Operation Red Dog
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Operation Red Dog was the code name of a planned invasion of Dominica by Ku Klux Klan leaders Don Black (U.S.) and Wolfgang Droege (Canadian) and former Dominican prime minister Patrick John. The invasion was meant to restore John to power and to transform the island into a white supremacist nation.
On April 27, 1981, Black, Droege, Larry Lloyd Jacklin and seven other men were arrested by U.S. federal agents in New Orleans as they prepared to board a boat with automatic weapons, shotguns, rifles, handguns, dynamite, ammunition, and a black and white Nazi flag. The incident was later dubbed the "Bayou of Pigs".
The plan was to charter a boat to Dominica and rendezvous via rubber boats with John and his makeshift army. The genesis of the idea came from long-time Klan member Mike Purdue, who was introduced in 1979 to Droege through David Duke. That summer, Purdue outlined his plan to overthrow Grenada and to set up several lucrative businesses. After their meeting, it was established that Droege would locate funds and resources. Duke initially involved Don Andrews, but after Purdue changed the target island to Dominica, Andrews withdrew. Klansmen Arnie Polli and Roger Dermee were paid US$3,000 to visit Dominica to obtain preliminary reconnaissance.
In February 1981, the captain and crew Duke had arranged for backed out. Purdue then approached a local boat captain and Vietnam War veteran, Michael S. Howell. Purdue said the CIA needed his boat for a covert operation. Howell then contacted the ATF. On April 25, John was arrested in Dominica. When Purdue learned of the arrest and that their plans were no longer secret, he insisted that the mission should continue.
On April 27, the group, including three ATF agents, met at the predetermined location, loaded the van and proceeded to the marina. An FBI team was waiting for them at the marina.
According to a 1987 analysis by Stanley Barrett, the purpose of the invasion was not to establish a white supremacist nation, but to establish lucrative businesses involving cocaine, casinos and brothels. It is alleged that in 1980, Droege met several investors from Las Vegas in Dominica.
External links
- Related photos and documents of Michael S. Howell (http://www.manana.com/dominica.htm)
- Canadian neo-nazis were central to the planned invasion of Dominica in 1981 (http://www.canadiancontent.ca/articles/031401reddog.html)