Hercules Dunia Nyata

Rosario de Marshall,[1] lebih dikenal sebagai Hercules, adalah seorang gangster dan broker politik Indonesia yang berasal dari Timor Timur (sekarang Timor Leste). Hercules adalah kuli angkut TNI-AD selama pendudukan Indonesia di Timor Timur. Setelah pindah ke Jakarta, ia membentuk geng preman miliknya sendiri di kecamatan Tanah Abang, yang menguasai dunia kriminal Jakarta pada tahun 1990-an. Saat ini, Hercules mempertahankan status selebriti sebagai gangster yang menakutkan, kadang-kadang muncul di program TV serta majalah tabloid. Ia juga terkenal karena ikatan politiknya dengan kandidat capres 2014 dan 2019, Prabowo Subianto.

Rosario lahir pada tahun 1960an di Timor Portugis, tumbuh di era kekacauan yang dilatarbelakangi invasi Indonesia ke Timor Timur (1975–1976) dan pendudukan selanjutnya oleh tentara nasional Indonesia.[1] Ia pertama kali melakukan kontak dengan tentara Indonesia melalui Kolonel Gatot Purwanto sekitar tahun 1975.[2] Dia kemudian menjadi yatim piatu pada tahun 1978 setelah orang tuanya tewas dalam pemboman yang melanda kota Ainaro. Sejak itu, ia tergabung sebagai kurir yang memberikan bantuan logistik kepada pasukan khusus, Kopassus Indonesia di bawah program Tenaga Bantuan Operasi (TBO).[1][3] "Hercules" adalah nama kode yang diberikan kepada Rosario oleh tim komunikasi radio Kopassus.[2]

Selama menjadi anggota TBO, Hercules terlibat dalam pertempuran kecil dengan perlawanan pro-kemerdekaan Falintil. Helikopternya jatuh saat pertempuran, menyebabkan dia kehilangan mata kanan dan tangan kanannya. Hercules kemudian dibawa ke RSPAD Gatot Soebroto di Jakarta untuk dioperasi.[2] Hercules mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Prabowo Subianto yang saat itu menjabat sebagai Panglima Satuan Komando Nanggala atas dukungan yang diterimanya selama ini. Hercules dikenal memiliki kesetiaan yang 'tak tergoyahkan' terhadap Prabowo sejak saat itu.[3]

Sejak akhir tahun 1980-an, Hercules menetap di Jakarta bersama beberapa pemuda Timor Timur, diberi pekerjaan sebagai insinyur komponen kelistrikan. Dia segera meninggalkan pekerjaannya, pindah ke kawasan komersial Tanah Abang setelah berganti pekerjaan. Setelah menetap di Tanah Abang, ia membentuk geng preman bersama sesama migran Timor, termasuk Logo Vallenberg dan Alfredo Monteiro Pires.[2] Ia kemudian segera berhasil membangun usahanya melalui bisnis pemerasan dan mucikari. Ia juga melakukan pemerasan politik atas nama tentara Indonesia, untuk menyingkirkan dan mengintimidasi gerakan pro-kemerdekaan Timor di Jakarta.[3]

Kerajaan premannya runtuh pada akhir tahun 1990-an setelah beberapa anggota geng Hercules menolak berpartisipasi dalam demonstrasi pro-integrasi. Sejak itu, gengnya kehilangan perlindungan militer, dan Prabowo membiarkan geng preman lainnya mengambil alih gerakan bawah tanah Tanah Abang. Ia dicopot dari jabatannya setelah terjadi pertarungan brutal melawan geng Betawi dan Madura yang dipimpin oleh tokoh-tokoh seperti Bang Ucu dan Abraham Lunggana.[1][3]

