Full Steam Ahead
Chapter 19
Our disinformation program was building to a full head of steam. The pressure was mounting on The Family and its corrupt lackeys in the Haitian bureaucracy. The station’s agents of influence were busy paying out stipends, honoraria, emoluments and small grants to prominent journalists, radio celebrities and TV personalities to carry our message about Marie Claire and her vicious cult. Of course, bribes were strictly forbidden by U.S. law.
The agents had also galvanized social, civic and business groups, plus the universities. There was a lot of sympathy for our message since the U.S. was recognized as the leading aid donor. The U.S. was also home to many Haitians who’d immigrated to its shores over the past six decades to escape repression at home. And they’d been welcomed by Miss Liberty with open arms.
Voodoo leaders of other temples joined the crusade since they had no respect for Marie Claire. They were aware of her illicit activities which had hurt the reputation of the faith. She was an embarrassment to the Houngans who truly believed in the sanctity of voodoo. An uneasy truce had existed between the mainstream voodoo churches and The Family, but no more. Frankly, they didn’t mind eliminating a competitor who was gaining more followers by the day.
The CIA operatives were very cautious not to attack the religion of voodoo itself. It was too deeply rooted in the minds of the people. It was also the largest faith in Haiti and we had no interest in upsetting the well known applecart to toss out a few rotten ones. No, that wasn’t what this exercise was about. It was a concerted attack on Mama Mambo and her family, only. And it seemed to be working to plan.
There had been some pushback. A radio station and a small newspaper office had been firebombed after stories appeared which were highly unflattering to The Family and her personally, nothing inflammatory or libelous, but close to the line.
WSRF radio in Miami picked up on the wire stories out of Haiti and added its voice in our support. It was the first Haitian owned station in the nation. It was the only one as well. The news broadcasts, in French and Creole, generally mimicked the local reporting, but the commentaries were scathing denouncements aimed directly at The Family. The AM station had many regular listeners in Haiti who had more confidence in its reporting than many of the local ones. It simply had the gravitas the others lacked, especially among the youth of Port-au-Prince.
***
Desmond sat cowering on the sofa in Mama Mambo’s not-so modest home in a tonier part of Petionville. She was ranting and raving about the injustices she was suffering at the hands of Dick Avery and his colleagues. He wanted to cover his ears, but his mother would slap him if he did such a disrespectful thing. But her venomous screaming and cursing was hurting his ears. Even in normal circumstances, his mother had always intimidated him. Her massive size alone scared him, her penchant for violence even more. However, he was, in fact, an obedient and submissive mama’s boy around her. Oh, but on his own, he was a skilled, powerful assassin; a giant in his own mind and someone to be admired and feared.
“Those fucking Americans,” she yelled to the beautifully furnished salon which held no trappings of her religion. “Bondye should curse them and their wicked ways! How dare they challenge my authority?”
Her megalomania was running loose again, Desmond thought. She usually could hide it or keep it in check. But this wasn’t to be one of those occasions. She was on a roll and nothing could stanch the vehemence spewing from her mouth.
“Dick Avery must die a cruel death for what he’s done. I’m beginning to be a laughing stock, even among some of my followers. We must put a stop to it or our campaign will be ruined, the money from the Cubans will cease and The Family will suffer. That can’t happen so we need to act quickly before things spin out of control. May Bondye bless you my son, for your good works on behalf of our family.”
Desmond now knew why he’d been summoned by his mother. He had his charge and looked forward to executing it along with Dick Avery!