John Clark is a CIA operative specializing in covert operations, and an important protagonist in the novel. He is the primary American intelligence officer in the Colombian operations. Clark is described as a physically imposing man: The narrator notes that “on instinct, most men watched their behavior around Mr. Clark” (282) and that “it seldom took more than a single glance to know that he was not to be trifled with” (282). Like Cortez, he has extensive training in intelligence operations, especially undercover work, and is willing to act against his superiors’ orders. Unlike Cortez, however, Clark demonstrates intense loyalty to the people he works with: His determination to rescue American soldiers is a stark contrast to Cortez’s willingness to sacrifice the cartel fighters to achieve his own goals.

Clark meets Jack Ryan the first time in this novel. Clark’s extensive experience as a field operative is in direct opposition to Ryan’s academic history and role as an intelligence analyst. Although they are working towards the same goal, Clark and Ryan approach the operation from different angles. That Clark and Ryan work together in the novel’s final rescue scene suggests that both tactical and analytical skills are needed for a successful operation.

Domingo Chavez is a 26-year-old Latino Army Light Infantry fighter and Ranger School graduate recruited for participation in operation SHOWBOAT. He is one of the novel’s protagonists, offering a direct perspective to the experience of field operatives who risk their lives without fully understanding the purpose of their missions. He is depicted as the perfect American soldier, “a weapon of his country” (448). He is an expert in covert operations, a man “whom the Apaches or the Viet Cong would have recognized as one of their own—or one of their most dangerous enemies” (49). On their very first meeting, John Clark describes Chavez as “the best I’ve seen in a while” (135). In the novel’s final chapter, Clark recruits Chavez to join him in the CIA, suggesting that he sees Chavez as a protégé capable of becoming his equal.

Chavez’s tactical skills are complemented by his genuine love for service in the Army. Chavez feels as if he has “found in [the Army] a true home of security and opportunity and fellowship and respect” (207). Even in the midst of combat, Chavez feels confident that “this was his place. On the mission, everything was so wonderfully clear” (448). Chavez’s confidence and instincts make him an invaluable tactical asset.

Felix Cortez is a former Cuban intelligence officer working for cartel leader Ernesto Escobedo. He is described as a “raffishly handsome man” (97) and is characterized as an antagonist. Although Cortez is actively fighting against the novel’s protagonists and putting their lives in danger, his fears and desires are initially taken seriously. In the novel’s final section, however, he becomes overcome with greed and a desire for power. He claims that his goal is to prove to the other cartel members “that he was more useful” as a leader than Escobedo (331). As he begins to gain influence within the cartel, Cortez notes that “this sort of Godlike power was destructive to one’s soul” (463).

As the novel progresses, Cortez becomes consumed by greed and a desire for power. He begins fantasizing that the cartel might “grow in riches and power” indefinitely under his rule (560), and his confidence causes him to act irrationally. The novel also suggests that Cortez lacks the loyalty of Clark, his American counterpoint, as Cortez is willing to sacrifice cartel soldiers for his own goals.

Robert Ritter is Deputy Director (Operations) of the CIA, and a secondary antagonist in the novel. Although he initially supports Cutter’s decision to abandon the SHOWBOAT troops, he later relents and offers Ryan and Clark the intelligence they need to complete the extraction.

Ritter reflects the novel’s thematic interest in ambiguous morality. Initially, Ritter is conspicuously unconcerned about innocent civilian deaths, arguing that “the taking of human life was part of his job description” (383) as DDO. Ritter expresses similar apathy regarding the deaths of the American soldiers he sends into battle, noting that “they were assets, and assets sometimes get expended” (473) in covert operations. Ritter’s dismissive attitude towards casualties in war reflects his belief that not all murders are unethical.

Ritter’s attitude begins to change when Cutter suddenly insists that they cancel the planned extraction of SHOWBOAT troops. Ritter reluctantly agrees, “knowing that it was cowardice to pretend” (554) that Cutter would keep his word. The term cowardice appears again when Ritter decides to ignore Cutter and support Ryan’s extraction efforts, as Ritter fears that abandoning American troops would be “the ultimate cowardice, the ultimate failure of life” (596). Ritter’s shifting moral framework reflects the novel’s thematic interest in ambiguous morality.

James Cutter is National Security Advisor to the President, and one of the novel’s primary antagonists. He is the mastermind behind the Colombian operations and later conspires to conceal evidence of the operations. He ultimately chooses to die by suicide rather than face the consequences of his actions. He is a manifestation of the novel’s thematic interest in government corruption: He organizes the Colombian operations to angle a more powerful position for himself, then conceals evidence to protect himself from scandal.

Throughout the novel, other characters recognize that Cutter is largely unfit for his position, and the novel suggests that his scheme fails because of his incompetence. Jack Ryan comments that Cutter is “in over his head, but had not the sense to know it” (117). Later, Clark similarly notes that Cutter is “a babe in the woods as far as conspiracy went” (551). Cutter’s obvious lack of covert operations experience suggests that he is too incompetent to manipulate the government to serve him.

Ernesto Escobedo is the leader of the Colombian cartel, which functions as one of the novel’s primary antagonists. Escobedo’s behavior reveals problems that characterize the Colombian drug cartel at large, implying that these flaws will likely be repeated in whoever succeeds him as leader of the cartel. The novel describes the cartel as a “loose alliance” (79) of gang leaders who came together because they knew “gang wars cost everybody” (79). Although the other cartel leaders do “not all bend to [Escobedo]’s will […] his ideas were always given the attention they deserved because they had proven to be effective ones” (93). The goal of the CIA’s operations in Colombia is to disrupt the cartel’s alliances.

Escobedo and the other cartel leaders are repeatedly compared to children, suggesting that they lack the experience and professionalism of their American counterparts. An early description of the cartel notes that the members “killed as casually and as brutally as a child might stamp down his foot on an anthill” (138). Later, Felix Cortez describes Escobedo as “a man ruled by childish emotions” (287) and “a child to be manipulated” (437). The depiction of the cartel as emotionally immature and inexperienced reflects the generally biased tone in the text against characters who are Latin American instead of American, depicting the cartel adversaries more as cartoonish caricatures than real, complex threats to American interests.