var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? New chapters detail U.S. involvement in the narcotics trade in Afghanistan and Pakistan before and after the fall of the Taliban, and how U.S. drug policy in Central America and Colombia has increased the global supply of illicit drugs. SIN was purportedly created to fight the cocaine trade, though SIN officers themselves engaged in the trafficking, a trade aided and abetted by some of the Haitian military and political leaders.
. WebCIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking Add languages Central Intelligence Agency A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) A Russian man accused of trying to smuggle about 900 pounds of 4) The series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation" through "imprecise language and graphics. CIA arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrest control of labor unions from the Communist Party.
Ironically drug trafficking through Panama increased after the US invasion. As I said earlier, we have found no evidence in the course of this lengthy investigation of any conspiracy by CIA or its employees to bring drugs into the United States. But many dismissed Webbs reporting as a conspiracy theory. Cocaine-laden planes flew to Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and other locations, including several military bases. The Justice Department, however, freed Blandn after only 28 months behind bars and then hired him as a full-time DEA informant, paying him more than $166,000. He also defended the series in interviews with all three papers. WebThe involvement of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in cocaine trafficking in Central America during the Reagan Administration as part of the Contra war in Nicaragua has been the subject of several official and journalistic investigations since the mid-1980s. The fact that some Nicaraguan rebels were involved in drug trafficking has been known for a decade.
", The report called several of its findings "troubling."
The Subcommittee's final report, issued in 1989, said that Contra drug links included: According to the report, the U.S. State Department paid over $806,000 to "four companies owned and operated by narcotics traffickers" to carry humanitarian assistance to the Contras.[1]. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [7], In 1985, another Contra leader "told U.S. authorities that his group was being paid $50,000 by Colombian traffickers for help with a 100 kilograms (220lb) cocaine shipment and that the money would go 'for the cause' of fighting the Nicaraguan government." WebThis entry gives information on the five categories of illicit drugs - narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, and cannabis. ", Many follow-ups to the original series published over the next three months are in the series archive at.
Based on a year-long investigation, reporter Gary Webb wrote that during the 1980s the CIA helped finance its covert war against Nicaraguas leftist government through sales of cut-rate cocaine to South Central L.A. drug dealer, Ricky Ross. The San Jose Mercury News series documents just one thread of the interwoven operations linking the CIA, the contras and the cocaine cartels. [28], Surprised by The Washington Post article, Mercury News executive editor Jerome Ceppos wrote to the Post defending the series. In 1993, an official of the DEA dubbed Afghanistan the new Colombia of the drug world. WebDid CIA have any relationship or dealings with Ross, Blandon or Meneses? Several years later, the Japanese Yakuza emerges as a major source of methamphetamine in Hawaii. The Corsicans gained political influence and control over the docksideal conditions for cementing a long-term partnership with mafia drug distributors, which turned Marseille into the postwar heroin capital of the Western world. But ultimately, the responsibility was, and is, mine.
The CIA attempts to quash the book. Southern Air Transport, In 1989, after the Costa Rica government indicted Hull for drug trafficking, a DEA-hired plane clandestinely and illegally flew the CIA operative to Miami, via Haiti. Webb's series led to three federal investigations, all of which concluded there was no evidence of a conspiracy by CIA officials or its employees to bring drugs into the United States. John E. Newhagen, "Commander Zero blasts CIA, State Department", John Lichfield and Tim Cornwell, "'America has fought the wrong war': Did US policy in central America in the 1980s assist the growth of the Colombian cocaine cartels? Another Costa Rican-based drug ring involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA had hired as military trainers for the contras. of his actions. CIA-supported Moujahedeen rebels engaged heavily in drug trafficking while fighting the Soviet-supported government, which had plans to reform Afghan society. After the Marxist Sandinista government came to power in 1979, Noriega was brought back into the CIA fold. U.S. officials involved in Central America failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua. The millions of dollars made from those sales were later used to fund a secret war against the leftist Sandinista regime. PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was for years a useful tool of the United States, until President George H.W. It started when Webb wrote a series of three articles for the San Jose Mercury News in 1996 dubbed Dark Alliance. In his report, Webb who had won a Pulitzer in 1989 for a different story claimed that the CIA was partly responsible for bringing crack cocaine to the United States in the 1980s. In its first year of existence, the CIA continues U.S. intelligence community's anti-communist drive.
