Word: pepe
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Pepe'' had just finished a rousing speech in the coffee-growing town of Puriscal. about 20 miles from the capital of San José, when an aide handed him an urgent message. Figueres' old fighting spirit flared as he read that three gunmen from Nicaragua had hijacked a Nicaraguan BAC 1-11 with 40 passengers and six crew members aboard. The plane had just made an unscheduled landing at San José airport. Would the President authorize refueling it for the flight on to Havana, or providing a new plane for the trip? "To hell with this...
...hitting 110 m.p.h. on the straightaways. Over his car radio, Figueres dictated his detailed instructions for "terrorizing the terrorists," who were members of the Nicaraguan National Liberation Front. Two hundred armed civilian guardsmen should surround the plane. The runway should be blocked, the plane's tires deflated. Don Pepe repeatedly shouted into the radio, "Boys, this...
Unmoved, Figueres grabbed an M-3 submachine gun, ran to the scene and ordered his troopers to pump tear gas into the jetliner's ventilating system. Moments later firing broke out inside the plane. Don Pepe gave the order to attack. "Get them!" he cried. The plane's rear door suddenly dropped open and a stewardess hurtled clown the steps unhurt. One of the gunmen followed, but was cut down by a hail of bullets before he hit the ground. After that, the two other skyjackers surrendered, and the crew escaped without injury...
...Pepe meanwhile was fighting with his own guards, who were trying to wrestle a submachine gun away from him in order to keep him from getting hurt in any shootout. Even though Figueres did not get to fire a single shot, he was pleased with his performance...
...floating in the policy of no policy," he said, "and a lot of guys start to freelance." To raise the profile a bit. Secretary of State William Rogers will be going to San José next month to attend the Latin American Foreign Ministers conference. For his part, Don Pepe has asked the Russians, who were scheduled to open their embassy this week, to put it off for a while...