INSCOM Intelligence Report - Operation Thunderstorm Overview

[1LT (Ret) Garcia]

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMAND

CLASSIFIED :: SECRET :: CLASSIFIED :: SECRET :: CLASSIFIED :: SECRET :: CLASSIFIED

TO: United Assistance Task Force, Pegasus Airfield
FROM: INSCOM Headquarters, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
RE: Deployment Overview

The following intelligence report is classified and should only be distributed to authorized personnel.

CONDENSED SLIDESHOW


DEPLOYMENT GOALS

1. Secure President Perez, and Ambassador Bryant

2. Destroy all ROMN and LOTN assets or otherwise render them incapacitated

3. Reinstate the democratically elected government of Malden


BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON MALDEN


Location of Malden - Click to Enlarge

Area of Interest

Country: Malden
Capital: Le Port
Official Language: Spanish (Caribbean Dialect)
Ethnic Groups:
- Hispanic (94%)
- White (5%)
- Other (1%)
Government: Representative Republic led by the Malden People's Party - Republic of Malden
Population: 70,000
GDP: $75 Billion
Currency: USD


Language

The dominating language in Malden is Spanish, however, English is taught at school from a young age and most of the population are comfortable communicating in English.


Ethnic Groups

The dominating ethnicity on the island is Hispanic. The island had a large immigration surge in the 1950's by individuals wishing to escape from the violence in Cuba during the revolution. Other immigrants have slowly migrated there from surrounding territories, most notably from Venezuela in the past 10 years as people flee the overwhelming poverty there.


Culture

Malden Culture is heavily based on the surrounding islands, Cuba more specifically, however people there can also trace their ancestry back to Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and the Grenadines. After the immigration boom in the 1950s, and as the Cuban revolution drew to a close, there became obvious schisms between the communists that backed Fidel Castro and those that wanted nothing to do with him. Although their shared identity and culture has kept them largely similar throughout the decades, the old guard on the island still holds their resentments deep while their children know nothing of their past differences.

The older peoples of Cuban origin are colloquially referred to locally as "Malbanos." They tend to have very deeply entrenched culture taken from Cuba, however it is distinct to the island. Many of the residents on the island practice Santería, approximately 80% of Malbanos in fact. Although Christian missionaries did attempt to come to the island in the 1970s, a string of murders perpetrated by inhabitants convinced them to leave. Santería, including rituals taken from Haitian Vodou, is openly practiced in the streets and it has become an accepted manner of life on the island. The Malbanos believe strongly in their religion and it has dominated the culture since the 1950s. Up until the election of President Antonio Pérez it was the official religion of the island and practiced in all government meetings. The Malbano priests, Santeros, became very influential in the government prior to Pérez.

Recently with the influx of Venezuelan refugees much of the culture has changed. The Maldens and Venezuelans hold very little in common and it's caused a number of issues on the island. The Venezuelans are collectively referred to locally as "Nuevos." They've been arriving for the past decade or so, and recently with the collapse of Venezuela's government they've been coming in droves. They hold their own culture and values very closely, and nearly all are Roman Catholics. They despise the Malbanos and constantly refer to them as "heretical." They quickly became very tired of the Santería steeped theocracy of a government and last year elected President Antonio Pérez, who ran on a platform of removing religion from government and fixing the destroyed economy.


Economy

The economy of Malden is primarily based on offshore oil reserves, with that making up 90% of the government's income and most residents of the island doing something in a support capacity for the oil rigs. In the 1980s large pockets of oil were discovered off of it's west coast. After a brief feud with surrounding territories the ownership of the oil deposits was determined to be Malden's.

Lacking the necessary technology, infrastructure, and shipping vessels to successfully tap the oil themselves they turned to Venezuela for help. In a deal with the Venezuelan government they were provided with all of the resources necessary to harvest the crude, in return they had to use Venezuela as an intermediary to sell it. For many years this worked fine, as they were paid in USD and later Bolivar. However with the recent collapse and hyper-inflation of the Venezuelan Bolivar and it's variants the Malden government has been running dry of funds causing widespread unrest among it's population.