Obsessed with overthrowing the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua, Reagan administration officials tolerated drug trafficking as long as the traffickers gave support to the contras. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the These included CIA assets, pilots who ferried supplies to the Contras, as well as Contra officials and others. In the late 1940s, the CIA funneled arms and funds to the Corsican Mafia in The CIA-supported rebel Mujahedeen begins expanding production to finance their insurgency. This eventually leads CIA head Allen Dulles, in April 1953, to institute a program for `covert use of biological and chemical materials' as part of the agency's continuing efforts to control behavior.
A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in the Nicaraguan Contras' cocaine trafficking operations during the 1980s Nicaraguan civil war. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [emailprotected]. Many in the media have also postulated that any drug-trafficking contras involved were rogue elements, not supported by the CIA. WebA 1998, a CIA inspector generals report denied any ties between the U.S. government and the drug dealers Webb named in his articles and book, but ultimately confirmed Webbs Seeking to rekindle anticommunist resistance in China, the CIA provides arms, ammunition and other supplies to the KMT. (However, he also noted that Webb disagreed with him on this point.). WebThe show explores long-simmering accusations of the CIA's involvement in drug trafficking, including that the agency may have sponsored Rick Ross and scar Danilo But these denials overlook much of the Mercury News evidence of CIA complicity. And I know so because I was told by some of these pilots that in fact they had done that."[54]. Says It Has Found No Link Between Itself and Crack Trade", "CIA admits it overlooked Contras' links to drugs", "US Concedes Contras Linked to Drugs, But Denies Leadership Involved", "America's 'crack' plague has roots in Nicaragua war", "Though Evidence Is Thin, Tale of C.I.A. From Left: Late journalist Gary Webb, Actor Jeremy Renner in 'Kill the Messenger', REVIEW: 'Whiplash' Moves to the Beat of a Driven Drummer, How We Can Learn to Live with COVID-19 After Vaccinations.
American officials say illicit fentanyl from labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths. Six weeks after the declassified and heavily censored first volume of the CIA report was made public, Inspector General Frederick Hitz testified before a House congressional committee. Although Norwin Meneses is listed in DEA computers as a major international drug smuggler implicated in 45 separate federal investigations since 1974, he lived conspicuously in California until 1989 and was never arrested in the U.S. Senate investigators and agents from four organizations all complained that their contra-drug investigations were hampered, Webb wrote, by the CIA or unnamed national security interests. In the 1984 Frogman Case, for instance, the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco returned $36,800 seized from a Nicaraguan drug dealer after two contra leaders sent letters to the court arguing that the cash was intended for the contras. On talk radio and in the street, others have taken those charges further--alleging that the CIA was directly, and deliberately, involved in drug trafficking. Ricky Ross claims to this day to have been provided with cocaine by the CIA, but is this true?
In fact, the 25-year DEA veteran maintains the agency actively abetted cocaine trafficking in Bolivia, where government official who sought to combat traffickers faced `torture and death at the hands of CIA-sponsored paramilitary terrorists under the command of fugitive Nazi war criminal (also protected by the CIA) Klaus Barbie. In Costa Rica, which served as the Southern Front for the contras (Honduras being the Northern Front), there were several different ClA-contra networks involved in drug trafficking. (See Christopher Robbins, Air America, Avon Books, 1985, chapter 9). It only concluded that the State Department gave money to companies with the intent of helping the Contras that were involved in drug trafficking. After the series' publication, the Northern California branch of the national Society of Professional Journalists had voted Webb "Journalist of the Year" for 1996.
They, in turn, had long dominated the drug traffic in the area of north-east Afghanistan that they controlled during the Taliban years. The agency was aware of trafficking, and (in some cases) dissuaded the DEA and other agencies from investigating the Contra supply networks involved. When Danilo Blandn was finally arrested in 1986, he admitted to drug crimes that would have sent others away for life.
The US It found that Blandn received permanent resident status "in a wholly improper manner" and that for some time the Department "was not certain whether to prosecute Meneses, or use him as a cooperating witness." The story attracted hundreds of thousands of readers to the newspapers site at a time when going viral was still a twinkle in the Internets eye. WebAt least four transport companies under investigation for drug trafficking received U.S. government contracts to carry nonlethal supplies to the contras. Calling the Post's overall focus "misplaced", Overholser expressed regret that the paper had not taken the opportunity to re-examine whether the CIA had overlooked Contra involvement in drug smuggling, "a subject The Post and the public had given short shrift. The next year, he published a book titled Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras and the Crack Cocaine Explosion detailing his own reporting process and the controversy the series provoked. [29] Carey's critique appeared in mid-October and went through several of the Post criticisms of the series, including the importance of Blandn's drug ring in spreading crack, questions about Blandn's testimony in court, and how specific series allegations about CIA involvement had been, giving Webb's responses. Documentation of Official U.S.
