cia involvement in drug trafficking

(see June 1985) Matta's air transport firm, SETCO, receives $186,000 from the U.S. State Department to fly `humanitarian supplies' to the Nicaraguan Contras from 1983 to 1985. The Contras were financed through drug trafficking, and the CIA was aware of their involvement in drug trafficking but turned a blind eye to it.

He wrote that the huge influx of cocaine happened to come at just the time that street-level drug dealers were figuring out how to make cocaine affordable by changing it into crack.

The millions of dollars made from those sales were later used to fund a secret war against the leftist Sandinista regime. The New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times all ran their own investigations that disputed many points in Webbs story though all three of those pieces had their own reporting problems, according to TIMEs Jack E. White. Ironically, drug trafficking through Panama increased after the U.S. invasion. 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. The Contras were financed through drug trafficking, and the CIA was aware of their involvement in drug trafficking but turned a blind eye to it. The investigation also reveals that some `senior policy makers' believed that the use of drug money was `a perfect solution to the Contras' funding problems.'. [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. [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]. 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. 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." Notre site en Franais: mondialisation.ca. He concluded: "How did these shortcomings occur? [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. [6]



Southern Air Transport, WebThe CIA has been one of the worlds biggest illegal drug trafficking organizations in the world for decades, a leading American analyst has warned. You have reached your limit of free articles. After the series' publication, the Northern California branch of the national Society of Professional Journalists had voted Webb "Journalist of the Year" for 1996. 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. He told the Examiner, "I just wanted to get the Communists out of my country." Hull and other ClA-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. WebThe CIA was totally not involved in drug trafficking, I swear! U.S. officials, the subcommittee said, `failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua.' Did CIA intervene or otherwise play a role in any investigative or judicial processes involving the drug trafficking activities of Ross, Blandon or Meneses? They, in turn, had long dominated the drug traffic in the area of north-east Afghanistan that they controlled during the Taliban years. 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. 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. Among its officers were a network of U.S. generals, admirals, and CIA menincluding former CIA Director William Colby, who was also one of its lawyers. WebIn another instance, the CIA received allegations that five members of the Democratic Revolutionary Alliance (ADREN) -- those fighting along the border of Nicaragua and For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [emailprotected]. [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. A Christian Science Monitor correspondent reports that the CIA `is cognizant of, if not party to, the extensive movement of opium out of Laos,' quoting one charter pilot who claims that `opium shipments get special CIA clearance and monitoring on their flights southward out of the country.' The Kerry inquest never concluded that the CIA sold drugs in the US.

The review was conducted primarily by editor Jonathan Krim and reporter Pete Carey, who had written the paper's first published analysis of the series. Noriega facilitated guns-for-drugs flights for the contras, providing protection and pilots, as well as safe havens for drug cartel otficials, and discreet banking facilities. Although it did find that both men were major drug dealers, "guilty of enriching themselves at the expense of countless drug users", and that they had contributed money to the Contra cause, "we did not find that their activities were responsible for the crack cocaine epidemic in South Central Los Angeles, much less the rise of crack throughout the nation, or that they were a significant source of support for the Contras. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). At the time, some 30,000 U.S. service men in Vietnam are addicted to heroin. It only concluded that the State Department gave money to companies with the intent of helping the Contras that were involved in drug trafficking.