At this point the island's inhabitants are living on rodentia, the odd vegetable, and whatever food manages to make it there from Venezuela. Due to their total and complete dependence on Venezuela for their money they've been stonewalled from trading with the rest of the Caribbean, and in the last year they've depleted their food stores. The Malbano population saw the downturn as evidence of their deities’ anger towards the island and became increasingly angry and hostile not only towards the government but towards the Nuevo population, who were the ones in economic control of the nation for the last few years after the election of Perez. They relied upon the military for support and General Nicolas Aguilar was only too happy to oblige them.


Government

Prior to the election of Antonio Pérez the government was essentially a theocratic republic with a President at the helm. He used the country's majority religion, Santería, as some sort of guide for the decisions of government. As the majority Roman Catholic Nuevo population grew from immigration, they grew wary of a theocratic government with a different religion at the helm. They were frequently treated quite poorly by the Malbanos as well. As their numbers approached half of the island's population they voted in Pérez  who promised to put an end to it, to restore the economy, and  Upon his appointment as President he dissolved the old cabinet and replaced it with an atheistic representative republic.

The current system of government is a representative republic with elected representatives from various places on the island. Citizens vote for parties, and the parties choose which representatives to send to the legislature. The legislature is formed of only one, multi-party, house with 50 members. The democratically elected President of the island is Antonio Pérez of the Malden People's Party, the President is the only position elected by name rather than party. He was elected to a 5 year term in January 2015.


Military

The military of Malden, due to having a majority of the GDP pouring into it for decades, is relatively advanced compared to other nations in the region. The military (all branches) is commanded by General Nicolás Aguilar (a Malbano). It has land and air forces, as well as a reasonably sized navy. Most of the citizens on Malden support a very strong military, but for different reasons. Some believe it will give them an advantage trading against other countries in the region, some believe they need to protect the oil reserves, some want to destroy the web of drug trafficking that takes place out of the ports on the island, and yet others believe they need it for superstitious reasons.


SUMMARY OF EVENTS UP TO DEPLOYMENT

INSCOM Intelligence Report 11MAR18 - Violence breaks out in Malden
INSCOM Intelligence Report 12MAR18 - Malden government overthrown in coup
INSCOM Intelligence Report 13MAR18 - US nationals killed and taken hostage