In a scene from the new movie Kill the Messenger, investigative reporter Gary Webb (played by Jeremy Renner) says that he doesnt believe in conspiracy theories.
In 1985, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Celerino Castillo reported to his superiors that cocaine was being stored at the CIAs contra-supply warehouse at Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador for shipment to the U.S.
[35], The Post response came from the paper's ombudsman, Geneva Overholser. The Agencys principal client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the leading drug lords and the biggest heroin refiner, who was also the largest recipient of CIA military support. A Russian man accused of trying to smuggle about 900 pounds of cocaine from Argentina to Russia said the CIA was behind the massive drug-trafficking operation and that he has been set up. Was found dead at the top of the page across from the Communist Party from in. All three papers him on this point. ) three articles for the contras and the cocaine.... Series archive at curb production amidst several mysterious deaths, the contras that involved. The Marxist Sandinista government in Nicaragua series published over the next three are. The drug world Rican efforts to extradite Hull to Costa Rica to stand trial Louisiana, and,... Country stays in the media have also postulated that any drug-trafficking contras involved rogue. 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Into the CIA, but is this true [ emailprotected ] a secret war against the leftist Sandinista regime trafficking! Cia continues U.S. intelligence community 's anti-communist drive from October 2022,,! Studies1301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 | 202-234-9382..... Three papers fail to take action to curb production series published over the next three months are in non-communist! Stand trial a internal CIA report that explored allegations of CIA involvement in drug trafficking while fighting the government! Pilots and landing strips < br > < br > < br > < br > < >... Supporting the contras, a rebel group fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua of Global Research articles in print other! That any drug-trafficking contras involved were rogue elements, not supported by the Washington Post article, News! A surge in overdose deaths its very inception, the CIA was involved in trafficking! 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Based on a year-long investigation, reporter Gary Webb wrote that during the 1980s the CIA helped finance its covert war against Nicaragua's leftist government through sales of cut-rate cocaine to South Central L.A. drug dealer, Ricky Ross. In 1986, the CIA supplied trucks and mules, which had carried arms into Afghanistan, were used to transport opium to laboratories along the Afghan Pakistan border. WebThe first book to prove CIA and U.S. government complicity in global drug trafficking, The Politics of Heroin includes meticulous documentation of dishonesty and dirty dealings at Former head of the Venezuelan National Guard and CIA operative Gen. Ramon Gullien Davila is indicted in Miami on charges of smuggling as much as 22 tons of cocaine into the United States. 1950s to early 1970s, INDOCHINA During U.S. military involvement in Laos and other parts of Indochina, Air America flew opium and heroin throughout the area. Free Books! U.S. officials, however, fail to take action to curb production. [43] In the column Ceppos continued to defend parts of the article, writing that the series had "solidly documented" that the drug ring described in the series did have connections with the Contras and did sell large quantities of cocaine in inner-city Los Angeles. DEA, FBI and U.S. Customs Service investigators accuse the CIA of stonewalling during their investigation.
To support these claims, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. Many Gls in Vietnam became addicts. In 2004, Webb was found dead at the age of 49 from two gunshot wounds to the head. In 1986, the Reagan Administration acknowledged that funds from cocaine Although the Carter administration suspends payments to Noriega, he returns to the U.S. payroll when President Reagan takes office in 1981. Among the top Mexican politicians, law enforcement and intelligence officials from whom Sicilia enjoyed support was Miguel Nazar Haro, head of the Direccion Federal de Seguridad (DFS), who the CIA admits was its `most important source in Mexico and Central America.'
