That strategy was as simple in concept as it was complex to execute.
The key elements were the fear among the leaders of Mexico of America intervening in Mexico's internal affairs, and the American habit of doing so. The fear was both natural and historical. Historically, it was the end result of a collision in 1836 between a growing United States, eager to fulfill its manifest destiny, and newly independent Mexico. It had become an article of faith for years that the? Anglo-Saxon population had achieved moral ascendancy over their poor, misguided southern brothers with the defeat of the Mexican Army by Sam Houston and the Army of the Republic of Texas on the banks of the San Jacinto River on April 21, 1836. Since that war, Americans had seldom hesitated to intervene in Mexico whenever they felt that it was to their advantage. In addition to a divergence of national goals and prosperity, underpinning this unhappy history was an assumption of racial superiority on the part of most norteamericanos in their dealings with Latinos.
From the first hours of the coup by the Council of 13, the resurrection of these fears and feelings had been fueled by both the Mexican and American media. Although the council tried to be sensitive to American concerns, it had many hard choices to make and few good solutions.
Inevitably, it had to take actions that were not understood, or were frowned upon, by the United States. The American media naturally picked up on this friction, which was exacerbated by the fact that in the United States it was an election year with few issues of importance to separate the candidates. Politicians in the United States, regardless of their party affiliation or position, were being hammered from both the left and right. Conservatives pushed liberal politicians to ensure that American business interests in Mexico and the territorial integrity of the United States were protected. The vision of revolution spreading north through the huge Hispanic-American population of the Southwest sent shivers down the back of every self-proclaimed patriot. From the left, demands that the conservative politicians take action to halt civil rights violations resulted in daily demonstrations in both Washington and in state capitals throughout the Southwest. What exactly needed to be done to protect the United States and the poor oppressed people of Mexico laboring under a military regime was a matter of great and heated debate. Plans ranged from recognition of the current regime to direct and immediate intervention.
It was, as Alaman pointed out, as if a boat were sinking and no one could decide what to do to stop it. As the parties argued, Alaman planned to use his tiny army to set the boat on fire.
With the warm waves of the ocean washing over their feet as they slowly walked along the shoreline, Alaman explained to his lover, called Anna, how he would make the military buffoons in Mexico City pay for what they had done to him. "At this minute, my love, I have forty men spread out along the border of Mexico and the United States, men with no other purpose in life than to kill Americans and spread terror along the border.
Most of these mercenaries, some of whom are former leftist guerrillas, are all experts in antiterrorist operations or have been terrorists themselves.
None of them, to a man, has a single moral fiber in his body. They are mine, and will soon create the havoc that will sweep me back to my beloved Mexico."
For her part, Anna merely listened as he spoke of his plans and the actions of his tiny mercenary army. She was content to allow Alaman to pamper her in ways she had never been pampered before while she indulged both his sexual appetite and his need to brag, both of which seemed insatiable. With only a slight nod of her head, Anna listened as they walked and Alaman droned on. "Assigned a sector along either the Texas or New Mexico border, each team, with six to eight men, is allowed to develop its own techniques, schedule, and operations. The only restrictions I have placed on them is their choice of weaponry, the vehicles they use, and almost total segregation between the teams. Weapons, of all caliber and type, are limited to what is currently issued to the Mexican Army. Likewise, the vehicles used by the teams must be either the same type as used by the Mexican Army or equipped with tires used on Mexican Army vehicles. Communication, either by radio or telephone, is forbidden. Even in extreme emergencies, the teams are not permitted to contact Delapos, whom I hold responsible for supervising the actual operations. Instead, Delapos comes to me for my orders and, in turn, travels from one team to the next, reviewing their past actions and approving the team leaders' plans and issuing new instructions, when necessary. In this way, only I and Delapos know where everyone is and what is actually happening along the border."
Pausing, Alaman looked out at the rising sun. "This, my love, is beautiful. But not as beautiful as in Mexico. You will see."
Taking her cue, Anna bent down, kissing him softly on his lips, then along the side of his neck. Running her hands along his naked side, Anna lowered herself to her knees, lightly kissing his chest. When her hands reached his waist, Anna inserted her ringers between the waistband of Alaman's swim trunks and.his body. Catching the waistband with her thumbs, she lowered the trunks to Alamans knees. All the while, Alaman continued to stare out over the ocean as he took Anna's head and gently guided her to him. "You will see, my love. I promise you."
Peeking out through the narrow gap between the edge of the camouflage net and the ground, Childress made a quick scan of the horizon. Seeing no motion, he turned his attention to the road that ran at an angle to their position, some one hundred meters away! Starting at the small culvert that concealed a forty-pound cratering charge, Childress ran his eyes along the length of dirt road until it disappeared over the horizon, some five kilometers in the distance. Nothing would be able to come and go along the road without his men being able to see it.
It had taken Childress over two days to find this spot, a spot which, for his purposes, was ideal. The gully where he and two other men, manning a.30-caliber M-1919 machine gun, lay hidden, provided both cover and concealment from the road. It also offered them an excellent covered route of retreat back to their vehicles, hidden farther down the gully. A branch of the same gully, off to their right, provided the same features to the other three men of Childress's team. In this way, if something went wrong with the ambush, both sections of his team would be able to make it back to their vehicles secure m the knowledge that their opponent would be unable to see them, let alone put effective fire on them as they did so. This last item was all-important to the six men protected from the searing morning sun by the tan and brown nets. They were, after all, doing this for the money. Neither glory, nor honor, nor decorations motivated them. A medal presented to a next of kin posthumously had no meaning. The only bottom line that mattered was a healthy bank account and an equally healthy body with which to enjoy it. Escape routes, both primary and alternate, were therefore a critical element of every plan for Childress and the other team leaders of Senior Alamans private army.
To achieve the effect Alamaii desired, every raid had to be as bloody and terrible as it was precise and swift. Lefleur, who had the honor of striking first, had set the tone. To create the desired effect, nothing had been left to chance. Binding one of the border patrol officers and shooting him execution-style had been intended both to infuriate and to horrify those who found him, and the media that reported the incident. The wheel tracks, going into and out of the point where Lefleur had forded the Rio Grande, had been found and plaster casts dutifully made. Also found and identified by the highly trained FBI forensic experts had been a pile of