• Major anti-government protests began around the island some months ago, the trigger for these events is currently unknown however it is suspected to be caused by political influences within General Nicolás Aguilar's circle. We believe the major protests were organized by LOTN leader Luis Silva.
• Early Anti-government protests were met with some light violence, non-lethal weapons such as tear gas and rubber bullets were used to disperse crowds, this resulted in the decreasing popularity and support of President Pérez.
• Protests grew into riots where it is believed Luis Silva began to arm LOTN members with rifles, Molotov cocktails and other equipment to combat pro-government forces including unarmed civilians. Task Force Dagger has identified that the weapons originated from ROMN stores. The economic and cultural divide in Malden has now grown exponentially over the last few weeks.
• At a speech in the sports arena North of the capital of La Port President Perez was giving a speech when a protest turned violent and the Malbano crowd broke through police barricades and the police force let them pass without resistance. Seven Nuevo supporters of Perez were killed and several dozen were injured in the ensuing melee.
• The President and his government decided to replace General Aguilar for his suspected role as an agitator against President Perez.
• The military under General Aguilar launched a coup d’etat and arrested President Perez and the majority of the Nuevo civilian leadership. He declared himself the interim president and justified his takeover as being done in the interests of preserving Malden’s security and culture.
• Malbano street gangs and lynch mobs began torching churches and Nuevo-owned businesses and homes. Nuevo citizens have also been murdered in cold blood by civilian mobs.
• The Malden military loyal to General Aguilar was rebranded ROMN (Republic of Malden Nationalists) and civilian and militia supporters of Aguilar were named LOTN (Loyalists of the Nation). ROMN maintains a diverse and complex military arsenal with LOTN having a lesser degree of weaponry.
• Nuevo military officers and other security personnel refused their orders and launched attacks upon their local arsenals and posts, seizing those in Nuevo-majority areas. These acts were condemned as terrorist activities and several of the leaders were arrested in military sweeps. The rebels branded themselves COR (Coalition of Rebels) and are a mixture of military personnel, street gangs, and extended familiar units under patriarchal leadership. They are diverse and disorganized.
• Military operations got off to a bad start and COR was subsequently hammered with indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery bombardment. COR was forced to resort to guerilla warfare against ROMN, LOTN, and Aguilar’s interim government officials and civilian supporters. Reprisals against civilians by both sides were rampant and deadly.
• American nationals were ordered to evacuate the island as hostilities spun out of control. The USS Abraham Lincoln Battle Group was deployed just outside Malden territorial waters to assist the evacuation.
• A group of several Puerto Rican families was attempting to flee the island on a ferry but a Malbano trap was sprung and the families were murdered by the Malbano crew and LOTN militia. Another Puerto Rican family was on its way to the American embassy in a car when it was stopped and the occupants were violently forced to exit the vehicle and were ceremonially executed before a cheering crowd. They were within sight of the embassy walls.
• General Aguilar deemed the American embassy to be harboring and aiding COR “terrorists” and declared its internationally recognized lawful protection revoked and LOTN militia with technical in support launched an assault. USMC Embassy Guards (x1 Fireteam) beat off the initial assault.
• USMC CH-53 Helicopters, previously en route to evacuate the embassy began taking fire as they approached the embassy and one managed to land and load up American personnel. After lifting off the helicopter was shot down by a Strela MANPAD from a ROMN position. The second helicopter was forced to return to the fleet with serious damage and was unable to land.
• The second LOTN assault was aided with IDF from mortars and RPG’s and was supported by ROMN advisors coordinating the assault. USMC guards ran out of ammunition and fought hand-to-hand until they were KIA. Embassy personnel were tortured and murdered as LOTN militia searched the grounds.
• The ambassador was taken hostage by ROMN forces who prevented his execution, and now potentially faces charges and public execution alongside the imprisoned President Perez.

///MORE TO FOLLOW///

[1LT (Ret) Garcia]

CURRENT FACTIONS

ROMN (Republic of Malden Nationalists)


Surveillance photo of ROMN troops, note uniform colors and patterns. Click for enlarged image.

• The Republic of Malden Nationalists are elements of the Malden Armed Forces that have pledged allegiance to General Aguilar and aided in his military coup. Nearly all are ethnic Malbanos and side with that side of the population.
• ROMN is well-equipped and well-trained, aided by the massive influx of investment from previous presidential administrations. Oil money is the primary means of income for Malden, and has facilitated a complex military of modern weapons and a training regimen that has created the Caribbean’s most formidable military.
• ROMN are, by-in-large, inexperienced in actual combat, with only elite special forces units having fired their weapons in anger prior to the civil war. The military aids security forces in dealing with drug smugglers and cartels.
• ROMN officers and NCO’s are responsible for training LOTN, usually the same instructors who formally train ROMN recruits train LOTN.
• ROMN is the primary vanguard used in combat operations against COR positions and units.

ROMN HVTs

General Nicolás Aguilar


Click to Enlarge

General Nicolás Aguilar's military career documents back to 1976 at the age of 19 where he fought in Africa in Angola and Rhodesia serving as a mercenary. After his tenure concluded Aguilar returned to his birthplace of Malden and joined the Malden military, slowly progressing through the ranks and becoming very notable for his brutality against drug smugglers. He was described as a "Natural and talented leader" by his officers. He quickly became a well-respected officer himself and caught the attention of several politicians. He spent a great deal of time meeting and socializing with members of the nation's Congress.

His experiences and commanding demeanor put him in the running to become the next General of the Army with little competition. In 2016, at the age of 55, his predecessor General Christopher Carvallo stepped down due to ill health and Aguilar was voted in to take his place. His initial career as General had a turmoiled start, he was not experienced in politics and had his fingers burnt multiple times. Previous members of the cabinet noted that he was "Emotional" and often "Easily agitated".

