Review: In The Shadow of Papillon – Seven Years of Hell in Venezuela’s Prison System – by Frank Kane with John Tilsley

Frank Kane and his girlfriend, Sam, after their business was failing in the U.K. made the fateful decision to become cocaine drug couriers in Venezuela. Whilst attempting to fly out from the airport on Caribbean Island, Isla de Margarita, the airport authorities stopped and searched them and discovered the smuggled contraband which was a few kilos of locally-sourced cocaine. The story progresses on a downward spiral from here leading us on a gratuitous tour of depravity within the Venezuelan prison system, a place not known for its human rights record and this graphic description of the hell these two lovers face is an arduous journey of disturbing narrative. We meet a host of foreign prisoners and locals and come face to face with some quite unscrupulous prison officers and army soldiers. Initially unable to speak Spanish, Frank picks up the lingo and the book provides a lot of Spanish prison lang and an interesting glossary of jail terminology. Violence and murder is an almost daily occurrence and most prisoners are fully armed with knives, machetes, pistols, rifles, grenades and dynamite and the norm is out and out turf war between jail blocks. It’s hard getting a bed and dodgy dealing whether it be for crack cocaine or a simple cigarette is endemic. The couple are initially lucky to be housed within the same San Antonio Prison on Isla Margarita, where there is a separate female annex. They are visited by the British consul and Frank becomes more politically active in addressing some of the worst liberties taken by the brutal prison authorities. As time wears on Sam and Frank’s relationship and health deteriorate. Ultimately they go their separate ways. Every morning begins with número. The prisoners leave their cells and run the gauntlet of bayonet–toting guards to line up outside and Frank is quick to pick up Spanish language numbers or he’ll get a right beating. Stripped, laid on the ground, it’s a common sight in the prison yard. When the cry of ‘AGUA VERDE’ rings out from the watchmen, it means there’s been an incident and the prison gets stormed by Venezuelan Army soldiers who, in what is termed a raqueta, dish out unrestrained physical weaponised beatings and shootings of all the prisoners. It’s a dog eat dog world and you have to make alliances and watch your back. The title of the book refers to famous French prisoner Henri Charrière aka Papillon. Frank follows in his famous footsteps when he transferred to the remote El Dorado prison in the Venezuelan jungle on the mainland. Here. conditions are even worse and the battle for survival in open prison warfare is very intense. Ultimately Frank serves about 7 years before his release and his grateful repatriation. Despite the dark scenes of the book, there are some great characters in the story and some close friendship bonds are formed. It is a moving, fluent tale of prison literature and to any reader it warns of the dangers of getting into trouble abroad.

Review: Comandante – Inside Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela – by Rory Carroll

Hugo Chavez, Bolivarian Revolutionary, Presidente, Comandante. After a failed military coup in 1992, Hugo Chavez managed to democratically come to power in Venezuela in 1999. This book from the Guardian’s chief South America correspondent, Irishman Rory Carroll, based in Venezuela, explores the intricacies of the Miraflores Palace. Inside the opulent walls lies a mystery of intrigue and uniqueness. Chavez lived an exalted life of a philosopher king and his self-styled approach to government made him a twenty-first century caudillo, leading a socialist revolution and upturning the status quo in Venezuela and becoming a major player on the international stage. The Revolution, financed on the whole by incredible oil wealth, upturned Venezuela. Initial progress eventually tumbled into relative chaos although I feel thatChavez on the whole was a success for the people, and turned their lives around, especially the poor. Chavez had a rigorous propaganda campaign,, using 21st century technology in innovative ways that captivated a largely captive audience. I loved the tales of his flagship TV show, Hello Presidente, and hearing of the devotion of Miraflores to the twittersphere was exciting. Ultimately many of the grandiose ideas that kept turning electoral victory after electoral victory for Chavez, proved to be neglected and unrealised goals. There was economic atrophy, unbridled crime, huge corruption and nepotism and unnecessary crackdowns on political opponents. However, the Revolution succeeded in wooing luminaries such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Noam Chomsky and had an incredible friend and supporter in Fidel Castro. This book reads fast and furiously and is entertaining if often unbelievable as it unfurls its ever imaginative hero’s escapades. Five star rating.

Review : Chávez: Venezuela and the New Latin America – by Aleida Guevara

This book is based on a series of interviews given by Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, to the daughter of Che Guevara, Aleida. Although the book doesn’t cover the entire period of Chavez’ rule up until his demise, it presents a wonderful tale and grasps fundamental insight into the way the mind works of one of the most popular Latin American leaders of the modern era. Chavez, a man of military background, discusses his rise to power in Venezuela, his roots and also the wider world of South America. His relationship with Fidel Castro is striking and his leftist tendencies are very apparent. His goals for the Venezuelan people and socialist objectives cover the first part of the story and he moves onto topics as diverse as the Gulf War and his family in the second, more broken series of short interview chapters. The book concludes with appendices of a TV interview with Hugo and Aleida and also with some of the insider details of the attempted military coup d’etat that took place against Chavez. I found the book to be very insightful and interesting on a subject that I previously understood very little.

Review: Romantic Revolutionary: Simon Bolivar and the Struggle for Independence in Latin America

Romantic Revolutionary: Simon Bolivar and the Struggle for Independence in Latin America by Robert Harvey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Simon Bolivar was one of history’s great characters. His revolutions across South America overthrew Spanish rule in six countries. His empire extended across the continent and was as large as that of Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Against all the odds, he was a Nietzchean superhuman, who with mainly inferior forces, defeated a strong European military power. He would race for battles across thousands of miles, often having to deal with the impossible geography of Latin America to do so. He was very sympathetic to the needs of the people, across all races and classes yet he had a vicious streak that was sometimes necessary to curb the power of his enemies and to protect his ideals. His military prowess as a general was unmatched yet he lacked the cut-throat political acuteness in order to rule his legacy in peace time. Bolivar’s romantic notions allowed the rise of caudillos who would nearly all turn against him by the end of his life. His life was semi-divine, mystical and has inspired many to this day yet his failure to govern successfully left him impoverished at the end of his life, seeking exile. perhaps he was too successful and took on too much? Perhaps he didn;t do enough and should have continued to liberate the whole continent? This book is interesting and well-written and gives a good insight into the life of a legendary character.

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