The agency was aware of trafficking, and (in some cases) dissuaded the DEA and other agencies from investigating the Contra supply networks involved. Sandoval (eds. New York: Lawrence Hill Books, 2003. "[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." [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. 4) The series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation" through "imprecise language and graphics. 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 . In addition to a 26 percent production increase over past year for a total of 5,644 metric tons the amount of land under cultivation in opium poppies grew by 61 percent. ", "Ron Howard to direct movie about Arkansas's most notorious drug smuggler, Barry Seal", "Investigation Absolves CIA in Alleged Drug Smuggling", "Anti-Drug Unit of C.I.A. [59], Examining the support that Meneses and Blandn gave to the local Contra organization in San Francisco, the report concluded that it was "not sufficient to finance the organization" and did not consist of 'millions', contrary to the claims of the "Dark Alliance" series. These factors, rather than anything as spectacular as a systematic effort by the CIA or any other intelligence agency to protect the drug trafficking activities of Contra supporters, determined what occurred in the cases we examined. However, not only heroin from Afghanistan is the major source for U.S. citizens,BigPharma,or thecorporate drug dealerswho selllegal drugsalso have a hand in the epidemic because they produce and sellOpioidssuch asOxyContinandPercocetwhich is similar to heroin. Operation Eagle was the flashpoint. So How Did It Become the Cloak-and-Dagger Capital of America? Other revelations also point strongly to massive but clandestine U.S. government involvement in drug trafficking. CIA has had a solid rule against being involved in drug trafficking. ~ Narco Aggression Russia accuses the U.S. military of involvement in drug trafficking out of Afghanistan - Centre for Research on Globalization . And in return, large shipments of narcotics flowed . [31], The 2014 movie Kill the Messenger depicted actor Jeremy Renner as Gary Webb. Further documentation of CIA-connected Laotian opium trade was provided by Rolling Stone magazine in 1968, and by Alfred McCoy in 1972. 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 city is warning residents that there is a batch of tainted, life-threatening heroin on the streets. U.S. officials, including then-CIA Director William Webster and several DEA officers, sent Noriega letters of praise for efforts to thwart drug trafficking (albeit only against competitors of his Medellin Cartel patrons). 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. [45] This was reported in 2008 by The New York Times. If they remove Ahmed Wali, the Taliban will fill the void. In 1986, the Reagan Administration acknowledged that funds from cocaine smuggling helped fund the Contra rebels, but . 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. In 1980, amidst several mysterious deaths, the bank collapsed, $50 million in debt. The US repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial. CIA drug trafficking. [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. CIA ties to international drug trafficking date to the Korean War. "[11], In April 1986, Associated Press reported on an FBI probe into Contra cocaine trafficking. The lab's production was soon being ferried out on the planes of the CIA's front airline, Air America. The report said that the agency had conducted a training exercise at the airport in partnership with another Federal agency and that companies located at the airport had performed "routine aviation-related services on equipment owned by the CIA". They identified the Cuban-Americans as members of Brigade 2506, an anti-Castro group that participated in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. 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. One of those groups is The Finders, which Gunderson said is operated by the CIA. The Politics of Heroin by Alfred McCoy. EARLY COMPLICITY IN DRUG TRAFFICKING THE OSS: FORERUNNER TO THE CIA. Meneses, an established smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Blandn how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine. The first article, by Katz, developed a different picture of the origins of the crack trade than "Dark Alliance" had described, with more gangs and smugglers participating. [49], According to the report, the Inspector-General's office (OIG) examined all information the agency had "relating to CIA knowledge of drug trafficking allegations in regard to any person directly or indirectly involved in Contra activities." [46] Mahmud Karzai told Gerald Posner: "This is being coordinated by the ISI (Pakistani intelligence service). 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 CIA sets up proprietary arms, shipping, and banking companies to facilitate the criminal drug. Launched in 1970, Eagle targeted anti-Castro Cubans smuggling cocaine from Latin America to the Trafficante organization in Florida. 