President Antonio Pérez was elected in 2015. As an ethnic Nuevo the President frequently had clashes with General Aguilar, starting with his tenure in 2016, who stood staunchly opposed against Pérez's military cuts. Much of the military loved and respected Aguilar, as 90% of the military is ethnic Malbano and so is Aguilar, thus they stood with him against President Pérez. Without the military's backing Pérez couldn't get rid of Aguilar and simply had to put up with his disagreements. General Aguilar made multiple public appearances, and they became more frequent leading up to the coup, promoting military enlistment and citizens to campaign for budget increases. In December 2017 General Aguilar came under fire due to allegations of him encouraging civilian protests against President Pérez. A short investigation could not provide enough evidence to prove Aguilar guilty.


Axel Diego de Rodriguez

ROMN Special Operations Colonel

Colonel Rodriguez is commonly recognized as the most dangerous officer in the Caribbean. He started out as an ROTC cadet at one of the high schools on Malden, and upon graduation he was selected as a military attache to Malden’s embassy in DC where he learned and copied many American and other foreign special operations practices. Upon returning home General Aguilar gave permission for him to go take high-performing NCO’s and was trained in the Netherlands with the Korps Commandotroepen.

His men returned to train a force to serve Malden’s new need for a special operations unit to deal with the rusing Cartels smuggling through the Caribbean in the 80’s. In the 90’s the unit he now had command over became extremely active in combating cartel operations and successfully drove out large-scale cartel operations in Malden. The unit grew, and became known as the “Cazadores.” During this period they frequently illegally intruded into foreign soil in pursuit of smugglers. However due to their skill there has been no hard evidence of Cazadores operations.

Colonel Rodriguez has now become the leading force in dealing with COR for ROMN, and frequently leads operations against important COR targets. COR has been completely overwhelmed and outclassed by Colonel Rodriguez’s command. He is also known for covert boarding operations (a specialty of the Korps Commandotroepen) and US Navy vessels are to remain far offshore during the night due to the threat of Cazadores attacks. He is to be considered key to destroying ROMN operational effectiveness on Malden.


LOTN (Loyalists of the Nation)


LOTN militia at a checkpoint. Despite the black and white capture, note the distinctive camouflage pattern. Click to enlarge.

• The Loyalists of the Nation are an assortment of patriots, street gangs, and worker's unions loyal to General Aguilar. They are all Santeria-practicing Malbanos.
• LOTN is poorly equipped but is improving its capability as General Aguilar pumps more and more weapons and equipment into their growing arsenal. They are receiving training and advisement from ROMN officers and NCO’s.
• They are organized based on the previous existing organizations and affiliations they come from, and do not follow a military setup in terms of command and control, mostly they are organized based on the towns they hail from and/or the gangs and unions they are member to.
• Santeria holy men and patriarchs of the powerful Malbano families tend to ascend to control of the assorted LOTN units.
• LOTN are extremely dedicated to destroying COR and fighting off any foreign influence they perceive as a threat. Murder, rape, and pillage are common and acceptable tactics. Collateral damage is also not a concern to LOTN. They are becoming harder and harder to control for ROMN, and seem to only answer directly to General Aguilar and to their own leadership.
• It is LOTN that is responsible for atrocities committed against American civilians.

LOTN HVTs

Commander Luis Silva



Commander Luis Silva is a former Malbano street gang member and later gang boss. Sources indicate a rough upbringing after he lost both parents in a boat wreck with a commerical fishing vessel. He was brought up through the Malden foster system, and was bounced from home to home, apparently getting into frequent fights that escalated continually making him a well-known name to both the foster system and local police. Luis Silva was brought up under the tutelage of a controversial, extremely abusive, and militant Santeria holy man, becoming a fervent and at times violent defender of Malbano rights and later developed a following of his own within his mentor’s gang.

