In Search of Enemies - A CIA Story - John Stockwell

8
Sa vim bi
I now had a good handle on Roberto and the FNLA, thought to
be our chief hope in Angola, and so far the recipient of most of the
CIA's largesse. To complete the picture we needed a look at the
Angolan Jong shot, UNIT A, and its chief, Jonas Savimbi. This I set
out to have on Wednesday, August 20, 1975.
It was immediately clear that UNIT A was an organization of very
different caliber than the FNLA. The UNIT A foreign minister,
Jorges Sangumba, was prompt in picking us up. Sangumba and I
rode to the airport in a UNIT A sedan, with my communications
team following in the CIA carryall.* We eased through the VIP
section of the regular terminal, as Sangumba's aide cleared us past
the immigrations officials, and boarded a small Lear executive jet. On
the two-hour hop down to Silva Porto, the British copilot served
coffee from a thermos.
*The two communicators did their job well and remained inconspicuous, as their
role dictated. One would return to Washington and spend three weeks in the
hospital, critically ill with falciprium malaria.