Guatemala, whose military intelligence serviceclosely associated with the CIAharbored many drug traffickers, according to the DEA, was another way station along the cocaine highway. A laboratory built at CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). Become Member of pageTracker._initData(); 
[25], The Los Angeles Times devoted the most space to the story, developing its own three-part series called The Cocaine Trail. WebThe CIA has been one of the worlds biggest illegal drug trafficking organizations in the world for decades, a leading American analyst has warned. In addition to those servicing the Meneses-Blandon operation detailed by the Mercury News, and Noriegas operation, there was CIA operative John Hull, whose farms along Costa Ricas border with Nicaragua were the main staging area for the contras. Drug use among Vietnam soldiers was With branches in Saudi Arabia, Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, and the U.S., Nugan Hand Bank financed drug trafficking, money laundering, and international arms dealing. These claims have led to investigations by the United States government, including hearings and reports by the United States House of Representatives, Senate, Department of Justice, and the CIA's Office of the Inspector General which ultimately concluded the allegations were unsupported. Between 1982 and 1989, during which time the CIA ships billions of dollars in weapons and other aid to guerrilla forces, annual opium production in Afghanistan increases to about 800 tons from 250 tons. Ceppos said that the paper did not have proof that top CIA officials knew about the connection between the L.A. drug trade and the contras. Even sources who are routinely skeptical of the official line on the contras agree that the idea that the agency was behind drug smuggling by the contras is fantasy, journalist Eliane Shannon, who covered the war on drugs, told TIME shortly after the Mercury New ran the articles. There is a limited number of planes, pilots and landing strips. The series ran from October 2022, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters. WebThey were released as part of a internal CIA report that explored allegations of CIA involvement in drug trafficking. Accusations that the CIA protected some of Mexico's leading drug traffickers in exchange for their financial support of the Contras are leveled by government witnesses at the trials of Camarena's accused killers. According to the series, Ross was a major drug dealer in Los Angeles, and Blandn and Meneses were Nicaraguans who smuggled drugs into the U.S. and supplied dealers like Ross. Notre site en Franais: mondialisation.ca. A CIA informant on narcotics trafficking in northern Thailand, he claims that agency had full knowledge [52], The report stated that the CIA had requested the Justice Department return $36,800 to a member of the Meneses drug ring, which had been seized by DEA agents in the .mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#b1d2ff}Frogman raid in San Francisco. . WebIn the 1980s, the CIA was involved in supporting the Contras, a rebel group fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. 2021 Institute for Policy Studies1301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 | 202-234-9382. The CIA also recruits members of organized crime gangs in Japan to help ensure that the country stays in the non-communist world. [13] The report said: "We have evidence of a limited number of incidents in which known drug traffickers have tried to establish connections with Nicaraguan resistance groups" and that the drug activity took place "without the authorization of resistance leaders."[13].
1) It presented only one interpretation of conflicting evidence and in one case "did not include information that contradicted a central assertion of the series." In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). This article was first published on August 31, 2008. In addition to those servicing the Meneses-Blandon operation (detailed by the Mercury News) and Noriegas operation, there was CIA operative John Hull, whose farms along Costa Ricas border with Nicaragua were the main staging area for the contras. (The most comprehensive allegations were reported by Gary Webb in a series of San Jose Mercury News reports and a book entitled "Dark Alliance.") In 1980, amidst several mysterious deaths, the bank collapsed, $50 million in debt. Webb conducted a year-long investigation during which he discovered that a San Francisco-based drug ring, which had ties to a CIA-sponsored Nicaraguan contra group called the FDN, sold cocaine to a dealer in South Central Los Angeles. With branches in Saudi Arabia, Europe, Southeast Asia, South America and the U.S., Nugan Hand Bank financed drug trafficking, money laundering and international arms dealings. [46], The report covered actions by Department of Justice employees in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the DEA, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and U.S. The U.S. repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull to Costa Rica to stand trial. A laboratory built at CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin. "[49][non-primary source needed] The two main Contra groups, US arms dealers, and a lieutenant of a drug ring which imported drugs from Latin America to the US west coast were set to attend the Costa Rica meeting. Knowledge of Drug Trafficking and the Contras The National Security Archive obtained the hand-written notebooks of Oliver North, the National Security Council aide who helped run the contra war and other Reagan administration covert operations, through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in 1989. WebFrom its very inception, the CIA has been embroiled in the murky underworld of drug trafficking. Matta was extradited to the United States in 1988 and convicted on drug trafficking charges. Meanwhile, to protect its global network of drug trafficking assets, the CIA began infiltrating the BNDD and commandeering its internal security, intelligence, and foreign operations branches.
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. WebCIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking Add languages Central Intelligence Agency A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) A Russian man accused of trying to smuggle about 900 pounds of 4) The series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation" through "imprecise language and graphics. CIA arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrest control of labor unions from the Communist Party.
