Charlie Kirk murder: Another failure of the close protection concept
11/09/2025
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Modern executive protection relies on advanced techniques such as intelligence gathering, counter-surveillance, early warning systems, and protective logistics. These methods enable us to anticipate and neutralize threats before they reach the protectee.
However, the success of this protection strategy hinges on the collaboration of the protectee and their surroundings. It is ineffective to employ sophisticated measures if the protectee fails to share timely information about their activities or engages in habits that consistently put them at risk.
This is why protectors globally often lament that "executives don’t understand." Despite highlighting the risks they create, executives may continue their behavior unchanged. The issue isn’t a lack of understanding; rather, we have yet to find effective ways to communicate and persuade them.
It’s evident that executive protection requires additional techniques not previously discussed: cognitive dominance strategies. While cognitive warfare is a component of modern asymmetric conflicts, our focus here will be on specific techniques applicable to executive protection. Like other effective methods in our field, such as intelligence, counterintelligence, and counter-surveillance, these strategies stem from the comprehensive skill set possessed by field intelligence officers.
We know that HUMINT (human intelligence) specialists have the skills to persuade and convince even true patriots to betray their countries and become spies for foreign governments. This shows that their techniques are highly effective in the field of persuasion and can be used more easily and effectively to generate an ethical influence on the executive and his environment, helping them to "understand" concepts that we have not been able to communicate. We call this establishing dominance or cognitive superiority in the executive's environment, where the ideas and actions persuaded (in a different sense than that used in modern warfare) are aligned with the safety and well-being of the protégé.
Knowing these techniques is key to performing our work effectively, and mastering them requires study and practice. Although we cannot go into detail in this brief text, we can offer a general idea of how they work and the key points of their application.
One of the most recognized authors in the field of ethical influence, even among intelligence officers, is Robert Cialdini. His books "Influence" and "Pre-Suasion" are fundamental for any professional interested in applying cognitive operations in executive protection. However, in my opinion, the person who is contributing the most to the implementation of these measures in different environments is Andrew Bustamante, former CIA intelligence officer and founder of the company EverydaySpy, whose content is invaluable to know and apply these techniques in the field of security.
What is essential in this context is to know the four essential motivators of classical intelligence and Robert Cialdini's six principles of influence. The application of these concepts requires various skills, such as profiling, persuasive dialogue, "mirroring" techniques, identification and use of cognitive biases and distortions, as well as the creation of conversational maps, among others. Here we address skills that can and should be used on a daily basis, but unfortunately are not part of the training of most executive protection officers today. It is time for this to change.
The four essential motivators used effectively in the intelligence world since World War II are summarized in the acronym R.I.C.E.: Reward, Ideology, Coercion and Ego.
1. Reward: Incentives or tangible benefits that motivate a person to perform an action or support a cause.
2. Ideology: Fundamental beliefs and values that drive a person to act in accordance with certain political, social or cultural convictions.
3. Coercion: Use of force or threats to compel a person to behave in a certain way or support a specific cause.
4. Ego: Motivations based on personal pride, recognition and the desire to maintain or improve one's self-image.
It is important to note that coercion is the least effective motivator in our context and must be extremely subtle and imperceptible, but this explanation is beyond the scope of this brief text.
These four motivators are fundamental to persuade and guide the behavior of individuals in our daily work. In fact, we all use them unknowingly in our work, social and family interactions; we just didn't conceptualize them or know how to use them to our advantage.
Social psychology expert Robert Cialdini's six principles of influence used to persuade others are:
1. Reciprocity: People tend to return favors or concessions, especially if they are significant, surprising and personalized.
2. Consistency: Once people commit to something, even in a very small way, they tend to act consistently with that commitment in the future. A small commitment accepted initially, well managed, can grow over time.
3. Social proof: People often observe what others do to decide how to behave, especially in situations of uncertainty.
Likeability: People are more susceptible to the influence of those they like or with whom they share interests.
5. Authority: People tend to follow the recommendations of authority figures or experts in a given field. This may involve the use of statistics and studies as they establish authority in and of themselves.
6. Scarcity: The perception that something is limited or about to run out increases its attractiveness and desire.
The combination of motivators and principles generates a great persuasive impact if handled properly. But how to apply them in our work? Here we will briefly give just one possible scenario to illustrate the essential structure. As we indicated in our book *Executive Protection in the 21st Century: The New Doctrine*, "Executive Protection in the 21st Century: The New Doctrine".
in a first approach, we offer the executive a preliminary security study free of charge and without obligation.
Thus we activate the reciprocity principle, since this offer is meaningful, unexpected and personalized. At the same time, the loss aversion bias is activated, leading the executive to accept the offer. However, in return (reciprocity), we require some of their time, as the interview with the executive is fundamental to the free study we propose.
In this initial interview, in addition to focusing on the technical and operational aspects of protection, the agent asks subtle and specific questions that allow us to begin to profile the executive. This profiling is neither scientific nor clinical, but rather a definition of attitudes and preferences that helps us target persuasion according to their personality type. During the interview, we can also identify which of the four essential motivators may be most effective in their case, learn their perspective as well as their ideology, ego management and possible cognitive biases. It is crucial to apply various cognitive techniques that activate the sympathy principle, generating a positive rapport and initial identification with the executive. These techniques create what we colloquially call "chemistry", which is the basis of influence.
The next phase consists of presenting the results of the study. In addition to offering a plausible, reasonable and effective technical proposal, we use the information obtained in the initial interview to adapt our presentation to the executive's personality type and dominant influencing factors, thus maximizing our persuasive power. While in the initial interview we were asking questions, now it is our turn to speak, present our proposals and anticipate the questions the executive may have. It is essential to take advantage of this situation to present ourselves as authorities in our field, activating both this principle and that of Social Proof, which must be incorporated into our presentation. The most important part of this presentation is to achieve even a small initial concession from the executive in favor of his security (some specific information, agenda etc). This small victory will be valuable later on.
If the service is accepted according to our initial proposal, which includes certain actions required from the executive for its security, periodic feedback meetings are essential to reinforce the cognitive measures. In these meetings, we will hold targeted and pre-structured dialogues on our part that will allow us to reinforce our influence and activate the principle of Coherence. If we have achieved a minimal victory in the client's cooperation at the beginning, we can ask for more support on each occasion (if necessary), and the tendency to maintain consistency with the initial actions will act as a persuasive factor in establishing the desired cooperation scheme.
It should be noted that cognitive techniques are not limited to these three meetings; they must be used in a coordinated manner by all members of the security team in every interaction with the client and his environment.
It is important to mention that many protectors in Latin America have the saying "if you are right with God, the little angels don't matter", suggesting that a good relationship with the principal makes his or her environment irrelevant. This is a big mistake. The same techniques should be applied to generate ethical influence throughout the executive's trusted team, as this represents a force multiplier of unimaginable scope. This ensures optimal implementation of all necessary measures, reduces risks and promotes a pleasant working environment.
Of course, this is only a simplified example, as various circumstances may arise in our operating environment. The main objective was to present in an informative way the basic cognitive domain techniques and their application. However, to use them effectively, it is essential to go through specific training, which should become part of the basic training of any protector.
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