cia involvement in drug trafficking

Having no way to transport their opium, the Hmong were faced with economic ruin. The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post launched their own investigations and rejected Webb's allegations. Launched in 1970, Eagle targeted anti-Castro Cubans smuggling cocaine from Latin America to the Trafficante organization in Florida. Comment Removing Scanfee from Billable Books scanned before June 2011 which appear to have manually set scanfees Donor internetarchivebookdrive hammsam Edition When Ross discovered the market for crack in Los Angeles, he began buying cocaine from Blandn. Americans, 5% of Earths population, take 60% of painkillers on Earth. Many GIs in Vietnam became addicts. 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. officers". [7][8][9] Pastora had complained about such charges as early as March 1985, claiming that "two 'political figures' in Washington told him last week that State Department and CIA personnel were spreading the rumor that he is linked to drug trafficking in order to isolate his movement. "[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. 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. [28], In 1986, the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations began investigating drug trafficking from Central and South America and the Caribbean to the United States. The CIA has a long history of being involved in global drug trade in all parts of the world under the control of the US or where it has considerable influence. Senior U S policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras funding problems. (Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy, a Report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and Intemational Operations, 1989). 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. They have been behind the assassinations of several provincial leaders who are against the Taliban. In 1984, U.S. officials began receiving reports of Contra cocaine trafficking. The Taliban banned the production of opium in 2000. ", In contrast, the series received support from Steve Weinberg, a former executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors. From August 1820, 1996, the San Jose Mercury News published the Dark Alliance series by Gary Webb,[15][16] which claimed: For the better part of a decade, a San Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. 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.. [24], The New York Times published two articles on the series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden. However, during the Contra era, CIA worked with a variety of people to support the Contra program. Gunderson discovered that in the U.S. there is a secret widespread network of groups who kidnap children and infants, and subject them to Satanic ritual abuse and subsequent human sacrifice. After Ceppos' column, The Mercury News spent the next several months conducting an internal review of the story. In the interviews, some covering several days and being conducted in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Colorado and California, several of the Contra backers told AP of firsthand knowledge of cocaine trafficking. in Central America", "Managing a Nightmare: CIA Public Affairs and the Drug Conspiracy Story", Involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking, Official reports by the U.S. Government on the CIA, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CIA_involvement_in_Contra_cocaine_trafficking&oldid=1133985828, History of the foreign relations of the United States, Investigations and hearings of the United States Congress, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Among its officers were a network of US generals, admirals and CIA men, including former CIA Director William Colby, who was also one of its lawyers. [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. The Corsicans gained political influence and control over the docks ideal conditions for cementing a long-term partnership with mafia drug distributors, which turned Marseille into the postwar heroin capital of the Western world. Because of the war, the Hmong depended upon opium poppy cultivation for hard currency. Brian Barger and Robert Parry, "Reports Link Nicaraguan Rebels to Cocaine Trafficking". in Central America", "Prepared Statement of Frederick P. Hitz inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency Before The House Committee On Intelligence subject Investigation Of allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras In Drug Trafficking to the United States", "Inspector: CIA Kept Ties With Alleged Traffickers", "Cocaine, Conspiracy Theories & the C.I.A. 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. . It was a way to raise large amounts of "hard to trace" cash. 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. Each is closely examined in terms of their relationship with CIA, the drug trafficking activity that was alleged, the actions CIA took in response to the allegations, and the extent of information concerning the allegations that was Shared with U.S. law enforcement and Congress. The joint Lansky-CIA operations in the international drug racket were a lucrative venture that thrived as a consequence of deep U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia as a cover for drug smuggling activities." Piper's simple one-paragraph explanation may be the most concise overview of the Vietnam War ever written. The paper also gave Webb permission to visit Central America again to get more evidence supporting the story. [35], The Post response came from the paper's ombudsman, Geneva Overholser. (John Dinges, Our Man in Panama, Random House, 1991; National Security Archive Documentation Packet The Contras, Cocaine, and Covert Operations.). 