Setelah digulingkan dari dunia bawah Tanah Abang, ia membangun kembali reputasinya melalui bisnis penagihan utang dan jaminan. Ia memiliki banyak lahan serta usaha pertanian dan perikanan, membuatnya menjadi sosok yang dermawan. Ia adalah sosok yang disegani di kalangan migran dari Indonesia Timur, yang menyediakan pekerjaan, jaringan, dan perlindungan bagi pendatang baru. Dia tetap bersaing dengan tokoh kejahatan terorganisir lainnya, termasuk John Kei dan Basri Sangaji. Sejak tahun 2008, Prabowo mendekati kembali Hercules setelah mendirikan Partai Gerakan Indonesia Raya (Gerindra). Sebuah organisasi sosial bernama Gerakan Rakyat untuk Indonesia Baru (GRIB) didirikan pada tahun 2011 oleh Hercules untuk memobilisasi jaringan preman gangsternya, tokoh-tokoh kuat lokal, kelompok main hakim sendiri, dan mantan milisi untuk mendapatkan dukungan politik di tingkat akar rumput terhadap Prabowo.[3]

Rosario de Marshall,[1] commonly known as Hercules, is an Indonesian gangster and political broker hailed from the current Timor-Leste. Hercules was a porter for the Indonesian army during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. Once moved to Jakarta, he formed his own preman gang in the Tanah Abang district, ruling the Jakartan criminal underworld during the 1990s. Today, Hercules retains a celebrity status as a fearsome gangster, occasionally appearing on TV programs as well as tabloid magazines. He is also notable for his political ties with the 2014 and 2019 Indonesian presidential election candidate Prabowo Subianto.

Rosario was born in the 1960s in the Portuguese Timor, growing up during the chaotic era in the backdrop of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor (1975—1976) and the subsequent occupation by the Indonesian national army.[1] He first made contact with the Indonesian army through colonel Gatot Purwanto around 1975.[2] He was then orphaned in 1978 after his parents were killed in a bombing hitting the town of Ainaro. Since then, he was incorporated as a courier who provided logistical assistance to the Indonesian special forces, Kopassus under the Tenaga Bantuan Operasi (TBO) program.[1][3] "Hercules" was a code name given to Rosario by the Kopassus' radio communication team.[2]

During his year as a TBO personnel, Hercules was involved in a skirmish with the Falintil pro-independence resistance. His helicopter crashed during the fighting, leading to him losing his right eye and right hand. Hercules was then taken to Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital in Jakarta for operation.[2] Hercules thanked Prabowo Subianto, who was serving a commander of Nanggala commando units, for the support he received during this time. Hercules is known for having "unwavering" loyalty toward Prabowo since then.[3]

Since the late 1980s, Hercules settled in Jakarta along with several East Timorese youths, given a job of electrical parts engineer. He soon abandoned the job, moving to the commercial district of Tanah Abang after switching jobs. After settling in Tanah Abang, he formed a preman gang along with the fellow Timorese migrants, including Logo Vallenberg and Alfredo Monteiro Pires.[2] He then immediately succeed to build his enterprise through racketeering and pimping businesses. He also carried out political extortion on behalf of the Indonesian army, to weed out and intimidate pro-independence Timorese movements in Jakarta.[3]

His preman empire collapsed in the late 1990s after some of the members of the Hercules gang refused to participate in the pro-integration rally. Since then, his gang lost military protection, and Prabowo allowed other preman gangs to take over Tanah Abang underground. He was dethroned after brutal fighting against Betawi and Madurese gangs, led by figures such as Bang Ucu and Abraham Lunggana.[1][3]

After being overthrown from the Tanah Abang underworld, he rebuilt his reputation through debt collecting and security businesses. He owned multiple lands as well as agricultural and fishery businesses, turning him into akin to philanthropist figure. He was a respected figure among the migrants from East Indonesia, providing newcomers jobs, networks as well and protections. He remained in rivalry against other organized crime figures as well, including John Kei and Basri Sangaji. Since 2008, Prabowo reapproached Hercules after founding the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party. A social organization called the Peoples Movement for a New Indonesia (GRIB) was established in 2011 by Hercules to mobilize his network of preman gangsters, local strongmen, religious vigilante groups, and ex-militia for the grassroots level political support toward Prabowo.[3]