People's Republic of Counani - An Oppressed Narcostate
The year is 1985. The place is Counani, a diminutive South American state nestled between French Guiana, Suriname, and Brazil. With more mineral wealth sitting under its mountains and rainforests and rivers than it has people, the question of Counani has always been who can master its natural resources for their own gain. In the days of the great colonial empires, settlers and soldiers of various nations have laid claim to Counani. Since the first declarations of independence in the close of the 19th Century, the independent state has successfully withstood the onslaughts of repeated foreign invasions and interference, through a combination of tenacious diplomatic advocacy and stubborn asymmetrical warfare on their own turf. From the 1930s onward, Counani has been free of foreign intervention. Were it not for the inborn economic and social disparities, the conflicting history of French and Brazilian and Dutch and English colonizers with their native counterparts, the past fifty years of Counanese history would have brought Counani to the forefront of South American affairs.
From 1975 onward, the presence of the drug trade has destabilized portions of the country, with urban crime in big cities like Macapa spiking in response. The "Narco Class" emerged; ruthless criminals who had found their niche cultivating, refining, and selling large quantities of drugs abroad. Most of these men, and a few women, had emerged from the remnants of the once-powerful bandit clans that lived in the rainforest. Life for them was opportunistic by nature; killing and robbery and kidnappings all were valid to them. Through the drug trade, the bosses grew richer than their wildest dreams. They found themselves, in a relatively short amount of time, cultivating more wealth than the traditional "men of always." With that money, they bribed the generals and the politicians, the cops and judges, mine owner and landowner. When they found those who resisted, they reacted in the old way.
In response, the government in Macapa declared a state of war against the drug cartels. Weapons flooded the region, and in the beginning, the vast wealth of the cartels meant that they could pay to outgun the military and police. An eight-year cycle of senseless violence persisted; gun battles rocked every city on a weekly basis, while cops and soldiers and cartel gunmen fought deadly battles amid the jungle brush. The government went bankrupt, trying to resupply its dated military and police with ammunition and equipment in order to preserve the country from a total collapse. With dwindling financial support from the government and near-constant fighting with well-armed cartel gunmen, the commanders of the police and military exploited the resources seized from the cartel groups they managed to defeat. What started as the mere armament of government troops with seized weapons and the usage of cartel cash to buy newer hardware, soon transformed into the continuation of drug operations at many sites, under the supervision of different government commanders.
Despite the crudeness of the strategy, it paid off for the Counanese government. Although the government in Macapa continued a public anti-drug stance, its commanding officers were financing their operations from drugs made at formerly cartel-controlled labs. Successes against the cartels mounted, and by 1983, the cartels had either been eliminated, forced into exile, or had joined forces with the government. The drugs did not stop flowing, however; cops and soldiers soon replaced the security at the drug farms and drug labs. There is no difference in the variety of intimidation used by either the cartels or the government. The officer class grew much more wealthy, and powerful, than had been possible in previous generations. Among the officers complicit in the Counanese drug trade, was a cabal of army and police commanders who sought their sights on the reigns of power in Counani, and were willing to do anything they could to reach those reigns. They looked to the East for answers. In the following months, while Counani reeled from the effects of the civil war, a conspiracy to launch a coup was formed. Rebel units were organized and trained in secret, contacts were made in the East, and the drugs continued to flow.
On New Years Eve, 1983, this cabal made their play for the coup. The population celebrated the holiday, and while the overall military stood down and allowed troops to take part in the festivities, rebel units moved into action. Parades of joyous, drunken pedestrians in Macapa found themselves confronted by armed troops and tanks, ordering them into curfew. Riots broke out between the rebels, the loyalist cops and soldiers on duty, and the general populace, although much of it came in vain. By the morning of the new year, Macapa was fully under rebel control. Most government forces surrendered, out of fear of rumors that Cuban troops were planning to intervene. Martial law went into effect quickly, and the democratically-elected government soon found itself as a fugitive in its own country. Officials who failed to escape were either imprisoned for the purpose of televised tribunals, or summarily executed by roving squads of rebel troops.
For the first two weeks of 1984, rebel forces and loyalists fought it out. Demoralization swept through the ranks, sending hundreds of soldiers and cops into desertion without ever firing a shot. The fall of Cunani City, the historical capital of the country, represented the final collapse of the loyalist forces and the complete victory of the rebels. Loyalist fighters, fleeing the "paseos," retreated across the borders as the new government took to office. The "National Safety League" comprised the reigning junta of a new military dictatorship in Counani, albeit one that espoused supposed Marxist virtues. The United States and its allies in the region, namely Brazil, reacted with alarm to these events. Wishing to prevent another Grenada-style incident, Cuba and the Soviet Union, joined by East German and even Libyan interests, stepped in to back the new regime. By way of the United Nations, cooler heads prevailed and the People's Republic of Counani was allowed to survive, with the support of the Warsaw Pact and Cuba.
