Word: hasenfus
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1986-1986
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Grab your things, you're leaving." With those words, delivered briskly by a prison commander, American Mercenary Eugene Hasenfus learned that he was a free man. A few hours later, the baggy-eyed gunrunner savored his first taste of liberty since his plane was downed over Nicaragua on Oct. 5 while delivering weapons to contra rebels. Standing beside Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, he said, "Today has been a day of great surprises, a day I'll surely remember in my heart forever." By nightfall, Hasenfus was tucked away safely at the U.S. embassy in Guatemala City, and 24 hours after...
Washington's ungracious response was somewhat understandable. In Managua, Hasenfus had already served his political purpose, if not his full 30-year sentence, after being convicted by a Sandinista court Nov. 15 of terrorism and other charges. Indeed, all that the Nicaraguans could see ahead was 10,918 more days of feeding and sheltering the somber-faced cargo kicker. Moreover, Managua now had a brand new Yanqui misadventurer to deal with: Sam Nesley Hall...
...enigmatic character from Ohio, Hall, 49, was arrested Dec. 12 in a restricted military area 13 miles northeast of Managua. Sandinista officials claimed last week that he had been carrying maps in his socks of military installations at the time of his arrest. The Nicaraguan government announced that, like Hasenfus, Hall would be tried before a revolutionary court. But where Hasenfus' mission had been clear from the moment of his arrest, Hall's purpose in Nicaragua remained murky. He was permitted brief visits with a U.S. embassy official and with Connecticut Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd, who helped secure Hasenfus' release...
With Carr gone, Hasenfus is certain to be grilled all the more intensively by congressional investigators. As he headed home last week, Hasenfus sounded weary: "I'm just going to settle down and be a father for a while." It may be a very long time until Sam Hall sees his own three children. The rumor mill in Managua suggests that, with some hard-line Sandinistas piqued by Hasenfus' early release, Hall will have a far harder time securing a pardon...
...investigation into such matters will inevitably dredge up revelations about the links that North and others had with the private effort to help the Nicaraguan rebels. During much of the past two years, there was a congressional ban on direct or indirect U.S. military assistance to the contras. Eugene Hasenfus, the American mercenary who was released last week, is expected to be among those called by Congress to testify next year. When asked if he would do so, Hasenfus replied...