While stationed at the El Paso Intelligence Center, I was assigned to the Tactical Support Unit which was involved in intercepting radio communication between traffickers in both Colombia and Peru. At the time, cellular telephones had only been out a short while and coverage was sporadic, especially in rural areas. Satellite phones were also very expensive, so most traffickers tended to utilize long wave radios. Because encryption of long wave radios was not that good, communications could easily be intercepted. So, we set up listening posts to do just that. My job was to analyze the intercepted communications to attempt to glean actionable intelligence, such as the location of the laboratory, when and where cocaine was being transported, the names of the individuals involved, etc.
The traffickers were not stupid. They were aware that we were listening and developed their own language and codes to attempt fool us, which led to another one of my responsibilities – trying to break their codes and language. We were pretty successful at doing so, and I even put together a dictionary with terms utilized by the traffickers for all involved in the project.
At one point, we had to set up a new listening post in Barranquilla, Colombia. While the listening of the intercepts could occur from almost anywhere, the antenna for the intercept equipment needed to be in relatively close proximity to where the transmission was taking place. So, the DEA office in Colombia identified a location outside of Barranquilla, and I flew down with a technical team to install the equipment.
We arrived in Barranquilla via Bogota and were met at the airport by a security team. We proceeded to the hotel where we had rooms reserved under assumed names. The reservations were made via a third-party travel agency and paid for in advance by an undercover credit card not associated with the DEA. The idea was that nobody in Barranquilla know who we were or why we were there. This was especially important as the only decent hotel in Barranquilla at the time belonged to the wife of one of the biggest cocaine dealers in the region. So, anonymity was paramount.
The check-in process went smoothly and I headed up to my room, which was bright and modern. There was a small table in the room, and sitting in the middle of the table was a large fruit basket. As I was reaching for an apple, I noticed that there was a card sitting in the basket. The note on the card stated “Welcome Mr. Christopher Macolini”. So much for anonymity. Needless to say, I put the apple back and spent the next couple of nights sleeping with one eye open…