By the present day - 1985 - the NSL is still in power, and the drug trade is in full swing. NATO, alarmed by both the presence of a Soviet-aligned state in South America and the drug activities of the regime, offers its support to the Counanese opposition. The diaspora of the deposed Counanese government and its supporters can be found in many places. They are cut from many stripes: straight-laced military type, disaffected Communists, and others. Under the guise of the Free Counanese Army, a new war is about to be waged. A force of refugees and mercenaries and foreign operatives is about to wage a campaign to free Counani from the narco-junta.
From 1975 onward, the presence of the drug trade has destabilized portions of the country, with urban crime in big cities like Macapa spiking in response. The "Narco Class" emerged; ruthless criminals who had found their niche cultivating, refining, and selling large quantities of drugs abroad. Most of these men, and a few women, had emerged from the remnants of the once-powerful bandit clans that lived in the rainforest. Life for them was opportunistic by nature; killing and robbery and kidnappings all were valid to them. Through the drug trade, the bosses grew richer than their wildest dreams. They found themselves, in a relatively short amount of time, cultivating more wealth than the traditional "men of always." With that money, they bribed the generals and the politicians, the cops and judges, mine owner and landowner. When they found those who resisted, they reacted in the old way.
In response, the government in Macapa declared a state of war against the drug cartels. Weapons flooded the region, and in the beginning, the vast wealth of the cartels meant that they could pay to outgun the military and police. An eight-year cycle of senseless violence persisted; gun battles rocked every city on a weekly basis, while cops and soldiers and cartel gunmen fought deadly battles amid the jungle brush. The government went bankrupt, trying to resupply its dated military and police with ammunition and equipment in order to preserve the country from a total collapse. With dwindling financial support from the government and near-constant fighting with well-armed cartel gunmen, the commanders of the police and military exploited the resources seized from the cartel groups they managed to defeat. What started as the mere armament of government troops with seized weapons and the usage of cartel cash to buy newer hardware, soon transformed into the continuation of drug operations at many sites, under the supervision of different government commanders.
Despite the crudeness of the strategy, it paid off for the Counanese government. Although the government in Macapa continued a public anti-drug stance, its commanding officers were financing their operations from drugs made at formerly cartel-controlled labs. Successes against the cartels mounted, and by 1983, the cartels had either been eliminated, forced into exile, or had joined forces with the government. The drugs did not stop flowing, however; cops and soldiers soon replaced the security at the drug farms and drug labs. There is no difference in the variety of intimidation used by either the cartels or the government. The officer class grew much more wealthy, and powerful, than had been possible in previous generations. Among the officers complicit in the Counanese drug trade, was a cabal of army and police commanders who sought their sights on the reigns of power in Counani, and were willing to do anything they could to reach those reigns. They looked to the East for answers. In the following months, while Counani reeled from the effects of the civil war, a conspiracy to launch a coup was formed. Rebel units were organized and trained in secret, contacts were made in the East, and the drugs continued to flow.
On New Years Eve, 1983, this cabal made their play for the coup. The population celebrated the holiday, and while the overall military stood down and allowed troops to take part in the festivities, rebel units moved into action. Parades of joyous, drunken pedestrians in Macapa found themselves confronted by armed troops and tanks, ordering them into curfew. Riots broke out between the rebels, the loyalist cops and soldiers on duty, and the general populace, although much of it came in vain. By the morning of the new year, Macapa was fully under rebel control. Most government forces surrendered, out of fear of rumors that Cuban troops were planning to intervene. Martial law went into effect quickly, and the democratically-elected government soon found itself as a fugitive in its own country. Officials who failed to escape were either imprisoned for the purpose of televised tribunals, or summarily executed by roving squads of rebel troops.
For the first two weeks of 1984, rebel forces and loyalists fought it out. Demoralization swept through the ranks, sending hundreds of soldiers and cops into desertion without ever firing a shot. The fall of Cunani City, the historical capital of the country, represented the final collapse of the loyalist forces and the complete victory of the rebels. Loyalist fighters, fleeing the "paseos," retreated across the borders as the new government took to office. The "National Safety League" comprised the reigning junta of a new military dictatorship in Counani, albeit one that espoused supposed Marxist virtues. The United States and its allies in the region, namely Brazil, reacted with alarm to these events. Wishing to prevent another Grenada-style incident, Cuba and the Soviet Union, joined by East German and even Libyan interests, stepped in to back the new regime. By way of the United Nations, cooler heads prevailed and the People's Republic of Counani was allowed to survive, with the support of the Warsaw Pact and Cuba.
By the present day - 1985 - the NSL is still in power, and the drug trade is in full swing. NATO, alarmed by both the presence of a Soviet-aligned state in South America and the drug activities of the regime, offers its support to the Counanese opposition. The diaspora of the deposed Counanese government and its supporters can be found in many places. They are cut from many stripes: straight-laced military type, disaffected Communists, and others. Under the guise of the Free Counanese Army, a new war is about to be waged. A force of refugees and mercenaries and foreign operatives is about to wage a campaign to free Counani from the narco-junta.
