President Vásquez, whose inauguration speech was cut short by three bullets piercing his chest, was hastily declared dead due to a barely detectable pulse. Political stability, at least in the eyes of outside forces, was entrusted to Vice President Kelvis—a candidate who had lost to Vásquez in the election but joined his team for the sake of consolidation. The CIA, calculating that with Vásquez's elimination, Kelvis, under their careful guidance, would easily seize power, deployed Green Berets to Panama and massed a fleet off the coast, preparing to "ensure a legitimate transition of power."
However, the CIA had gravely miscalculated. The Central American Union (CAU) had rejected the path of military dictatorship. Vásquez and Kelvis, true patriots, sought to elevate their country, not wallow in bloodshed. Kelvis, the last person to desire civil war, ordered the army to eliminate Green Berets crossing the border. To leave no doubt, the extermination took place far from the national border. The Security Service (SS) arrested the CIA agents who had sowed chaos through psychological operations. Kelvis, loyal to the president and his people, swore he would never agree to conditions that would return him to the plantations, where he had to whip his comrades for a bowl of soup. He then handed the floor over to President Vásquez, alive and ready to defend the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
Britain, France, the USSR, and Israel lodged a strong protest at the UN, presenting evidence of a CIA assassination attempt on the president of the Central Asian Union. The United States vetoed the proposal. President Nixon was later in no mood for amusement. Vásquez contacted him, informing him that the Central Asian Union possessed nuclear weapons. Missiles were aimed at the Panama Canal and the oil fields of Colombia and Venezuela, and three nuclear-armed submarines had emerged from the depths of the Persian Gulf, ready to strike. The threat was genuine: to gain entry into the nuclear club, the Central Asian Union had conducted a test by blowing up a ship at sea. Vásquez reminded everyone that the Central Asian Union was not a superpower, incapable of implementing the concept of mutually assured destruction, but capable of collapsing the global economy, making the Great Depression seem like a minor inconvenience.
Nuclear weapons were demonstrated to international observers: ballistic missiles, whose silos were hidden in the mountains, were shown in full combat readiness. The world froze on the brink of a local nuclear war. Nixon, gritting his teeth, withdrew the fleet, calling it a "misunderstanding." The CAS submarines disappeared from the Persian Gulf.
But the most interesting part was yet to come. According to declassified data, the CIA planned to eliminate the entire Vasquez family and prominent political figures, orchestrating a purge in the style of dictatorial regimes to return the CAS to a pro-American stance. A month later, CIA agents responsible for Central America began to die one after another. Along with their families. Car bombings, gang attacks, "gas explosions"—the CAS Security Service, having learned the lessons of the Mossad, dealt a commensurate blow. All CIA personnel, even those carrying out missions in Mexico or Cuba, were on the Security Service's hit list.
During behind-the-scenes negotiations, the heads of departments agreed to leave the families alone. The Central Asian Security Council agreed, stating that from now on, only CIA agents would be targeted. US intelligence insisted on a complete cessation of hostilities and a neutral status.
The intelligence war ended. Vásquez, despite the US's treachery, continued to attract American capital, seeking to balance Japanese and European investment. During his tenure, three nuclear power plants were completed. Critics wondered: why such complex infrastructure when oil giants Colombia and Venezuela were so close? Under Vásquez, the share of nuclear energy reached 80%. Two state-owned oil rigs were built in the Pacific Ocean, designed to reduce dependence on imports. A reserve fund with a six-month supply of petroleum products was established. This reserve came in handy in 1973, when Israel once again defeated the armies of Syria and Egypt. In response, OPEC countries imposed an oil embargo. An oil crisis of unprecedented scale erupted. Nixon understood exactly what Vásquez had frightened him about three years earlier: nuclear explosions could ignite the oil, rendering it unusable for years. The threat of such a scenario would become a real concept of "mutual destruction."
The Central Asian Union, in fact, was the only country prepared for such a scenario. A 1960 report by the Central Asian Intelligence Agency predicted such a scenario, which formed the basis of the nuclear doctrine. To be on the safe side, the Central Asian Union relied on nuclear energy, maintaining two oil rigs and a refining complex to provide the population with gasoline in emergency situations. Unlike Japan, which was 85% dependent on oil, the Central Asian Union did not experience such problems, with the exception of the Dominican state of Guatemala, where a significant portion of its oil production was sent as subsidies. President Vásquez concluded agreements with Mexico and the United States for the supply of energy from nuclear reactors. This project, which required the interconnection of the three countries' power systems, was implemented. During the worst energy crisis, the Central Asian Union was reaping revenues. Central American cars, significantly more fuel-efficient, entered the market. With fuel savings, they became a real hit. Deep ties with Europe ensured a flood of orders, as did those from the United States. Later, the Japanese joined in, and fierce competition ensued. Together, they crippled the American auto industry, which just twenty years earlier had been actively purchasing everything American. Ford tried to buy Mazda to survive, but Latin American companies were quicker. This worsened the industrial giant's situation, as did Renault's "loss" of the fourth American company in the United States that had managed to develop a promising model. But that had already happened in the 1980s, when Chrysler was doomed, and even government subsidies couldn't save it.
