Álvaro Aristides Pirateque, the director of Aerobolivar, leads the negotiations with the hijackers. In The Hijacking of Flight 601, Enrique Carriazo plays Pirateque.
Pirateque used to be an engineer at Aerobolivar and was part of the trade union. He rose from his position to become the airline’s director, much to the disapproval of the owner.
The owner continues to look down on Pirateque despite his new position. When Flight 601 gets hijacked, Pirateque sees it as an opportunity to get rid of the owner and take his place.
Pirateque’s relationship with Manchola
Pirateque is a divorced man who is in love with his secretary, Manchola. It is no secret that Pirateque would do anything to protect Manchola.
Therefore, when Manchola fires Edie, she threatens to expose Manchola’s petty crimes, which leads to Pirateque agreeing to give Edie her job back.
When the news of Flight 601 comes, Pirateque comes up with a strategy to deal with the crisis. However, the airline’s owner refuses to let him take action.
Pirateque then convinces the board to sell 10% of the owner’s shares to take over as the head manager, who has the authority to negotiate with the hijackers.
Pirateque knows that this move will either cost him everything or enable him to take over the company with Manchola. Pirateque decides to risk it all.
Pirateque’s efforts to save people onboard 601
Pirateque is not the best at negotiating, but he is the only one who is willing to negotiate. Unfortunately, the hijackers demand double the amount Pirateque had decided to pay.
Pirateque fails to persuade the owner of the airline to pay that much, so he decides to approach the media to make the news of the hijacking public.
By doing this, he not only prevents the hijackers from harming the hostages but also forces the government to take action.
Finally, Pirateque reaches an agreement with the hijackers. Pirateque’s efforts bear fruit, and the hijackers free the women and children.
However, the government announces that anyone who negotiates with the hijackers will be considered an accomplice, thus ruining the progress Pirateque has made.
The government is planning a military intervention, and Pirateque takes it upon himself to warn the hijackers, as he wants to save the passengers.
Feeling betrayed, the hijackers lead Pirateque to believe that they have killed a passenger because he failed to keep his promise.
This leads to Pirateque going against the government’s orders and paying ransom to the hijackers to save the hostages, but things go wrong once again.
Nevertheless, he returns home with most of the passengers, making him a hero in the eyes of the public but also the one who defied the government.
Due to this, the vice minister, Esguerra, asks Pirateque to take the blame for the hijacking. He promises that as a punishment, he will only send Pirateque into exile, which will be more of a vacation.
When Pirateque refuses, Esguerra threatens Manchola, leaving Pirateque no choice. Knowing that he will be branded a criminal anyway, he decides to save the people onboard the flight one last time.
He informs the pilot of Esguerra’s plan to conduct a military operation to end the hijacking, which will put everyone’s life in danger.
This results in Pirateque getting arrested. He is sentenced to 17 months in prison. Pirateque loses everything, except Manchola, whom he marries.
Also Read: Richard Wilches: The Hijacking of Flight 601 character explained