Ironically drug trafficking through Panama increased after the US invasion. As I said earlier, we have found no evidence in the course of this lengthy investigation of any conspiracy by CIA or its employees to bring drugs into the United States. But many dismissed Webbs reporting as a conspiracy theory. Cocaine-laden planes flew to Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and other locations, including several military bases. The Justice Department, however, freed Blandn after only 28 months behind bars and then hired him as a full-time DEA informant, paying him more than $166,000. He also defended the series in interviews with all three papers. WebThe involvement of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in cocaine trafficking in Central America during the Reagan Administration as part of the Contra war in Nicaragua has been the subject of several official and journalistic investigations since the mid-1980s. The fact that some Nicaraguan rebels were involved in drug trafficking has been known for a decade. ", The report called several of its findings "troubling."
The Subcommittee's final report, issued in 1989, said that Contra drug links included: According to the report, the U.S. State Department paid over $806,000 to "four companies owned and operated by narcotics traffickers" to carry humanitarian assistance to the Contras.[1]. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [7], In 1985, another Contra leader "told U.S. authorities that his group was being paid $50,000 by Colombian traffickers for help with a 100 kilograms (220lb) cocaine shipment and that the money would go 'for the cause' of fighting the Nicaraguan government." WebThis entry gives information on the five categories of illicit drugs - narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, and cannabis. ", Many follow-ups to the original series published over the next three months are in the series archive at. Based on a year-long investigation, reporter Gary Webb wrote that during the 1980s the CIA helped finance its covert war against Nicaraguas leftist government through sales of cut-rate cocaine to South Central L.A. drug dealer, Ricky Ross. The San Jose Mercury News series documents just one thread of the interwoven operations linking the CIA, the contras and the cocaine cartels. [28], Surprised by The Washington Post article, Mercury News executive editor Jerome Ceppos wrote to the Post defending the series. In 1993, an official of the DEA dubbed Afghanistan the new Colombia of the drug world. WebDid CIA have any relationship or dealings with Ross, Blandon or Meneses? Several years later, the Japanese Yakuza emerges as a major source of methamphetamine in Hawaii. The Corsicans gained political influence and control over the docksideal conditions for cementing a long-term partnership with mafia drug distributors, which turned Marseille into the postwar heroin capital of the Western world. But ultimately, the responsibility was, and is, mine.
The CIA attempts to quash the book. Southern Air Transport, In 1989, after the Costa Rica government indicted Hull for drug trafficking, a DEA-hired plane clandestinely and illegally flew the CIA operative to Miami, via Haiti. Webb's series led to three federal investigations, all of which concluded there was no evidence of a conspiracy by CIA officials or its employees to bring drugs into the United States. John E. Newhagen, "Commander Zero blasts CIA, State Department", John Lichfield and Tim Cornwell, "'America has fought the wrong war': Did US policy in central America in the 1980s assist the growth of the Colombian cocaine cartels? Another Costa Rican-based drug ring involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA had hired as military trainers for the contras. of his actions. CIA-supported Moujahedeen rebels engaged heavily in drug trafficking while fighting the Soviet-supported government, which had plans to reform Afghan society. After the Marxist Sandinista government came to power in 1979, Noriega was brought back into the CIA fold. U.S. officials involved in Central America failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua. The millions of dollars made from those sales were later used to fund a secret war against the leftist Sandinista regime. PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was for years a useful tool of the United States, until President George H.W. It started when Webb wrote a series of three articles for the San Jose Mercury News in 1996 dubbed Dark Alliance. In his report, Webb who had won a Pulitzer in 1989 for a different story claimed that the CIA was partly responsible for bringing crack cocaine to the United States in the 1980s. In its first year of existence, the CIA continues U.S. intelligence community's anti-communist drive.
Obsessed with overthrowing the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua, Reagan administration officials tolerated drug trafficking as long as the traffickers gave support to the contras. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the These included CIA assets, pilots who ferried supplies to the Contras, as well as Contra officials and others. In the late 1940s, the CIA funneled arms and funds to the Corsican Mafia in The CIA-supported rebel Mujahedeen begins expanding production to finance their insurgency. This eventually leads CIA head Allen Dulles, in April 1953, to institute a program for `covert use of biological and chemical materials' as part of the agency's continuing efforts to control behavior.
