One story. Multiple ways to experience it.
How a band of heroes defied a dictator and helped free a nation.
Co-authored with John Gilstrap, this riveting memoir recounts Kurt’s clandestine radio operation, nine months of solitary confinement in Modelo Prison, and the daring six-minute rescue by Delta Force and the Night Stalkers during Operation Acid Gambit — the first civilian extraction by this elite unit.
It is a story of ordinary people sparking extraordinary change, of family as an unbreakable anchor, and of the quiet professionals who never leave a man behind.
Hardcover currently out of print — new printing coming soon. Audiobook and paperback available.
Get the Book on Amazon
Six Minutes to Freedom
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh
Written by Jared Rosenberg
Produced by Toby Jaffe
The true story of Kurt Muse’s resistance, imprisonment, and rescue is being adapted for the screen as a major Netflix motion picture. The production team is committed to bringing this remarkable chapter of American and Panamanian history to a global audience.
| Milestone | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Working Title | ✓ Confirmed | Six Minutes to Freedom |
| Director | ✓ Attached | Ric Roman Waugh |
| Screenwriter | ✓ Attached | Jared Rosenberg |
| Producer | ✓ Attached | Toby Jaffe |
| Principal Cast | ☐ Pending | — |
| Principal Photography | ☐ Pending | Start of filming — TBD |
| Post-Production | ☐ Pending | — |
| Release Window | ☐ Pending | Expected on Netflix |
This page will be updated as official announcements are made regarding casting, the start of principal photography, and the release window.
The documentary that broke 35 years of silence.
After more than three decades, Kurt’s Panamanian co-conspirators came forward to share their personal and family stories. The resulting documentary, La Señal de la Libertad (“The Signal of Liberty”), played in theaters throughout Panama and later aired on national television, reaching an extraordinarily large audience in a country of 4.5 million people.
The documentary is in Spanish and includes English subtitles.
View DocumentaryKurt Muse on Modelo Prison — a three-part return to the cell.
Posted on Kurt’s YouTube channel as Inside Modelo Prison in Panama, these three short films go inside Cárcel Modelo, the Panamanian prison where he was held in solitary confinement for nine months before Delta Force came for him. Watch them here in order, or on YouTube.
3:27
A walk down the corridor to the cell door itself — bare concrete, a steel door, and the barred opening above it that let in almost all the light Kurt saw for nine months.
Watch on YouTube →
1:43
The view a prisoner had: out through the window bars at the battle-scarred buildings beside the prison, left standing open to the sky in the fighting that ended Noriega’s regime.
Watch on YouTube →
2:52
Deeper into the compound, past the regime’s own slogans still painted across the walls — the everyday face of the prison that held Kurt without charge, and of the government that put him there.
Watch on YouTube →Kurt posts additional footage and talks on his YouTube channel.
Hear Kurt’s daughter Kimberly tell her story in her own words.
Listen as she recounts living in Panama during the resistance, the night she was apprehended and managed to get away, life in the United States while her father spent nine months in prison, the night of his rescue, and the lessons that continue to shape her life and message.
Listen on YouTube