The first time I read Kurt Muse’s book Six Minutes to Freedom, I was riveted. I didn’t want to put it down at all. As I turned each page of the book, dirty dishes piled in my sink, peanut butter sandwiches served for dinner, and ungraded stacks of student papers sat on my desk. The horrific story of Kurt’s experience was stunning. The second time I read the book, it was just as riveting. Six Minutes to Freedom has made its place on my rare must-read again bookshelf.
When I lived in Panama, I never met Kurt. And I’ve still yet to meet him, but I honestly relate to his idealism and his love for his adopted country. Many, many Zonians felt (and still feel) the same way. I admire Kurt’s courage to act on his convictions.
Six Minutes to Freedom tells the story of American Kurt Muse, who grew up in Panama after his parents relocated there in the 1950’s. By 1989, he was the manager of his father’s business located in Panama City and was a member of a group of patriotic Panamanian businessmen fighting against Noriega’s corrupt regime in Panama. He and his friends created an underground radio station called La Voz de la Libertad (The Voice of Liberty) which broadcasted messages against Noriega. A friend’s wife betrayed Muse to the Panama Defense Force (PDF).
The story gets intense when the author was arrested by Noreiga’s men. Imprisoned in the notorious Modelo Prison, Muse was put in solitary confinement. His wife, Annie, however was a school teacher in the Department of Defense school system, so her family—including her husband, Kurt—fell under the protection of the US Government per the Torrijos-Carter treaties. In Six Minutes to Freedom, readers learn about the horrible conditions of a Panamanian prison and the torture suffered by prominent Panamanian businessmen trying to save their beloved country—Panama. In the book’s final chapters, readers can’t help but be mesmerized by the daring actions of the United States Delta Force in their rescue mission of Kurt.
Authors Muse and Gilstrap recapture and document the rescue operation by super-elite Delta forces, and the book reads just as good or better than any historical/political thriller that I’ve ever read. And, incredibly, the story is true! The identities of the Rescue Team have been protected, and I can’t help but admire those men who completed this mission honorably with no desire for a public ovation. (Nevertheless, I would love to meet them and hear more about their story).
I’m not sharing details of this story because I really hope you read the book yourself. I will tell you that I fully appreciate how the authors accurately described the events and anxiety during the terrifying reign of General Manual Noreiga. Though, I had already moved to the States before the invasion, Muse brought me right there on the front lines.
Six Minutes to Freedom is full of action and is a definite page turner. Thank you to brave Americans like the Delta Force and Kurt Muse who are driven by principles and patriotism.
If you would like to learn more, Muse speaks about the rescue to an audience a Panama Canal Zone Museum event. This CSPAN video is about 1 hour and 40 min. long.
[Six Minutes to Freedom] | C-SPAN.org