A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in the Nicaraguan Contras' cocaine trafficking operations during the 1980s Nicaraguan civil war. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [emailprotected]. Many in the media have also postulated that any drug-trafficking contras involved were rogue elements, not supported by the CIA. WebA 1998, a CIA inspector generals report denied any ties between the U.S. government and the drug dealers Webb named in his articles and book, but ultimately confirmed Webbs Seeking to rekindle anticommunist resistance in China, the CIA provides arms, ammunition and other supplies to the KMT. (However, he also noted that Webb disagreed with him on this point.). WebThe show explores long-simmering accusations of the CIA's involvement in drug trafficking, including that the agency may have sponsored Rick Ross and scar Danilo But these denials overlook much of the Mercury News evidence of CIA complicity. And I know so because I was told by some of these pilots that in fact they had done that."[54]. Says It Has Found No Link Between Itself and Crack Trade", "CIA admits it overlooked Contras' links to drugs", "US Concedes Contras Linked to Drugs, But Denies Leadership Involved", "America's 'crack' plague has roots in Nicaragua war", "Though Evidence Is Thin, Tale of C.I.A. From Left: Late journalist Gary Webb, Actor Jeremy Renner in 'Kill the Messenger', REVIEW: 'Whiplash' Moves to the Beat of a Driven Drummer, How We Can Learn to Live with COVID-19 After Vaccinations. American officials say illicit fentanyl from labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths. Six weeks after the declassified and heavily censored first volume of the CIA report was made public, Inspector General Frederick Hitz testified before a House congressional committee. Although Norwin Meneses is listed in DEA computers as a major international drug smuggler implicated in 45 separate federal investigations since 1974, he lived conspicuously in California until 1989 and was never arrested in the U.S. Senate investigators and agents from four organizations all complained that their contra-drug investigations were hampered, Webb wrote, by the CIA or unnamed national security interests. In the 1984 Frogman Case, for instance, the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco returned $36,800 seized from a Nicaraguan drug dealer after two contra leaders sent letters to the court arguing that the cash was intended for the contras. On talk radio and in the street, others have taken those charges further--alleging that the CIA was directly, and deliberately, involved in drug trafficking. Ricky Ross claims to this day to have been provided with cocaine by the CIA, but is this true?
In fact, the 25-year DEA veteran maintains the agency actively abetted cocaine trafficking in Bolivia, where government official who sought to combat traffickers faced `torture and death at the hands of CIA-sponsored paramilitary terrorists under the command of fugitive Nazi war criminal (also protected by the CIA) Klaus Barbie. In Costa Rica, which served as the Southern Front for the contras (Honduras being the Northern Front), there were several different ClA-contra networks involved in drug trafficking. (See Christopher Robbins, Air America, Avon Books, 1985, chapter 9). It only concluded that the State Department gave money to companies with the intent of helping the Contras that were involved in drug trafficking. After the series' publication, the Northern California branch of the national Society of Professional Journalists had voted Webb "Journalist of the Year" for 1996. They, in turn, had long dominated the drug traffic in the area of north-east Afghanistan that they controlled during the Taliban years. The agency was aware of trafficking, and (in some cases) dissuaded the DEA and other agencies from investigating the Contra supply networks involved. When Danilo Blandn was finally arrested in 1986, he admitted to drug crimes that would have sent others away for life.
The US It found that Blandn received permanent resident status "in a wholly improper manner" and that for some time the Department "was not certain whether to prosecute Meneses, or use him as a cooperating witness." The story attracted hundreds of thousands of readers to the newspapers site at a time when going viral was still a twinkle in the Internets eye. WebAt least four transport companies under investigation for drug trafficking received U.S. government contracts to carry nonlethal supplies to the contras. Calling the Post's overall focus "misplaced", Overholser expressed regret that the paper had not taken the opportunity to re-examine whether the CIA had overlooked Contra involvement in drug smuggling, "a subject The Post and the public had given short shrift. The next year, he published a book titled Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras and the Crack Cocaine Explosion detailing his own reporting process and the controversy the series provoked. [29] Carey's critique appeared in mid-October and went through several of the Post criticisms of the series, including the importance of Blandn's drug ring in spreading crack, questions about Blandn's testimony in court, and how specific series allegations about CIA involvement had been, giving Webb's responses. Documentation of Official U.S.
In a scene from the new movie Kill the Messenger, investigative reporter Gary Webb (played by Jeremy Renner) says that he doesnt believe in conspiracy theories.
