Kurt Muse

Kurt Muse is a U.S. Army veteran, international business manager, and the bestselling author of "Six Minutes to Freedom," a thrilling memoir that details the story of how he organized and led a band of like-minded Panamanian patriots to overthrow the oppressive narco-military dictator, General Manuel Noriega, by broadcasting an underground opposition radio station dubbed "The Voice of Liberty".

Raised and educated in Panama City, Panama, Muse graduated from college and fulfilled his Army ROTC active-duty obligations in the United States. He returned to Panama to start his career in a family-owned printing-supply company. When Noriega came to power in 1983, Muse was the Managing Director of his family’s enterprises, which had offices and affiliates throughout Central America. From 1987 to 1989, business in Panama was at a standstill, banks were closed, and there were daily riots in the streets.

Once captured by Noriega, having become the most-wanted man in Panama, Muse was subjected to intense interrogation, paraded in front of the press, threatened, and ultimately placed in solitary confinement at the notorious Modelo Prison. Steeling himself for certain death, while sitting in a concrete box for nine months, Muse reflected on the most important things in life, took mental vacations to the Appalachian Trail, and ultimately wrote his final words to his wife, Anne, on a small ripped piece of paper. Under threat of imminent execution, a troop of elite and secretive U.S. Army Delta Force operators fought their way into the prison and freed Muse in a daring rescue mission codenamed 'Acid Gambit'.

After the war in Panama, Muse and his family resettled in Virginia, where he began a printing and graphics company. He subsequently sold the company and accepted a position as the Strategic Planning and Development Manager for a Special Program for Bechtel-Nevada, a U.S. Department of Energy reservation. Muse later co-founded Immersive Media Tactical Solutions (IMTS), which was contracted by the U.S. Army to drive more than 10,000 miles in both Iraq and Afghanistan to collect valuable 360ᵒ street view imagery of both countries and provide terrestrial ISR equipment and personnel to assist in the U.S. Army’s route clearance of IEDs in both theaters of operation. IMTS also operated a security company in Panama City and a commercial security systems installation company in Mexico — both of which were transferred to local business partners in 2012.

Muse and his wife Anne have been married for 53 years. They have two children and four living grandchildren. Muse’s management and international business career spans over 40 years in total, 15 of which were spent overseas.