His mentor’s fate has yet to be officially determined, but it is commonly accepted that Luis Silva murdered him during a religious ceremony after being “possessed by the Loa”. He has claimed since then that he is the chosen instrument of the deities and to question him is to question the Loa. He is extremely dangerous, having started early on in underworld bare knuckles fights in the docks of La Port. It was here he is known to have killed two men when he was 19 years old. Since then he has murdered other gangworld leaders either personally or through his orders. He became entangled in drug smuggling and amassed a sizeable fortune and network of bribery that reached into Malden’s military.

It was with these bought military officers he became leader of LOTN as other possible candidates disappeared or were found murdered. He was made leader of LOTN shortly afterwards, and has been increasingly militant, and has shown more and more willingness to go for legitimate political power. However he is the epitome of LOTN’s extreme beliefs and brutality. He is known to be personally responsible for the murder of several American embassy personnel during the attack.


COR (Coalition of Rebels)


Click to enlarge.

• The Coalition of Rebels is a conglomeration of ex-military officers and personnel and street gangs and familial and township militias, all of Nuevo ethnicity.
• There is no firmly set organization and leadership structures are complicated and fragile. The primary field force is made up of former military officers and soldiers who refused their orders to aid in the coup of President Perez. Their stated goal is to restore the democratically-elected government and get rid of ROMN and LOTN.
• The non-military factions of COR are hard to control in a strategic sense, due to their reluctance and outright refusal to leave their localities undefended and constantly squabble over the distribution of weapons, ammunition, and supplies.
• COR is poorly equipped with reserve equipment whatever they can take from ROMN and LOTN. However, they have terrain aiding in their defensive efforts which is detrimental to heavy armored vehicles used by ROMN and LOTN.

COR HVTs

Commander Manuel Cortés

Commander Manuel Cortés is a former member of Malden's Army, he was loyal to President Perez and supported him throughout his career and often clashed with General Aguilar on political opinions. Commander Cortés had a significant following and in the midst of the military coup against President Perez, he split from the newly formed ROMN forces along with his loyal Lieutenants and several platoons of pro-government military personnel. This split formed what is now known as COR (Coalition Of Rebels). Cortés is fully cooperating with UATF forces and welcomes western intervention.

COR troops consist of the leftover pro-government military forces and pro-government civilians. COR forces have begun training and arming pro-government civilians to combat ROMN and LOTN. Due to the huge uprising on the island, COR is yet to establish a base of operations and instead has been moving around constantly recruiting personnel from larger towns while avoiding detection from LOTN members who have sworn to hunt them out. Commander Cortés has 35 years of military experience and knows the island well, he also has extensive knowledge of ROMN command. Commander Cortés is invaluable to UATF forces and should be protected and assisted when needed.


BLUFOR

United Assistance Task Force
Task Force Barbute (Main Effort) 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division Delta Company, 5th Battalion, 101st Comba t Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division 74th Squadron Detachment, 23rd Wing, USAF	Task Force Dagger (Supporting Effort 1) Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) (GB) 101st Logistics Brigade, 3rd Division (GB)	Task Force Greave (Supporting Effort 2) 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2PARA) (GB)

BLUFOR POIs

Ambassador David Bryant



Ambassador Bryant has been stationed in Malden for 5 years. Prior to his appointment to Malden he served as a top aide to the Ambassador to Haiti, as well as numerous cabinet positions in the United States. He is married and has two children, all of which were visiting the continental United States during the attack.

At this time his whereabouts are unknown, having been captured by ROMN forces early on the morning of 13MAR18.


President Antonio Perez



- Perez is 49, a Nuevo, Roman Catholic, and an immigrant from Venezuela.
- Elected as President in 2015 on a platform of dissolving the Malbano controlled theocratic government and installing a representative republic.
- He immediately made good on his promise and dissolved the old government - leading to the wide scale protests spurred by Nicholas Aguilar.
- His regime was hampered from the start by the collapse of the Venezuelan Bolivar.
- Whereabouts are currently unknown as he is in ROMN’s custody.

///END OF REPORT///

These published documents are the fictional works of the S-2 Intelligence Team of the 506th IR Realism Unit.

[1LT (Ret) Garcia]

///RESERVED FOR LATER USE///