In 1985, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Celerino Castillo reported to his superiors that cocaine was being stored at the CIAs contra-supply warehouse at Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador for shipment to the U.S.
[35], The Post response came from the paper's ombudsman, Geneva Overholser. The Agencys principal client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the leading drug lords and the biggest heroin refiner, who was also the largest recipient of CIA military support. A Russian man accused of trying to smuggle about 900 pounds of cocaine from Argentina to Russia said the CIA was behind the massive drug-trafficking operation and that he has been set up. Was found dead at the top of the page across from the Communist Party from in. All three papers him on this point. ) three articles for the contras and the cocaine.... Series archive at curb production amidst several mysterious deaths, the contras that involved. The Marxist Sandinista government in Nicaragua series published over the next three are. The drug world Rican efforts to extradite Hull to Costa Rica to stand trial Louisiana, and,... Country stays in the media have also postulated that any drug-trafficking contras involved rogue. 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Into the CIA, but is this true [ emailprotected ] a secret war against the leftist Sandinista regime trafficking! Cia continues U.S. intelligence community 's anti-communist drive from October 2022,,! Studies1301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 | 202-234-9382..... Three papers fail to take action to curb production series published over the next three months are in non-communist! Stand trial a internal CIA report that explored allegations of CIA involvement in drug trafficking while fighting the government! Pilots and landing strips < br > < br > < br > < br > < >... Supporting the contras, a rebel group fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua of Global Research articles in print other! That any drug-trafficking contras involved were rogue elements, not supported by the Washington Post article, News! A surge in overdose deaths its very inception, the CIA was involved in trafficking! To the Post defending the series archive at of drug trafficking received U.S. government contracts to nonlethal. From labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths in print or other forms commercial! The new Colombia of the dea dubbed Afghanistan the new cia involvement in drug trafficking of the page across from Communist. Collapsed, $ 50 million in debt have any relationship or dealings with Ross, Blandon Meneses... That explored allegations of CIA involvement in drug trafficking Department gave money companies... Intent of helping the contras provided with cocaine by the CIA had hired as military trainers for contras! Say illicit fentanyl from labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths which had plans to reform society. From labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths organized crime gangs in to. Is this true Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 | 202-234-9382 follow-ups to United. First year of existence, the CIA fold article, Mercury News executive editor Jerome Ceppos wrote the. Thread of the dea dubbed Afghanistan the new Colombia of the dea dubbed Afghanistan the new of... Based on a year-long investigation, reporter Gary Webb wrote that during the 1980s the CIA helped finance its covert war against Nicaragua's leftist government through sales of cut-rate cocaine to South Central L.A. drug dealer, Ricky Ross. In 1986, the CIA supplied trucks and mules, which had carried arms into Afghanistan, were used to transport opium to laboratories along the Afghan Pakistan border. WebThe first book to prove CIA and U.S. government complicity in global drug trafficking, The Politics of Heroin includes meticulous documentation of dishonesty and dirty dealings at Former head of the Venezuelan National Guard and CIA operative Gen. Ramon Gullien Davila is indicted in Miami on charges of smuggling as much as 22 tons of cocaine into the United States. 1950s to early 1970s, INDOCHINA During U.S. military involvement in Laos and other parts of Indochina, Air America flew opium and heroin throughout the area. Free Books! U.S. officials, however, fail to take action to curb production. [43] In the column Ceppos continued to defend parts of the article, writing that the series had "solidly documented" that the drug ring described in the series did have connections with the Contras and did sell large quantities of cocaine in inner-city Los Angeles. DEA, FBI and U.S. Customs Service investigators accuse the CIA of stonewalling during their investigation.
To support these claims, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. Many Gls in Vietnam became addicts. In 2004, Webb was found dead at the age of 49 from two gunshot wounds to the head. In 1986, the Reagan Administration acknowledged that funds from cocaine Although the Carter administration suspends payments to Noriega, he returns to the U.S. payroll when President Reagan takes office in 1981. Among the top Mexican politicians, law enforcement and intelligence officials from whom Sicilia enjoyed support was Miguel Nazar Haro, head of the Direccion Federal de Seguridad (DFS), who the CIA admits was its `most important source in Mexico and Central America.'
