Amendment said that no entity involved in intelligence activities could be used to support the activities of the Contras. So, the Reagan administration shifted it to the NSC. However, opponents point to Reagan’s signed executive order 12333, signed December 4, 1981, which states that the NSC “shall act as the highest ranking executive branch that provides support to the President for review of, guidance for, and direction to the conduct of all foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, and covert action, and attendant policies and programs.”
The New York Times. “U.S. GROUP EXPANDS ITS AID TO ASIANS; Radio Broadcasting a Leading Weapon in Anti-Communist Fight in 11 Free Nations.” July 30, 1952, sec. Archives. https://www.nytimes.com/1952/07/30/archives/us-group-expands-its-aid-to-asians-radio-broadcasting-a-leading.html.
Burke, Kyle. Revolutionaries for the Right: Anticommunist Internationalism and Paramilitary Warfare in the Cold War. Kindle. The University of North Carolina Press, 2018. 17.
“We Have Communism on the Run in the Philippines’.” Asian Poeples’ Anti-Communist Conference, June 16, 1954. Wilson Center Digital Archive. https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/asian-poeples-anti-communist-conference-we-have-communism-run-philippines.
Kornbluh, Peter, and Malcolm Byrne. The Iran-Contra Scandal : The Declassified History. New York : New Press : Distributed by W.W. Norton, 1993. 388. http://archive.org/details/irancontrascanda00korn.
Stern, Joshua. “Temple University Libraries Journals.” Strategic Visions Vol. 18, no. 1. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://tuljournals.temple.edu/index.php/strategic_visions/article/view/133/135.
“‘White Propaganda’ Operation.” United States Department of State, March 13, 1985. Understanding the Iran-Contra Affairs. https://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/documents.php.
United States: Congress. Investigation of Korean-American Relations: Report of the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations, U.S. House of Representatives. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1978. http://archive.org/details/investigationofk00unit.
CovertAction Information Bulletin. Covert Action Information Bulletin: Nazis, Vatican And CIA. Vol. Issue 25, 1985. http://archive.org/details/CovertActionInformationBulletinIssue25NazisVaticanAndCIA.
“Global Options Advisory Board,” August 20, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030820082303/https://www.globaloptions.com/owen.htm.
Hull-Godfrey Wedding Quietly Solemnized In Ontario, Calif.. https://www.newspapers.com/article/princeton-daily-clarion-hull-godfrey-wed/140914847/
United States Census Bureau. “1950 United States Federal Census for John F Hull,” April 1, 1950. National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/133299460:62308?tid=&pid=&queryId=c4019c44-2da9-4fb7-bf68-547135d2070a&_phsrc=hhM525&_phstart=successSource.
Princeton Daily Clarion. “John F. Hull Jr. Obituary.” July 23, 2017. https://www.newspapers.com/article/princeton-daily-clarion-john-f-hull-jr/140915019/
Moyers, Bill. "Conservative Traditions Overturned by Hard Right." In Congressional Record, presented by Hon. Tim Valentine of North Carolina in the House of Representatives, 100th Cong., 2nd sess., Vol. 134, Part 23. October 21, 1988. 33474. https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/100th-congress/browse-by-date.
Evansville Press. “Area Survivalist Group Has Card, Wil Travel.” September 27, 1984. https://www.newspapers.com/article/evansville-press-area-survivalist-group/128135679/
Perhaps near the intersection of Herbert and Hawesville Roads.
Evansville Courier and Press. “Camp Teaches Survival.” July 13, 1983. https://www.newspapers.com/article/evansville-courier-and-press-camp-teache/128135510/
St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Sheriffs Keep Watch On Survival Camps.” April 28, 1986. https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-post-dispatch-sheriffs-keep-wa/127705736/