Panama Red

By David Edward

A US Army special agent uncovers a deadly conspiracy linking Colombian cartels, corrupt politicians, and a shadow banking system that threatens global stability. In the murderous jungles of Panama, one soldier's quest to save a kidnapped child becomes a fight for survival against forces that reach the highest levels of power.

Panama Red

Overview

January 1988, Panama City. US Army Special Agent Dirk Lasher's routine undercover investigation into drug distribution takes a dark turn when DEA agents appear at his door and Colombian traffickers kidnap his informant's family. What begins as a low-level intelligence operation quickly escalates into something far more sinister. The stakes are clear: cooperate with the cartels or watch innocent lives disappear into the sex trafficking pipeline.

As Lasher races to rescue the captives, he uncovers a web of corruption that runs deeper than anyone imagined. The PDF knows where every American agent lives. Someone inside US intelligence is feeding information to the enemy. And behind it all lurks a shadow banking operation designed to crash the global financial system. With only a handful of street fighters and two fellow soldiers at his side, Lasher must navigate a world where the line between ally and enemy has vanished.

From firefights in PDF stations to desperate pursuits through the Darien Gap, from helicopter assaults on cartel compounds to being hunted through pitch-black jungles by special forces, the mission becomes a primal fight for survival. Time is running out, and Lasher discovers that saving one child might mean exposing a conspiracy that reaches from the poppy fields of Colombia to the corridors of Washington. In Panama, where two worlds collide and corruption flows like the canal itself, doing what's right comes with a price measured in blood.

Questions this book answers

  • How does a routine intelligence operation transform into a desperate race against human traffickers?
  • What drives a by-the-book soldier to go rogue and assault a police station to save a fellow agent?
  • Who is the mysterious benefactora pulling strings from Mexico City, and what is her ultimate goal?
  • Can a small team of soldiers and street fighters take on both the Colombian cartels and corrupt government forces?
  • What dark secret connects American politicians to a hidden island off the Panama coast?
  • How far will one man go to keep his promise to reunite a father with his kidnapped daughter?

Selected quotes

"Protecting the innocent and vulnerable from the corrupt and powerful - that is our interest. If we can't do that, then what is the point of any of it?"
"The jungle doesn't care. The children don't care. Find the power to do what's right."
"We're going to send a message that the kangaroo is off-limits. Too expensive. They whisper with their words; we are going to shout loudly with our actions."

Why it matters

Panama Red delivers authentic military action drawn from real combat experience, not Hollywood fantasy. Unlike typical thrillers that glorify violence, this story confronts the moral cost of doing what's right in a world where corruption has infected every institution meant to protect the innocent. Readers who skip this book miss experiencing firefights that last seconds not chapters, the weight of real command decisions, and a hero who discovers that sometimes saving lives means abandoning everything you've worked for. This isn't just another military thriller - it's a visceral exploration of what happens when good soldiers realize the system they serve has been compromised from within.

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