July 17, 2023. The CIA sets up proprietary arms, shipping, and banking companies to facilitate the criminal drug. [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. In 1989, the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations (the Kerry committee) concluded a three-year investigation by stating: There was substantial evidence of drug smuggling through the war zones on the part of individual Contras, Contra suppliers, Contra pilots mercenaries who worked with the Contras, and Contra supporters throughout the region. [48] The second volume, "The Contra Story," was issued in a classified version on April 27, 1998, and in an unclassified version on October 8, 1998. The agency has been linked to illicit Nazi gold to fund its early operations. In 1949, two of Chiang Kai-shek's defeated generals, Li Wen Huan and Tuan Shi Wen, marched their Third and Fifth Route. General Manuel Noriega, head of Panama's government, had been giving military assistance to Contra groups in Nicaragua at the request of the U.S.which, in exchange, allowed him to continue his drug-trafficking activitieswhich they had known about since the 1960s. At the end of March, however, Ceppos told Webb that he was going to present the internal review findings in a column. The Royal Laotian Air Force had almost no light planes that could land on the dirt runways near the mountaintop poppy fields. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). in Central America", United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, "Key Figures In CIA-Crack Cocaine Scandal Begin To Come Forward", The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, Report of Investigation Concerning Allegations of Connections Between CIA and The Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States, Central Intelligence Agency Office of the Inspector General, Dark Alliance: The CIA, The Contras, And The Crack Cocaine Explosion, "PBS Frontline: Cocaine, Conspiracy Theories & the C.I.A. "[59] It also found no evidence to support Webb's suggestion that several other drug smugglers mentioned in the series were associated with the CIA, or that anyone associated with the CIA or other intelligence agencies was involved in supplying or selling drugs in Los Angeles. According to the DEA, the CIA has been sharing drug intelligence with the DEA since it was given a drug intelligence mandate in the early 1970s. [25], The Los Angeles Times devoted the most space to the story, developing its own three-part series called The Cocaine Trail. 7 Min Read. In August 1996, Gary Webb's three-part series of articles titled Dark Alliance was published by the San Jose Mercury News. [32], In October 2013, two former federal agents and an ex-CIA contractor told an American television network that CIA operatives were involved in the kidnapping and murder of DEA covert agent Enrique Camarena, because he was a threat to the agency's drug operations in Mexico in the 1980s. The 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 Nugan Hand Bank of Sydney was a CIA bank in all but name. The San Jose Mercury News series written by Gary Webb, documents just one thread of the interwoven operations linking the CIA, the contras and the cocaine cartels. The death rate could go much higher considering the increasing level of poverty in the U.S. especially in the inner cities where the highest unemployment rates is among the 18-34 year olds. The NBC news report said that the CDC admitted that heroin has become an epidemic since 2002, The CDC reports that between 2002 and 2014 the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths more than quadrupled and more than 10,500 died nationwide in 2014.. Other revelations also point strongly to massive but clandestine U.S. government involvement in drug trafficking. "[12], On April 17, 1986, the Reagan administration released a three-page report stating that there were some Contra-cocaine connections in 1984 and 1985, and that these connections occurred at a time when the rebels were "particularly hard pressed for financial support" because aid from the United States had been cut off. The article suggested this was in retribution for Ross testimony in the corruption case. Caught between the schizophrenic nature of US Foreign policy with one arm of the executive branch, the CIA, engaged in the secret trafficking of drugs for arms whilst the other, the DEA, is engaged in stopping it, Barry Seal who helped build the drug Cartels for the CIA became a DEA informant against the CIA . Asking why crack became so prevalent in the black community of Los Angeles, the article credited Blandn, referring to him as the Johnny Appleseed of crack in California.It also found disparities in the treatment of black and white traffickers in the justice system, contrasting the treatment of Blandn and Ross after their arrests for drug trafficking. [40] By January, Webb filed drafts of four more articles based on his trip, but his editors concluded that the new articles would not help shore up the original series' claims. New Haven police said emergency responders saw at least 15 overdoses since Thursday afternoon, and possibly up to 22. John E. Newhagen, "Commander Zero blasts CIA, State Department". Many young adults will unfortunately turn to the drug trade whether they sell or use as hope fades for the lack of jobs or opportunities. The lieutenant trafficker was also a Contra, and the CIA knew that there was an arms-for-drugs shuttle and did nothing to stop it. The CIA's Inspector General said the Agency wanted the money returned "to protect an operational equity, i.e., a Contra support group in which it [CIA] had an operational interest. [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 Frogman raid in San Francisco. In 1976, CIA Director George Bush pays Noriega $110,000 for his services, even though as early as 1971 U.S. officials agents had evidence that he was deeply involved in drug trafficking. The incident, which was first made public in 1993, was part of a plan to assist an undercover agent to gain the confidence of a Colombian drug cartel. This short documentary is evidence that proves The CIA has been importing drugs into our country. In 1984, U.S. officials began receiving reports of Contra cocaine trafficking. The lab's production was soon being ferried out on the planes of the CIA's front airline, Air America. But, Ceppos wrote, the series "did not meet our standards" in four areas. 