The Plotters by Alan Caillou

The first in the Mike Benasque thriller novel series!
THE PLOTTERS: A whirlwind novel of chase and daring about a down-at-the-heels newspaperman who gets caught in the crossfire of a South American revolution.

A high government official falls ill with a terrible and dreaded disease.

An American citizen vanishes without a trace from a lonely railroad station.

A parachutist drops through the silent night into the shelter of a dense forest.
Only the Plotters know that these isolated happenings are all part of a master plan. A daring attempt to overthrow a cut-throat dictator who does not hesitate to maim or murder anyone who makes a try for freedom.
For Mike Benasque the terror began with the stroke of midnight. He is an American newspaperman bumming around Caracas, out of a job, out of money, and out of luck. One evening two gentlemen approach him and offer a great deal of money for his willingness to take a small part in their scheme. Despite being a newspaper man and always skeptical, Benasque finds himself agreeing to become the central vital figure in their plot without ever knowing their true endgame. A plot that ultimately turns out is both daring and desperate, and that could bring Benasque financial freedom but more likely sudden death.
"Suspenseful . . . exciting . . . one dramatic climax after another" — BOSTON HERALD
"Almost unbearable suspense" —NASHVILLE BANNER
"First rate" —ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH
"Don't miss it" —LOS ANGELES MIRROR NEWS