7 Min Read. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported back in 2015 thatheroin use in the United States increased 63% from 2002 through 2013.Fast forward to 2016, heroin is sweeping across the United States at unprecedented levels. [59], For the related broader allegations of drug trafficking by the CIA, see, Alleged CIA support for cocaine smuggling and other related crimes, CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking, Early reports of Contra cocaine trafficking. "[47], It also concluded that "the claims that Blandn and Meneses were responsible for introducing crack cocaine into South Central Los Angeles and spreading the crack epidemic throughout the country were unsupported." [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. After the publication of a 1996 news article in The San Jose Mercury written by Webb, who exposed the complicity of the CIA in the L.A. crack epidemic of the 1980s, Waters called for an investigation. Back in 1996, Blandon was asked in court if he ran the LA drug operation, which he confirmed. According to Tim Weiner, the Central Intelligence Agency "has been accused of forming alliances of convenience with drug traffickers around the world in the name of anti-Communism" since its creation in 1947.[1]. [45] The President demanded clear evidence before taking action, which the US and UK did not have. It also suggested that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). A two-year investigation produced a 1,166-page report in 1989 analyzing the involvement of Contra groups and supporters in drug trafficking, and the role of United States government officials in these activities. "[47] A CIA spokesman said: "No intelligence organization worth the name would ever entertain these kind of allegations. In exchange, the CIA allowed Trafficante to import tons of narcotics into America. We have referenced this case and the secret CIA group The Finders in the past here at Health Impact News, as former FBI Chief Ted Gunderson was actively . To support these claims, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. There is a limited number of planes, pilots and landing strips. Webb was following the trial of a Contra leader named Oscar Danilo Blandon Reyes who testified as to the C.I.As involvement in cocaine trafficking into Inner city Los Angeles in the 1980s. A 1986 investigation by a sub-committee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (the Kerry Committee), found that "the Contra drug links included", among other connections, "[] payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies. [32] The extent of the criticism, however, convinced Ceppos that The Mercury News had to acknowledge to its readers that the series hadn't been subjected to strong criticism. He was murdered in 1986 after he started openly bragging about being a C.I.A operative. [8][9][10] A judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida found that the plaintiffs "made no showing of existence of genuine issues of material fact" and ordered the Christic Institute to pay over $1 million in attorneys fees and court costs. Because Blandn cooperated with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), he spent only 28 months in prison, became a paid government informer, and received permanent resident status. [40] Because Venezuela does not extradite its citizens, Guillen was not tried in the U.S., but his civilian aide was arrested while in the United States and sentenced to 20 years. The lab's production was soon being ferried out on the planes of the CIA's front airline, Air America. The Agencys principal client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the leading druglords and leading heroin refiner. "[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. ", Many follow-ups to the original series published over the next three months are in the series archive at. [46] Mahmud Karzai told Gerald Posner: "This is being coordinated by the ISI (Pakistani intelligence service). During the Korean War, the first allegations of CIA drug trafficking surfaced after 1949, stemming from a deal whereby arms were supplied to Chiang Kai-shek's defeated generals in exchange for intelligence. [36] The CIA, which was then directed by future president George H. W. Bush, provided Noriega with hundreds of thousands of dollars per year as payment for his work in Latin America. There have been several allegations that the CIA facilitated smuggling lines for cocaine, heroin . Payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies. Drug trafficking is the process by which individuals manufacture and distribute illegal drugs throughout the country. The Crack epidemic coincidently began around the same time when the Iran-Contra Scandal was being exposed. [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. 3) The series oversimplified how the crack epidemic grew. Julio Zavala, also convicted on trafficking charges, said "that he supplied $500,000 to two Costa Rican-based Contra groups and that the majority of it came from cocaine trafficking in the San Francisco Bay area, Miami and New Orleans. The heroin epidemic is now affecting cities and towns across the U.S. Edstrom estimates that 165,000 Americans will die from the heroin epidemic in the next 10 years: The War in Afghanistan began as an opium war against Iran, Russia and China, the tables are turning into an opium war against Americans on track to kill 165,000 Americans (2016-2026). The CIA was very much involved in the Iran-Contra scandals. 