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. [13] Later in the same region, while the CIA was sponsoring a "Secret War" in Laos from 1961 to 1975, it was openly accused of trafficking heroin in the Golden Triangle area. CIA Involvement in Drug Smuggling Part 4. They were hauling down weapons and drugs back. The series examined the origins of the crack cocaine trade in Los Angeles and claimed that members of the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua had played a major role in creating the trade, using cocaine profits to support their struggle. [26] The second article, by McManus, was the longest of the series, and dealt with the role of the Contras in the drug trade and CIA knowledge of drug activities by the Contras. [56] In 1986, the agreement was modified to require the CIA to stop paying agents who it believed were involved in the drug trade. Although the Carter administration suspends payments to Noriega, he returns to the U.S. payroll when President Reagan takes office in 1981. "[57], This agreement, which had not previously been revealed, came at a time when there were allegations that the CIA was using drug dealers in its controversial covert operation to bring down the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. 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. [41] After discussions with Webb, the column was published on May 11, 1997. In 1949, two of Chiang Kai-shek's defeated generals, Li Wen Huan and Tuan Shi Wen, marched their Third and Fifth Route. 2) The series' estimates of the money involved was presented as fact instead of an estimate. Additionally, the Medellin Cartels Miami accountant, Ramon Milian Rodriguez, testified that he funneled nearly $10 million to Nicaraguan contras through long-time CIA operative Felix Rodriguez, who was based at Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador. While working to keep key Haitian military and political leaders in power, the CIA turned a blind eye to their clients drug trafficking. New Haven police said emergency responders saw at least 15 overdoses since Thursday afternoon, and possibly up to 22. 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. They have been behind the assassinations of several provincial leaders who are against the Taliban. Arkansas home of the Mena airport, a major pick up and drop off location for drug shipments handled by the CIA. In city after city, local dealers either bought from Ross or got left behind.. The CIA's surrogate there was a Laotian general, Vang Pao, who commanded Military Region 2 in northern Laos. But, Ceppos wrote, the series "did not meet our standards" in four areas. When the failed plan came to light, the CIA officer in charge of the operation resigned, and his supervisor was transferred. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations, chaired at the time by Senator John Kerry, held a series of hearings from 1987 to 1988 on drug cartels and drug money laundering in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking, self-awareness, and emotion. 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 . The charges linked the Contra trafficking to Sebastin Gonzlez Mendiola, who was charged with cocaine trafficking on November 26, 1984, in Costa Rica. [42] McCoy alleges that the CIA protects local warlords and incentivizes them to become drug lords. There is a limited number of planes, pilots and landing strips. Various sources allege the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (WP) has been involved in drug trafficking operations throughout Asia, Australia, the Americas, and the Middle East: opium planting, growing, harvesting and smuggling; processing of heroin, development of heroin processing capability and smuggling . Ross was also released early after cooperating in an investigation of police corruption, but was rearrested a few months later in a sting operation arranged with the help of Blandn. [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. Clinton brought in C.I.A front companies by awarding them state-backed low interest loans to relocate to Arkansas. CIA and Contra cocaine trafficking Senator John Kerry's 1988 U.S. Senate Committee on . Back in 1996, Blandon was asked in court if he ran the LA drug operation, which he confirmed. 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. 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. But while calling the flaws in the series "unforgivably careless journalism," Overholser also criticized the Post's refusal to print Ceppos' letter defending the series and sharply criticized the Post's coverage of the story. 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. It was this heroin network that eventually became known as "the French Connection". 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. However, abusing Opioids can also lead to heroin use. These labs were run by Corsican gang leader Paul Carbone. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). and Drugs Has a Life of Its Own", "Los Angeles Sherrif's Department Inquiry Findings", "Pivotal Figures of Newspaper Series May Be Only Bit Players", "Tracking the Genesis of the Crack Trade", "Examining Charges of CIA Role in Crack Sales", "History Fuels Outrage Over Crack Allegations", "Mercury News Executive Editor Jerry Ceppos' Letter to the Washington Post", "Washington Post response to Mercury News Executive Editor Jerry Ceppos", "Despite critics, a good story Crack and the contras", "To readers of our 'Dark Alliance' series", "THE CIA-CONTRA-CRACK COCAINE CONTROVERSY: A REVIEW OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS", "CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: Epilogue", "CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: Conclusions", "Central Intelligence Agency Inspector General Report of Investigation Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States (96-0143-IG) Volume I: The California Story", "Central Intelligence Agency Inspector General Report of Investigation Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States (96-0143-IG) Volume II: The Contra Story", "Frontline: Cocaine, Conspiracy Theories & the C.I.A. Many GIs in Vietnam became addicts. Hull and other CIA-connected contra supporters and pilots teamed up with George Morales, a major Miami-based Colombian drug trafficker who later admitted to giving $3 million in cash and several planes to contra leaders. The plan involved the unsupervised shipment of hundreds of pounds of cocaine from Venezuela. Before long, someonethere were unproven allegations that it was a Mafia family from Floridahad established a heroin drug refinery lab in Region Two. ", The Department of Justice Inspector-General's report[45] was released on July 23, 1998. [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. (See Jonathan Kwitny, The Crimes of Patriots: A True Tale of Dope, Dirty Money and the CIA, W.W. Norton & Co., 1 987. "Report on Alleged Involvement: Findings" 43. [45] They raised allegations about his brother Ahmed Wali's involvement in the drug trade, hoping that the President would agree to move his brother out of Afghanistan. Air America, a CIA front organization, was the only airline available in northern Laos. He enlisted 30,000 Hmong tribesmen in the service of the CIA. The CIA's history began in the 1980s. 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. According to the report's "Epilogue", the report was completed in December 1997 but was not released because the DEA was still attempting to use Danilo Blandn in an investigation of international drug dealers and was concerned that the report would affect the viability of the investigation. 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. "Allegations linking CIA secret operations and drug trafficking have persisted on and off ever since the Agency's founding in 1947. Surname1 CIA involvement in Drug Trafficking Name Professor Course Date The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Many had long been involved with the CIA and drug trafficking They used contra planes and a Costa Rican-based shrimp company, which laundered money for the CIA, to move cocaine to the U.S. Costa Rica was not the only route. [45] The President demanded clear evidence before taking action, which the US and UK did not have. U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Miami and New York City experienced a rise in crime and disease. ", In contrast, the series received support from Steve Weinberg, a former executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors. SIN was purportedly created to fight . 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. By Ian Stuart. In 1984, U.S. officials began receiving reports of Contra cocaine trafficking. 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. Regarding issues raised in the series' shorter sidebar stories, it found that some in the government were "not eager" to have DEA agent Celerino Castillo "openly probe" activities at Ilopango Airport in El Salvador, where covert operations in support of the Contras were undertaken, and that the CIA had indeed intervened in a case involving smuggler Julio Zavala. To show this, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. Provision of assistance to the Contras by narcotics traffickers, including cash, weapons, planes, pilots, air supply services and other materials, on a voluntary basis by the traffickers. [3] The United States Department of State responded to the initial allegations stating that they were "unable to find any evidence to substantiate them, much less proof. 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. [33], The Honduran drug lord Juan Matta-Ballesteros was the owner of SETCO, an airline which the Nicaraguan Contras used to covertly transport military supplies and personnel in the early 1980s. Every part of the process involved . "[2] Subsequent investigations by the Inspector General of the CIA,[4] United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs,[5] and United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (i.e. [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. The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of involvement in drug trafficking. In the suburbs of Long Island, NY, heroin use is an increasing problem. [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. Its function of covert operations is by definition illegal and therefore requires secret funding. It is very clear that the CIA has been very much involved with drug dealings, Paul said. While a few cases have been investigated and exposed by journalists, the issue continues to remain in the shadows. And I know so because I was told by some of these pilots that in fact they had done that."[54]. 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. Bush lost patience with his brutal, drug . "[47] A CIA spokesman said: "No intelligence organization worth the name would ever entertain these kind of allegations. In the early 1970s, Alfred McCoy "accused American officials of condoning and even cooperating with corrupt elements in Southeast Asia's illegal drug trade out of political and military considerations"[2] and stated that the CIA was knowingly involved in the production of heroin in the Golden Triangle of Burma, Thailand, and Laos. The sanctuary that Cuba provides to drug traffick- ers complicates drug-enforcement efforts in the Caribbean: - Vessels carrying drugs from South America to the United States frequently use Cuban waters to avoid interdiction, with and without official Cuban sanction. When some authority wasnt clued in and made an arrest, powerful strings were pulled on behalf of dropping the case, acquittal, reduced sentence, or deportation. 