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Thankfully
special punishments were imposed rarely.
During the time I guarded X, I saw only three of them. The execution I just described was one. Each of the other two was pretty diabolical.
The one
where they again forced the prisoner to wear her bikini and then took her on a
boat off the ocean and made her walk the plank, certainly qualified. She stood at the edge of the plank and
gritted her teeth. She bent her
legs. She was determined to keep her
balance. But even a ship in the calmest of seas is rolling and pitching. The chains cut into her legs as she tried to
move. Her arms strapped behind her back;
this handicap to her upper body’s balance proved impossible to overcome. Her face was a study in concentration and
determination as her body moved in time to the movements of the plank. I remember her legs, especially how her inner
thighs curved to meet her private area.
The flesh was so brown, it’s tone so shiny! I just wanted to wrap my hands around her and
squeeze. But the result of the battle of the
prisoner’s courage and determination versus the chains binding her was
hopeless. She inevitably lost and
toppled off into the waters and the horrors waiting her below.
The
suspended cage was the cruelest of the three because of the control it demanded
of her attention. The cage was suspended
a few feet above the ground. It was so
small that the only way the prisoner could fit into it was to make her kneel
with her head between her knees. There
is no way that a person can maintain that position for 36 hours in real life
(blood flow to the head would be fatal), so a hole in the wall of the cage was
cut and X was made to put her head through that. The hole was then closed about her neck. Electrodes were attached to the palms of her
hands and the bottoms of her feet and slaved to a computer. The computer then flashed random questions at
a screen just above her head. Each
multiple choice answer had an alpha-numeric code next to it. She had to punch the code for the correct answer
in the number pad just below her nose within 30 seconds or a shock would zap
her. The power has enough to really hurt
her. The hands and feet had been
targeted for the electrodes because the nervous system in those parts of the
body are so sensitive and vulnerable.
The prisoner had to constantly move her head up to see the questions and
then down to punch in the answers. The
process prevented her mind from escaping by daydreaming or by “writing in her
invisible book”. She had to constantly
concentrate on avoiding the zap. She
collapsed, of course. Many times, in
fact. 36 hours is a day and a half – too
long for any human being to keep it up.
Whenever she collapsed, they restarted her by really laying on the
torture.
* * * *
From Orientation
for X.
VI. Public Relations
It was
anticipated from the outset that this operation would attract outside
attention. In fact, one of this
operation’s prime objectives was to make an example of the prisoner to the
inhabitants of her region. In formulating
the punishment program for the prisoner the regime was aware of the dangers of
negative publicity. Our public relations
strategy for this operation is designed to cower the region’s inhabitants while
minimizing the publicity from outside media and humanitarian
organizations. Our strategy will address
three audience groups.
Domestic
Inhabitants: We frankly acknowledge that the prisoner’s
punishment is especially intense. Stress
that nobody should want to be sentenced to this prison. Inhabitants should know that the government
will crush any opposition even the smallest.
This means that if a peasant says to you that Maria Velasquez hardly did
anything wrong, you should turn that point around and say back that however
small you think the prisoner’s offense was it was very big in El Leader’s eyes
so you should avoid even the smallest opposition. You would not want to see happen to the
person you are speaking to, what happened to Maria Velasquez.
Be aware
that the Catholic Church has a high degree of influence and support in our
country. It is very important that you
do not let this audience group think that the prisoner is a martyr. Stress that her activities were done on her
own. They were not sanctioned by her
church or by any other. Don’t forget to
remind the peasants of the good relations El Leader enjoys with the Cardinal
and the other church leaders of our country.
Minimize talk of Cardinal’s statements against government’s policing
policies by noting that the government must deal with the practical problems of
public safety and that El Leader and the Cardinal continues to dialogue
together to resolve their differences.
Mention
that the prisoner is an agent of the US CIA.
US industrialists would exploit our country and its people for their own
profits. That is why El Leader has to be
so firm with the prisoner and others of her ilk. He does not oppress the people; he protects
them.
Others who
oppose El Leader are the bands of godless Marxists in the hills. How can Maria Velasquez be a martyr for the
Church if she is on the same side as them?
While the Marxists would take away the Church’s property, El Leader
generously contributes vast amounts to the Church every year.
Finally, it
is most important to stress to the peasant farmers of the region that many of
them depend on the sale of the poppies that they grow for El Leader to sell on
their behalf. If the prisoner and the US
government had their way, the entire narcotics trade would be ended and the
farmers would be left destitute.
Foreigners
-- General Information: Foreign observers can usually
be classified into two broad groups:
Leftwing groups and rightwing groups.
Both groups have their buttons.
Governments like ours have made effective use of these buttons
throughout the world. Once you have
properly classified the foreigner you are speaking with, then minimizing his or
hers organization’s interest in the Maria Velasquez case is merely a matter of
pressing the right button.
Foreign
Groups with Left Wing Leanings: These people tend
to respond very negatively to names like Pat Robertson and George Bush and very
positively to issues like abortion. To a
person of this group, point out the prisoner’s strong religiosity. She reads only one book and that’s the
Bible. She also believes in the Pope’s
position on abortion. That is usually
enough to do the trick with this group.
Experience has shown that they usually loose sympathy for prisoners who
have been identified with these kinds of things.
Foreign
Groups with Right Wing Leanings: These people tend
to respond opposite to the left wingers to names like Pat Robertson and George
Bush and to issues like abortion. To a
person of this group, point out the prisoner’s opposition to the established
government. Note that the only organized
opposition is the Communists. Call her
“a women’s rights activist.” This
technique was used very successfully to deflect humanitarian concerns from
right wingers during the Reagan era in such places as El Salvador and
Nicaragua.
Your PR
Role: The reason this section is appearing in a
manual for prison guards is that all levels of officials who may interface with
the outside should be aware of our public relations strategy so that it may be
effective. As the prisoner’s guards you
are the ones who are most familiar with her regimen. Moreover, you are the ones who will accompany
her to her public punishments. Hence,
you will be the ones closest to the people witnessing them.
Prisoners
are harshly treated throughout the world with minimal negative consequences to
the governments involved. Proper use of
public relations can allow us to punish the prisoner publicly while avoiding
negative publicity.
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