Point of Entry

by Schechter, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780061205644
• ISBN10: 0061205648
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

With calculated cunning, renegade Syrian intelligence operatives have discovered how to smuggle uranium-235-the key material required to manufacture an atomic weapon-into the United States undetected, exploiting a network of the most experienced and sophisticated smugglers the world has ever known. As the CIA repeatedly misinterprets numerous intelligence warnings, only Marta Pradilla-Colombia's beautiful, hard-minded new president-can assist the United States' conservative, isolationist President Stockman in finding the terrorists and their deadly cargo before it's too late. Set in Washington, D.C., Bogota, Rome, and Tbilisi, and featuring a cast of major international figures, Point of Entry brings readers into an intensely treacherous world that reads less like fiction every day.

Excerpts

Point of Entry
A Novel

Chapter One

Reuters Wire Service
Foreign Dignitaries Crowd Inauguration
of Colombia's New President

Bogotá, August 6. Marta Pradilla was sworn in today as Colombia's first female president. She was elected in a landslide victory.

Pradilla, single, 43 years old, took the helm of this war-torn South American country and immediately promised to set a new course. Nineteen heads of state—including U.S. president John Stockman—and millions of Colombians seemed to have one purpose in mind today: to get close to the new president. Pradilla is a former Miss Universe, a Rhodes Scholar, and served in the Colombian Senate for six years.

Pradilla is not the first woman to run for president in Colombia. Noemi Sanín, a well-known former foreign minister, tried and came close. Colombia is unusual in Latin America, as it has fielded a number of active and popular women in politics and government.

Pradilla takes over at a delicate time. Colombia, a country of 45 million, defies common stereotypes. It boasts hugely successful business conglomerates with a strong export sector in fresh cut flowers, textiles, seafood, and natural resources. It is home to world-renowned writers and important Spanish-language publishing houses. It has one of the region's strongest democratic traditions. Yet it continues to suffer from an endless cycle of violence from guerrillas and drugs. Negotiations with guerrillas broke down late last year, and voters sided with Pradilla's hard line.

Fluent in four languages, the new president was raised from the age of sixteen in France by her uncle, Francisco Gomez y Gomez, after terrorists belonging to one of the principal guerrilla organizations stormed her family's ranch in the early eighties. Her father, then the country's foreign minister, and mother were killed in the attack.

Known in Colombia as a straight talker, Pradilla is hard to catalogue politically. Within minutes, her inauguration speech caused controversy by proclaiming a hard line against violence from all sides.

"Let us all be clear with each other and with the world about what we think here in Colombia," said the new president. "We Colombians believe the time has come for those fighting illegal wars and creating violence from both the left and right to put down their guns. If you do so, we will help you reintegrate into society and become normal citizens. If you do not do so, the Colombian state has a right to find you, to fight you, capture you and, if necessary, extradite you for trial to foreign countries. Impunity will no longer be a fact of life in Colombia," said the new president.

Pradilla's announcement of her intention to reinstate the extradition of violent criminals to third countries clearly took observers by surprise. The extradition of powerful drug lords or guerrilla leaders to the United States and other nations has long been controversial in Colombia. Past leaders avoided the extradition issue because of its implicit admission of the inadequacy of Colombia's judicial system.

The president caused a number of controversies when her speech turned its attention to Europe and the United States.

Referring to the inability of developing countries to convince the industrialized world to decrease its protection of agriculture and textiles, Pradilla said, "Now is also the time for the world to consider a new pact with our country—one which goes beyond the military hardware. My government will seek a comprehensive open-door trade agreement with the world's more developed economies. Imagine the hope that could be kindled in the streets of Nairobi, Rio, and Delhi if we in Colombia would become a symbol of what is possible—pioneers in a trade pact unlike those negotiated in the past. This accord would have more paragraphs of agreement than clauses of exceptions."

"Last, we cannot help wonder if the time has come to explore other avenues, including legalization of some narcotics. In this manner, countries that consume drugs can oversee and regulate what obviously is impossible to control. And Colombia can cease to be the source of an illegal business that corrupts with its billions. If U.S., French, or Dutch junkies need heroin, perhaps we should let Merck or Pfizer or Aventis make the drugs. That should make everyone happy," stated Pradilla.

White House press secretary Allyson Bonnet had no official comment on President Pradilla's speech. But a highly placed U.S. government source said, "Any talk of legalization will not make friends in the United States."

The inauguration ceremonies will be capped tonight by a gala event at the Presidential Palace in Bogotá.

- End Story -

Point of Entry
A Novel. Copyright © by Peter Schechter. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Point of Entry by Peter Schechter
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.