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. Arkansas home of the Mena airport, a major pick up and drop off location for drug shipments handled by the CIA. According to an NBC affiliatereported that state officials were set to declare a public health emergency in New Haven, Connecticut over the rise of heroin use which has resulted in two deaths: Officials in New Haven on Friday were set to address a public health emergency declaration brought on by a rash of heroin overdoses in the city beginning Thursday. A 1985 National Intelligence Estimate revealed cocaine trafficking links to a top commander working under Contra leader Edn Pastora. The contras provided both protection and infrastructure (planes, pilots, airstrips, warehouses, front companies and banks) to these CIA-linked drug networks. House Intelligence Committee members heard testimony concerning allegations of CIA drug trafficking. Read more Print length 734 pages Language English Publisher Lawrence Hill Books Publication date May 1, 2003 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. Operation Eagle was the flashpoint. In Costa Rica, which served as the Southern Front for the contras (Honduras being the Northern Front), there were several different CIA-contra networks involved in drug trafficking. 4) The series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation" through "imprecise language and graphics. US officials admitted in 1990 that they had failed to investigate or take action against the drug operation because of a desire not to offend their Pakistani and Afghan allies. 3) The series oversimplified how the crack epidemic grew. [This drug ring] opened the first pipeline between Colombia's cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles [and, as a result,] the cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America.[17]. The heroin epidemic resembles the days whenCrack cocainebecame the major drug that destroyed communities across the United States and other parts of the world including the Caribbean that began in the early 1980s. [7] The Christic Institute then filed a $24 million civil suit on behalf of Avirgan and Honey 30 charging defendants including CIA officials of illegally participating in assassinations, as well as arms and drug trafficking. investigators." The article also discussed Webb's contacts with Ross's attorney and prosecution complaints of how Ross's defense had used Webb's series. ", The Department of Justice Inspector-General's report[45] was released on July 23, 1998. The first one, "The California Story", was issued in a classified version on December 17, 1997, and in an unclassified version on January 29, 1998. The series ran from October 2022, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters. One of the businesses that relocated there was Rich Mountain Aviation Inc.that did illegal modifications to the planes which allowed Seal to fly weapons to Nicaragua and transport cocaine back into the United States. Former Panamanian deputy health minister Dr. Hugo Spadafora, who had fought with the Contra army, outlined charges of cocaine trafficking to a prominent Panamanian official. [38] Despite the controversy that soon overtook the series, and the request of one board member to reconsider, the branch's board went ahead with the award in November. 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. [27] McManus found Blandn and Meneses's financial contributions to Contra organizations to be significantly less than the "millions" claimed in Webb's series, and no evidence that the CIA had tried to protect them. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). Noriega facilitated guns-for-drugs flights for the contras, providing protection and pilots, as well as safe havens for drug cartel officials, and discreet banking facilities. We also explore the depth and breadth of the Iran Contra investigations and reports, specifically focusing on the investigations into the connections between the Contras and drug trafficking. Participation of narcotics traffickers in Contra supply operations through business relationships with Contra organizations. Mid-1980s to early 199Os, HAITI. [46] Ahmed Wali Karzai denied the allegations stating that he had provided intelligence to the United States but was not compensated. the Church Committee)[6] also found the charges to be unsubstantiated. 