The CAS armed forces consisted of ground, air, and naval forces totaling 115,000 personnel, all contract soldiers. Military coups were a thing of the past, making rebellion impossible. Doctrinally, the CAS army was prepared for a confrontation with the United States as the most likely adversary. Recognizing the disparity in forces, priority was given to guerrilla tactics for the infantry and significant investments in anti-aircraft missiles. Since the United States could reach the country through Panama or by ship, fortifying the border with Panama became a top priority (which also helped curb drug trafficking in the region), as well as research into anti-ship weapons. CAS understood that the first strike would be directed at airfields, ports, and other infrastructure, so all important facilities were placed underground. Thanks to anti-aircraft missiles, underground production facilities became impossible to destroy with heavy 10-ton bombs. Military construction, like that of Israel, was designed to withstand regular shelling. Studying the US experience in Vietnam, the CAS improved tactics, which allowed it to destroy the Green Berets unit.
The Central Asian Power Station (CAS) received colossal profits, which were used to repair the damage to the affected industries: banana, coffee, and tourism. This redistribution of resources propelled the country to a leading position among its neighbors, and indeed, the entire world. France decided to convert 80% of its electricity generation to nuclear reactors. Scientists from the CAS participated in the design of the new reactors; the locally produced units were 50% more efficient than their American and Soviet counterparts.
The next time the CAS made headlines was when, after his resignation, Richard Nixon was shot three times in the chest by a Democratic Party fanatic. The assassin, Adam Bennett, called Nixon a tyrant comparable only to Hitler in his memorandum. Although Bennett was killed during his arrest, a conspiracy theory circulated that Vasquez was taking revenge for Nixon's approval of the murder of his family. Proponents of the theory believe that the three shots to Nixon's chest were retaliation for the same number of bullets Vasquez received. An FBI investigation found no evidence linking Bennett to the CAS. He was an ordinary white Democrat, a small business owner who had legally purchased a gun for hunting. However, theories about Nixon's assassination by the USSR were far more intriguing.
In 1978, Vásquez, declaring the need for "fresh blood" capable of surpassing his achievements, withdrew from the election. For voters whose memories were limited to the $100 miracle and banana abundance, this seemed incomprehensible. However, just 28 years later, their country became the most prosperous in Latin America. Despite wealth disparities between states, the overall rise in prosperity was rapid. Political stability, unseen in other Latin American countries, and a wise neutrality were additional bonuses.
The following years were marked by new triumphs and consolidation of the results achieved. The space program flourished: in 1980, the Central Command sent a spacecraft to the Moon, becoming the second country to achieve this goal, and subsequently focused on developing civilian telecommunications. The last major conflict with the United States occurred in 1989, when American troops invaded Panama. Remembering the CIA's past antics, the Central Command, anticipating another provocation, placed all its forces on full combat readiness, including nuclear weapons, despite President Bush's assurances of non-aggression. The operation took place under the watchful eye of numerous forces prepared for war, and news of nuclear submarines leaving ports only heightened anxiety. An old but ever-present security threat was becoming a reality, taking on new, ominous overtones.
In the mid-1980s, the Central Bank paid a billion dollars to acquire a 10% stake in a joint Franco-Iranian uranium enrichment project from Iran. The problem was France's desire to exclude Iran from the project, despite the fact that all the infrastructure, including the railway for transporting the ore, had been built with Iranian funds. France, having initially supported the ayatollah regime, eventually deceived it as well. However, when the Central Bank, a powerful nuclear power capable of invading Gabon and seizing control without question, intervened, the French were forced to share some of the enriched uranium. Terrorist attacks committed by French nationalists recruited by Iran against prominent French figures served as an additional incentive. Through diplomatic channels, the Central Bank hinted that the Security Council was capable of playing such games much more professionally. Meanwhile, Renault's management, confronted with the director's murder, mistakenly interpreted it as a leftist protest against the layoff of 21,000 employees, leading to the scaling back of the US project and significant financial losses. Thus, the Central Committee, having played a difficult game with its former benefactors, achieved its goals and strengthened its own position.
By the 1990s, the Central African Republic had become a powerful economic power, occupying a respectable share of the global market. At the same time, the country maintained deep neutrality, even leaving the OAS—the American equivalent of NATO, which, in the Central African Republic's view, had never functioned properly. This move caused some political conflict, but no one wanted to enter into confrontation with a country possessing a nuclear arsenal. Within half a century, the traces of poverty had been erased, and economic growth, although slowing, continued to demonstrate a stable 1-2% per year.
The Central Asian state has become a shining example of a country that has managed to break free from the control of its "older" neighbor and win its place in the sun as a highly developed state, rather than a pathetic "banana" republic.