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Author discusses life as secret agent

New York Times best-selling author John Perkins spoke to students and others in the campus community at the Memorial Union about his book “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” Wednesday night.

Perkins spoke of his belief that America is creating an economic empire through secret business deals with foreign countries.

Perkins said there is a “dark-side” of American capitalism and diplomacy that creates a global, American empire.

“This empire is the first of its kind,” Perkins said. “It’s global, nonmilitary, has no emperor and has been created in secret.”

He told the audience why he knows first-hand.

Perkins said he based his theories of American imperialism from his experience working as a secret agent for the National Security Agency.

While attending Boston College, Perkins said he was recruited in the ’70s as a “financial hitman.” After finishing training and swearing an oath to secrecy, Perkins was sent to South America to work with the heads of state of Ecuador and Panama.

While working in South America, Perkins said he was assigned to organize shady business deals with Panamanian and Ecuadorian leaders.

The deals he was to arrange were intended to put both countries in large amounts of debt, which was to be repaid to the U.S. government with U.N. votes and land for American military bases, according to Perkins.

However, Perkins failed in his mission when both leaders became aware of his agenda.

Speaking of the uncooperative leaders, Perkins said, “It was a big incentive for me to close the deals because I really liked both of them.”

Perkins added that after he returned to the United States, the Central Intelligence Agency contracted “jackals to assassinate both leaders.”

Some University of Wisconsin students attending the event said they were shocked by Perkins’ claims.

“I thought he was honest,” UW senior Rebecca Petzem said. “I thought it was interesting, but I don’t think Americans are the worst people in the world.”

According to Perkins, deals similar to the one he intended to set up in South America are underway in countries all over the world, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Through these business deals, Perkins said he believes America has financial power over the entire globe and is not sharing the wealth.

“One percent of our country controls 25 percent of the world’s resources and distributes it to us — 5 percent of the world’s population,” Perkins said.

After leaving the NSA and the United States to help indigenous people in South America, Perkins returned shortly after 9/11 to visit Ground Zero. While witnessing the devastation, Perkins said he became inspired to speak out against “American imperialism.”

“I had to take responsibility for what went on there,” Perkins said. “We need to turn this around. No empire has endured — they all collapse.”

UW senior Mike Wagner said he thought Perkins was enlightening.

“I have never heard anything like it before,” Wagner said. “There is a need for a change. We’re losing ground.”

Perkins said he believes that through a “change in consciousness,” Americans can again spread the rights and ideals of the founding fathers to overcome the capitalist agenda.

“I know we can change this and we will — we have to soon,” he said.