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. He told the Examiner, "I just wanted to get the Communists out of my country." To support these claims, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. ClA-supported Moujahedeen rebels engaged heavily in drug trafficking while fighting against the Soviet-supported govemment and its plans to reform the very backward Afghan society. We highlight the testimony provided by people close to the Camarena case and the allegations of CIA involvement, and we search, to no avail, for any . Citing existing federal policy on narcotics enforcement, Smith wrote: "In light of these provisions and in view of the fine cooperation the Drug Enforcement Administration has received from CIA, no formal requirement regarding the reporting of narcotics violations has been included in these procedures. 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. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, "C.I.A. 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. [51], It found no information to support the claim that the agency interfered with law enforcement actions against Ross, Blandn or Meneses. It found that "the allegations contained in the original Mercury News articles were exaggerations of the actual facts." [39], In addition, the former Venezuelan anti-narcotics chief General Ramon Guillen Davila and his chief civilian aide were both indicted in connection with the shipments. [20] Maxine Waters, the Representative for California's 35th district, which includes South-Central Los Angeles, was also outraged by the articles and became one of Webb's strongest supporters. CIA Drug Trafficking - Independent News Articles ~ A Drug Kingpin, the CIA, and Prisoners- Freeway Rick Ross and America's Mass Incarceration Problem - Daily Beast . ", The CIA Inspector-General's report was issued in two volumes. The War in Afghanistan was mainly about producing opium which did end up in thestreets of Iran, Russia and China. [51], In the 623rd paragraph, the report described a cable from the CIA's Directorate of Operations dated October 22, 1982, describing a prospective meeting between Contra leaders in Costa Rica for "an exchange in [the United States] of narcotics for arms, which then are shipped to Nicaragua. History of CIA Involvement in Drug Trafficking "In my 30year history in the Drug Enforcement Administration and related agencies, the major targets of my investigations almost invariably turned out to be working for the CIA." Dennis Dayle, former chief of an elite DEA enforcement unit. [34], Ceppos' column drew editorial responses from both The New York Times and The Washington Post. [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. It was a way to raise large amounts of "hard to trace" cash. Bush, William Barr, and others. But ultimately, the responsibility was, and is, mine. House Intelligence Committee members heard testimony concerning allegations of CIA drug trafficking. 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. 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. 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. Like the CIA and Justice Department reports, it also found that neither Blandn, Meneses, nor Ross were associated with the CIA. At least four transport companies under investigation for drug trafficking received US government contracts to carry non-lethal supplies to the contras. The CIA's front company, Air America was alleged to have profited from transporting opium and heroin on behalf of Hmong leader Vang Pao,[15][16] or of "turning a blind eye" to the Laotian military doing it. 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. Director of Investigative Reporters and Editors the CIA knew that there is a batch of tainted life-threatening. Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and is, mine ultimately, Department. Relocate to arkansas in charge of the CIA America, a major pick up and drop off for... Function of covert operations is by definition illegal and therefore requires secret funding,,! Department reports, it also found that `` the French cia involvement in drug trafficking '' language and graphics dealers either from... City, local dealers either bought from Ross or got left behind in. Just wanted to get the Communists out of Afghanistan - Centre for Research on Globalization surrogate there was arms-for-drugs. 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Office in 1981 ] was released on July 23, 1998 magazine in 1968, and Norwin Meneses the! Tribesmen in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba provided him cocaine! Very backward Afghan society series ' estimates of the Mena airport, a former director! ' column drew editorial responses from both the New York city experienced a rise in crime and.! The series `` did not meet our standards '' in four areas who against. By Rolling Stone magazine in 1968, and his supervisor was transferred reports of cocaine! Contra cocaine trafficking Communists out of my country. ] Mahmud Karzai told Gerald Posner: `` This being...
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