pissed her off at first. She’d blasted off at Aguillar, certain that
he’d lied to her about getting the real story.
But his explanation had satisfied her and not even surprised the
cynical part of her mind that always doubted the sincerity of any
military organization. That the Cuban navy part of it, at least had
cordial relationships with both Leyta and Aguillar made sense.
She ran her fingers one last time through the shining cap of brown hair
that topped the face more Americans knew than that of the vice
president. She took a deep breath, concentrated on centering herself,
the normal routine for appearing on camera. Finally, as the minute
hand clicked over to the upright position, she nodded at the
cameraman.
“Good morning. This is Pamela Drake, reporting from Cuba for ACN.
This is a live report from the westernmost Cuban naval base. In
keeping with my agreement with my host, I will not divulge any further
details other than to say that the location of this particular
installation is well known to the United States government.
“This morning, at approximately four a.m the American government
sparked another round in the increasingly escalating tensions between
Cuba and the United States. For the past two weeks, the presence of an
American battle group allegedly conducting routine operations off the
coast almost within the territorial waters of our neighbor has caused
increasing concern on the part of the Cuban government. This day,
those concerns were made real.
“As you know, American citizens are not allowed to visit Cuba.” She
gave a small, rueful smile. “Restrictions on our First Amendment
rights have never prevented ACN from being the first to bring you every
story around the globe.
That dedication to our basic constitutional guarantees of freedom led
to the American aggression this morning that almost killed me.”
Pamela paused for a moment, and repressed an involuntary shudder that
threatened to work its way up from the base of her spine to her
shoulders. There was no need to show fear with her command of her
voice, every member of her watching audience was already experiencing
it. She’d survived; that was enough. She took a deep breath and
continued.
“I have no doubt that the American military establishment will try to
deny their involvement in this incident. This murder, I should say.
However, I will not let that happen. I was there. I saw it. An
innocent fishing boat, transporting freedom fighters to a clandestine
meeting, was intentionally destroyed by an American missile. Whether
or not the United States knew I was on board one of those ships, I
refuse to speculate. However, you may draw your own conclusions.
“During a time when the American government has decided its national
interests required a formation of a Trilateral Commission, extensive
participation in a new world order, and recognition of the impact
economies in other nations have on our own, it is particularly
disturbing that we ignore our neighbors to the south. The
circumstances are made worse by the fact that there are opposing
opinions about the proper relationship between Cuba and America. The
American government claims that political uncertainty may lead to the
loss of investment capital if trade relations are opened with Cuba, and
may be taken by the world community as a movement of support for this
dictatorship. The U.S. appears solely concerned with dollars these
freedom fighters, these men and women, risk their lives. If we can
spend fifteen years in a war to try to support democracy on the other
side of the Pacific Ocean, how can we rationalize failing to support
these people in their struggle against Castro?”
She paused again, to let her audience absorb the argument. She would
have to repeat it several times, she knew.
While television was the most compellingly immediate news medium in the
world, its listeners were not always particularly attentive. Many of
them wanted the story wrapped up in sound bites, in a sentence or two
of intelligent commentary that would form their political views both at
home and at the polls. She thought for a moment, then decided to go
with it.
“I call on the American government to aid and support these precious