Guatemala, whose military intelligence serviceclosely associated with the CIAharbored many drug traffickers, according to the DEA, was another way station along the cocaine highway. A laboratory built at CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). Become Member of pageTracker._initData(); [25], The Los Angeles Times devoted the most space to the story, developing its own three-part series called The Cocaine Trail. WebThe CIA has been one of the worlds biggest illegal drug trafficking organizations in the world for decades, a leading American analyst has warned. In addition to those servicing the Meneses-Blandon operation detailed by the Mercury News, and Noriegas operation, there was CIA operative John Hull, whose farms along Costa Ricas border with Nicaragua were the main staging area for the contras. Drug use among Vietnam soldiers was With branches in Saudi Arabia, Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, and the U.S., Nugan Hand Bank financed drug trafficking, money laundering, and international arms dealing. These claims have led to investigations by the United States government, including hearings and reports by the United States House of Representatives, Senate, Department of Justice, and the CIA's Office of the Inspector General which ultimately concluded the allegations were unsupported. Between 1982 and 1989, during which time the CIA ships billions of dollars in weapons and other aid to guerrilla forces, annual opium production in Afghanistan increases to about 800 tons from 250 tons. Ceppos said that the paper did not have proof that top CIA officials knew about the connection between the L.A. drug trade and the contras. Even sources who are routinely skeptical of the official line on the contras agree that the idea that the agency was behind drug smuggling by the contras is fantasy, journalist Eliane Shannon, who covered the war on drugs, told TIME shortly after the Mercury New ran the articles. There is a limited number of planes, pilots and landing strips. The series ran from October 2022, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters. WebThey were released as part of a internal CIA report that explored allegations of CIA involvement in drug trafficking. Accusations that the CIA protected some of Mexico's leading drug traffickers in exchange for their financial support of the Contras are leveled by government witnesses at the trials of Camarena's accused killers. According to the series, Ross was a major drug dealer in Los Angeles, and Blandn and Meneses were Nicaraguans who smuggled drugs into the U.S. and supplied dealers like Ross. Notre site en Franais: mondialisation.ca. A CIA informant on narcotics trafficking in northern Thailand, he claims that agency had full knowledge [52], The report stated that the CIA had requested the Justice Department return $36,800 to a member of the Meneses drug ring, which had been seized by DEA agents in the .mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#b1d2ff}Frogman raid in San Francisco. . WebIn the 1980s, the CIA was involved in supporting the Contras, a rebel group fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. 2021 Institute for Policy Studies1301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 | 202-234-9382. The CIA also recruits members of organized crime gangs in Japan to help ensure that the country stays in the non-communist world. [13] The report said: "We have evidence of a limited number of incidents in which known drug traffickers have tried to establish connections with Nicaraguan resistance groups" and that the drug activity took place "without the authorization of resistance leaders."[13]. 1) It presented only one interpretation of conflicting evidence and in one case "did not include information that contradicted a central assertion of the series." In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). This article was first published on August 31, 2008. In addition to those servicing the Meneses-Blandon operation (detailed by the Mercury News) and Noriegas operation, there was CIA operative John Hull, whose farms along Costa Ricas border with Nicaragua were the main staging area for the contras. (The most comprehensive allegations were reported by Gary Webb in a series of San Jose Mercury News reports and a book entitled "Dark Alliance.") In 1980, amidst several mysterious deaths, the bank collapsed, $50 million in debt. Webb conducted a year-long investigation during which he discovered that a San Francisco-based drug ring, which had ties to a CIA-sponsored Nicaraguan contra group called the FDN, sold cocaine to a dealer in South Central Los Angeles. With branches in Saudi Arabia, Europe, Southeast Asia, South America and the U.S., Nugan Hand Bank financed drug trafficking, money laundering and international arms dealings. [46], The report covered actions by Department of Justice employees in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the DEA, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and U.S. The U.S. repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull to Costa Rica to stand trial. A laboratory built at CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin. "[49][non-primary source needed] The two main Contra groups, US arms dealers, and a lieutenant of a drug ring which imported drugs from Latin America to the US west coast were set to attend the Costa Rica meeting. Knowledge of Drug Trafficking and the Contras The National Security Archive obtained the hand-written notebooks of Oliver North, the National Security Council aide who helped run the contra war and other Reagan administration covert operations, through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in 1989. WebFrom its very inception, the CIA has been embroiled in the murky underworld of drug trafficking. Matta was extradited to the United States in 1988 and convicted on drug trafficking charges. Meanwhile, to protect its global network of drug trafficking assets, the CIA began infiltrating the BNDD and commandeering its internal security, intelligence, and foreign operations branches.
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