You’re asleep when they come for you. Or you’re relaxing on the couch. Or walking home on a quiet, unassuming night.
They arrive in a group. Dark clothes, maybe masks. They rush you all at once. Your hands, secured with zipties. Simple, hard to break. A blackbag is placed over your head. It blinds you, muffles the sounds you hear. The sudden darkness is suffocating; combine that with the fear and confusion, and it’s hard to breathe.
Maybe they stun you. Or they drug you. Or they hold something against your nose. If it smells sweet, it’s sevoflurane. Less sweet, but more fruity, it’s chloroform.
They bundle you up and wrestle you into a waiting van or SUV. Disoriented, scared, and vulnerable, you’re dragged across international lines.
You’ve just experienced extraordinary rendition.
Most people associate it with terrorism and CIA black sites across the world. But it has effects much closer to home.
Former fugitive Dan “Tito” Davis spent years on the run in Latin America and abroad. But his life as a fugitive ended when he was blackbagged and kidnapped from Venezuela and returned to the US to stand trial. He details his story in his new book, Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive.
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