Another former colony heard from

Perhaps "protectorate" is a more accurate term. If everything you know about the invasion, you learned from the Clint Eastwood - Mario van Peebles (ugh) film Heartbreak Ridge, please kill yourself.

I'm making that request a lot lately. Rush hour traffic has been getting worse recently.

From The Black World Today:

Prison Transfer Heats Up Grenada and St. Lucia

CASTRIES - The leaders of St. Lucia and Grenada are under fire after the pre-dawn transfer of 11 hardened criminals from Castries to the notorious Richmond Hill facility in St. George's following the alleged discovery of an escape plot.

The incident has also re-ignited the controversy over the long-awaited construction of a new facility in St. Lucia.

The unprecedented prison transfer came after authorities discovered what appeared to be an elaborate escape plan that included a container of diesel, 1,300 euro dollars in cash and gaping holes in the walls separating four prison cells.

You might be wondering why the adjective "notorious" got stuck up there. World Prison Brief of the International Centre for Prison Studies - Caribbean helpfully notes:

Prison population total (including pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners) 327

Official capacity of prison system 45

Occupancy level (based on official capacity) 726.7%

I'm using lynx at the moment, so I don't know if there are any photos available showing conditions in the place. Use your imagination.

There's a bit more detail at Special Operations.Com's article about Operation Urgent Fury.

The two primary objectives were Fort Rupert and Richmond Hill prison. Fort Rupert, which intelligence reported was housing the core of senior advisors to General Austin, was collectively known as the Revolutionary Council. Richmond Hill prison which held scores of illegally imprisoned civil servants and other citizens arrested by the oppressive RMC regime.

[. . .] The Richmond Hill prison was built on the site of an old fort, overlooking the town of St. George's. The prison, in turn, was overlooked by Fort Frederick, at the time a fully-manned garrison outpost used by the People's Revolutionary Army.

The article is worth a look, despite lacking even the pretense of objectivity ("oppressive" regime equally well describes a number of our friends, but they rarely get the word tossed around. Except Saudi Arabia, and only recently. . .). For a start, whenever you see "chaotic planning and last minute interservice bickering at serior [sic] levels", you know you're at least closer to actual events, rather than the official version.

Note to servicepeople and potential draftees: Any invasion where you're given tourist maps is one where you should find the closest four-star hotel, head for the bar, and wait an hour or so. It should all be over by then, and you can charge the military for the drinks.

And I lied before. What I said. It wasn't true. Photo here.