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. Bush, William Barr, and others. [45] The President demanded clear evidence before taking action, which the US and UK did not have. ), For more than a decade, Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega was a highly paid CIA asset and collaborator, despite knowledge by U.S. drug authorities as early as 1971 that the general was heavily involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. ", The report called several of its findings "troubling." [21] Waters urged the CIA, the Department of Justice, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate. Every part of the process involved . It was this heroin network that eventually became known as "the French Connection". That's not to say that some of the people who CIA has used or been in touch with over the years may well have themselves been . [34] Writers such as Peter Dale Scott and Jonathan Marshall have suggested that the U.S. government's desire to conceal or protect these clandestine shipments led it to close the DEA office in Honduras when an investigation began into SETCO, allowing Matta-Ballesteros to continue and expand his trafficking. Long Island is home to some of the wealthiest communities in New York State which goes to show that heroin is affecting all neighborhoods rich and poor. Theres a movie coming out this year staring Tom Cruise called Mena about a pilot named Barry Seal who was a known DEA informant responsible for flying TONS of coke into the U.S working with the Sandanistas and Medellin cartel from Columbia, I.E the Ochoa brothers, Pablo Escobar, etc This rabbit hole can lead you all the way to George H.W Bush, who oversaw the Federal Drug Task Force commissioned by Reagan to Bill Clinton who was Governor of Arkansas at the time where Mena (population roughly 5,000 people) is located in a quiet, mountainous region of western Arkansas. In 1986, the Reagan Administration acknowledged that funds from cocaine smuggling helped fund the Contra rebels, but . In the beginning, CIA arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrestle control of labor unions from the Communist Party. To fight its "Secret War" against the Pathet Lao communist movement of Laos, the CIA used the Miao/Meo (Hmong) population. 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. Comment Removing Scanfee from Billable Books scanned before June 2011 which appear to have manually set scanfees Donor internetarchivebookdrive hammsam Edition It noted that Blandn and Meneses claimed to have donated money to Contra sympathizers in Los Angeles, but found no information to confirm that it was true or that the agency had heard of it. One of those groups is The Finders, which Gunderson said is operated by the CIA. ", "Reports Link Karzai's Brother to Afghanistan Heroin Trade", "Brother of Afghan Leader Said to Be Paid by C.I.A. 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. These included CIA assets, pilots who ferried supplies to the Contras, as well as Contra officials and others. Having no way to transport their opium, the Hmong were faced with economic ruin. Blandn and Meneses high-volume supply of low-priced cocaine allowed Ross to sew up the Los Angeles market and move on. "[30] Webb later published a book based on the series, Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Theonline news sourceThe Huffington Postpublished an article titledRon Paul Had Accurate Conspiracy Theory: CIA Was Tied To Drug Traffickershighlights what the former Libertarian Presidential nominee Dr. Ron Paul said on the involvement of the CIA in the drug trade which was not aConspiracy Theorybut a fact when taking into consideration the Iran-Contra Scandal: Drug trafficking is a gold mine for people who want to raise money in the underground government in order to finance projects that they cant get legitimately. Drug trafficking is the process by which individuals manufacture and distribute illegal drugs throughout the country. According to the three men, the CIA was collaborating with drug traffickers moving cocaine and marijuana to the United States, and using its share of the profits to finance Nicaraguan Contra rebels attempting to overthrow Nicaragua's Sandinista government. Scheme", Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities 1976, Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Inspector General, Investigations Staff, "Suit Alleging Plot by Contras, CIA Dismissed: Arms-Drug Smuggling, Conspiracy Charges Unproven, Judge Says", "Christic Institute Ordered to Pay $1 Million", "Court lets stand $1 million award against Christic Institute", "The CIA Drug Connection Is as Old as the Agency", The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, "Frontline: Cocaine, Conspiracy Theories & the C.I.A. Editor's Note: The ongoing relationship between Drug Trafficking and the CIA has been fairly common knowledge for the past 45 years and was well documented by Alfred McCoy's, . The third article, by Mitchell and Fulwood, covered the effects of crack on African Americans and how it affected their reaction to some of the rumors that arose after the Dark Alliance series. The "multinational" business of drug trafficking can be traced back to the 1940s, even before the CIA was created following World War II. Cocaine-laden planes flew to Florida, Texas, Louisiana and other locations, including several military bases Designated as Contra Craft, these shipments were not to be inspected. ", "Drugs, Corruption, and Justice in Vietnam and Afghanistan: A Cautionary Tale", "11, "Opium, the China Lobby, and the CIA", Dark Alliance: CIA, the Contras and the Crack Cocaine Explosion, Overview of CIA/IG Investigation (January 29, 1998), Report of InvestigationVolume I: The California Story (January 29, 1998), Report of Investigation Volume II: The Contra Story (October 8, 1998), Congressional Testimony of Peter Kornbluh, Involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking, Official reports by the U.S. Government on the CIA, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Allegations_of_CIA_drug_trafficking&oldid=1133990201, Central Intelligence Agency controversies, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles to be expanded from February 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 13:23. 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