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//SECRET//JSOC//MARSOC From: [email protected] <Clark Williams> To: [email protected] <Sean Whelan> Subject: Notice of Deployment All Commands and Attachments are hereby notified that Alpha Company, 3d MRB; Alpha Section, 160th SOAR, and all supporting detachments are to prepare for immediate deployment to the country of San Esperito. All commands are to ensure OPSEC through rank and file. Deployment for all commands is required no later than September 14th. Briefing as follows. Last month the small Caribbean island nation of San Esperito fell victim to a coup by hardline elements of the defense force, which intelligence has now determined was backed by the Venezuelan government. While initially a diplomatic matter, the situation has escalated within the past 48 hours. The Venezuelan Navy landing ships ARBV Goajira and ARBV Capana and the Panamanian-flagged civilian cargo ship Aurora docked at the island's main port on September 12th at approximately 0530 local time. Communication off the island was suddenly cut just before the ship's arrival but we have been able to determine that these ships brought with them the bulk of the 3rd Marine Brigade (Amphibious) of the Venezuelan Bolivarian Marine Corps. An estimated 2,500 troops, 30-35x AAVP-7A1 APCs, 10x VN-1 IFVs, at least 2x MT-LBM 6MB IFVs, and numerous other vehicles were deployed onto the island. Radar has picked up several helicopters and small aircraft heading to the island from the Venezuelan mainland. There were gaps in satellite coverage, so further equipment may have been offloaded. The 3rd Marine Brigade (Amphibious) is composed of two marine infantry battalions and an artillery battalion with an anti-air company equipped with Strela-10s and RBS-70s. Prior to this development, a dozen American citizens were on the island and given the apparent intent of the Venezuelan and San Esperito governments to ignore all diplomatic outreaches to extract our citizens, the President has authorized the use of any and all force necessary to get them off the island and return the legitimate government to power. The 3d MRB and 160th SOAR will immediately halt all training activity at Camp Blanding and deploy to the USS Farragut, which is sailing North of the island. Your objective is to secure all US citizens and degrade Venezuelan force strength in preparation for a follow-on Marine Expeditionary Unit which should be on station within four days and ready to make landfall by the fifth. The 149th Fighter Squadron will provide air cover out of Muñiz Air National Guard Base in Puerto Rico. Due to the dense population centers, fixed-wing air strikes have been prohibited by the White House for now. The mission has been designated Operation Guiding Light. Signed, Lieutenant Colonel C. Williams Commanding Joint Special Task Force Cobra Attachments AO MAINE.jpg Satellite.jpg

Coup underway in San Esperito. Numerous reports are coming out of the small Caribbean island nation of San Esperito of an ongoing violent coup attempt. Reportedly this coup is undertaken by members of a hardline faction within the country's military led by Colonel Gustavo Calderon as well as paramilitary militias loyal to Calderon. Gunfire could be heard across the small island nation all day as Calderons forces engaging government forces and try to seize control of the island. As things stand now Calderons’s Junta controls 70 % of the island and will likely assume full control early tomorrow. With so many eyes focused on the Serbian invasion of Kosovo and Montenegro this new flashpoint has gone remarkably unnoticed with an official statement from the US and UN still not forthcoming. Pro Calderon forces attacking the San Esperito post office. With San Esperito having been hit particularly hard by the recent Hurricane Fiona, and intenational aid mostly directed towards the ongoing conflict in the Balkans, San Esperitos economy has nearly collapsed and living standards have plummeted across the island. As a result the people of San Esperito has turned to political extremes and primarily to Colonel Calderon who is very popular among Esperitoans. Calderon’s great grandfather led the Esperitoan rebels in a revolt against the Spanish that eventually saw the island gain independence. The Calderon family has become something of a permanent dynasty in Esperitoan military circles and the coup seems to have broad public support from the Esperitoan people. ADA News will continue to monitor the situation as it develops. Simon Tam ADA News War Correspondent