2) The series' estimates of the money involved was presented as fact instead of an estimate. She questioned whether the U.S. government paid or organized operatives to . The agency was aware of trafficking, and (in some cases) dissuaded the DEA and other agencies from investigating the Contra supply networks involved. According to unnamed sources in the mid 1980s, the CIA created a unit in Haiti, whose purported purpose was anti-drug activity, but was in reality "used as an instrument of political terror", and was heavily involved in drug trafficking. The Clinton family have been heavily involved in the trafficking of drugs, both inside and outside of the United States. After introducing the three, the first article discussed primarily Blandn and Meneses, and their relationship with the Contras and the CIA. The Plain of Jars had been captured by Pathet Lao fighters in 1964, which resulted in the Royal Lao Air Force being unable to land its C-47 transport aircraft on the Plain of Jars for opium transport. There are instances where CIA did not, in an expeditious or consistent fashion, cut off relationships with individuals supporting the Contra program who were alleged to have engaged in drug trafficking activity or take action to resolve the allegations. [36] Overholser was harshly critical of the series, "reported by a seemingly hotheaded fellow willing to have people leap to conclusions his reporting couldn't back up." Mid-1980s to early 199Os, HAITI. The 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 Blandn, the Los Angeles wholesaler and his Nicaraguan supplier who helped spark the crack epidemic in the 1980s. Books and investigations on the subject that have received general notice include works by the historian Alfred McCoy, professor and diplomat Peter Dale Scott, journalists Gary Webb and Alexander Cockburn, and writer Larry Collins. In the late 1940s, the CIA funneled arms and funds to the Corsican Mafia in return for their assistance in breaking up widespread labour strikes in France that were threatening to establish communist control over the Old Port of Marseille. "[24], Several journalists assert that the CIA used Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport in Arkansas to smuggle weapons and ammunition to the Contras in Nicaragua, and drugs back into the United States. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). After the series' publication, the Northern California branch of the national Society of Professional Journalists had voted Webb "Journalist of the Year" for 1996. "[29], In 1996, Gary Webb wrote a series of articles published in the San Jose Mercury News, which investigated Nicaraguans linked to the CIA-backed Contras who had smuggled cocaine into the U.S. which was then distributed as crack cocaine into Los Angeles and funneled profits to the Contras. The Politics of Heroin by Alfred McCoy. CIA ties to international drug trafficking date to the Korean War. 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. Afghanistan, Source of 90% of The Worlds Heroinstated the impact of Afghanistans opium production on neighboring countries: Afghanistan, source of 90% of Earths heroin, ended 90% of Earths heroin problems when Taliban outlawed opium in 2000. According to the report, "Twelve American, Nicaraguan and Cuban-American rebel backers interviewed by The Associated Press said they had been questioned over the past several months [about contra cocaine trafficking] by the FBI. [45] This was reported in 2008 by The New York Times. 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. 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 United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of involvement in drug trafficking.Books and investigations on the subject that have received general notice include works by the historian Alfred McCoy, professor and diplomat Peter Dale Scott, journalists Gary Webb and Alexander Cockburn, and writer Larry Collins.These claims have led to investigations by the United States . 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. Alfred McCoy writes, "According to several unproven sources, Air America began flying opium from mountain villages north and east of the Plain of Jars to CIA asset Hmong General Vang Pao's headquarters at Long Tieng."[14]. Juarez, Mexico - The US Central Intelligence Agency and other international security forces "don't fight drug traffickers", a spokesman for the Chihuahua state government in . [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 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. [30] In May 1997, The Mercury News executive editor Jerry Ceppos, who had approved the series, published a column that acknowledged shortcomings in the series reporting, editing, and production, while maintaining the story was correct "on many important points. The . Further documentation of CIA-connected Laotian opium trade was provided by Rolling Stone magazine in 1968, and by Alfred McCoy in 1972. [33] He did this in a column that appeared on November 3, defending the series, but also committing the paper to a review of major criticisms. "[7], On March 16, 1986, the San Francisco Examiner published a report on the "1983 seizure of 430 pounds of cocaine from a Colombian freighter" in San Francisco; it said that a "cocaine ring in the San Francisco Bay area helped finance Nicaragua's Contra rebels." This article first appeared onPoliticalJunkieNewsMedia.com and was authored by Joe Bowman. 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