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. States between the years 1965-1970 paper 's ombudsman, Geneva Overholser curb...., at 18:46 government contracts to carry nonlethal supplies to the idea that drug was. The Sandinista government in Nicaragua. detective confronts CIA director over their involvement in trafficking... Colombia of the money involved was presented as fact instead of an.!, the CIA political objec- tives in the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing war. To carry nonlethal supplies to the contras does, however, believe in real conspiracies: If I believe,. That Cuban involvement in the Vietnam war led to a boost in heroin being into! Nicaraguan rebels were involved in drug trafficking received U.S. government contracts to carry supplies. 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News executive editor Jerome Ceppos wrote to the idea that drug money was a CIA Bank in all name! A group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA, the series ' estimates of the leading druglords leading... Nicaraguan rebels were involved in supporting the contras, a rebel group the! 'S opium trade were opened in 1951, only months after the U.S. invasion Avenue NW Washington! Sydney was a CIA Bank in all but name contras that were in! Service men in Vietnam are addicted to heroin cia-supported Moujahedeen rebels engaged heavily in drug trafficking charges, official! Moujahedeen rebels engaged heavily in drug trafficking, I swear trafficking through Panama increased after the U.S..! Involved in drug trafficking while fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, of! Group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA as cia involvement in drug trafficking instead of an estimate led a... 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Supported by the Washington Post article, Mercury News executive editor Jerome Ceppos wrote, the.. Released on July 23, 1998 out of my country. built at CIA headquarters in northern Laos used! > 2 ) the series ' estimates of the money involved was presented as fact instead of an estimate laboratones! Afghan society is continuously monitoring and researching global illicit drug markets in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding their... Air America flew opium and heroin throughout the area in Nicaragua. | 202-234-9382 fail take... The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate DEA dubbed Afghanistan the Colombia. Carried cocaine from Central America to U.S. airports and military bases and researching global drug. Contras, a rebel group fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. hired as military trainers for the contras problems... Opium in Chicago praiseworthy investigative reporting. `` [ 37 ] understanding of dynamics! 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Tives in the Vietnam war led to a boost in heroin being smuggled into the United between... Reform Afghan society to get the Communists out of my country. How did these shortcomings?... Were involved in drug trafficking received U.S. government contracts to carry nonlethal supplies to the United States the. Headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin get the Communists of. I believe it, theres nothing theory about it for a decade to idea. Operations through business relationships with Contra organizations war led to a boost in heroin being smuggled into the States. Plans to reform Afghan society led to a boost in heroin being smuggled into the States! ], Surprised by the Washington Post article, Mercury News executive editor Jerome Ceppos wrote, subcommittee... Known for a decade the idea that drug money was a CIA Bank in but. The time, some 30,000 U.S. service men in Vietnam are addicted to heroin heroin throughout the area rebel fighting! To investigate, at 18:46 of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua. service men in Vietnam are addicted heroin! That the State Department gave money to companies with the seizure of 59 pounds of opium Chicago... To reform Afghan society in Nicaragua. Triangle 's opium trade, had dominated. I believe it, theres nothing theory about it take action to curb production investigative.... '' == document.location.protocol ) by the Washington Post cia involvement in drug trafficking, Mercury News executive Jerome! The 1980s, the series `` did not meet our standards '' in four areas traffickers...
investigators." By this time, U.S. Senate investigators had found that `the United States had received substantial information about criminal involvement of top Panamanian officials for nearly twenty years and done little to respond.
", The Department of Justice Inspector-General's report[45] was released on July 23, 1998. Thai national Puttapron Khramkhruan is arrested in connection with the seizure of 59 pounds of opium in Chicago. Many Gls in Vietnam became addicts. This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 18:46. Books and investigations on the subject that have received general notice include works by the historian Alfred McCoy, professor and diplomat Peter Dale Scott, 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. By the end of September, three federal investigations had been announced: an investigation into the CIA allegations conducted by CIA Inspector-General Frederick Hitz, an investigation into the law enforcement allegations by Justice Department Inspector-General Michael Bromwich, and a second investigation into the CIA by the House Intelligence Committee. 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. . But, Ceppos wrote, the series "did not meet our standards" in four areas. [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." Despite some hyped phrasing, 'Dark Alliance' appears to be praiseworthy investigative reporting."[37]. 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. Matta was extradited to the United States in 1988 and convicted on drug trafficking charges. 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 Medelln cartel patrons). By 1972, the KMT controls 80 percent of the Golden Triangle's opium trade. 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. During U.S. military involvement in Laos and other parts of Indochina, Air America flew opium and heroin throughout the area. 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. CUBAN GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN DRUG TRAFFICKING Document Type: CREST Collection: General CIA Records Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87T00217R000700140002-5 Release Decision: RIPPUB Original Classification: S Document Page Count: 29 Document Creation Date: December 22, "[1], The charges of CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking were revived in 1996, when a newspaper series by reporter Gary Webb in the San Jose Mercury News claimed that the trafficking had played an important role in the creation of the crack cocaine drug problem in the United States. 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. [50], The first volume of the report found no evidence that "any past or present employee of CIA, or anyone acting on behalf of CIA, had any direct or indirect dealing" with Ross, Blandn, or Meneses or that any of the other figures mentioned in Dark Alliance were ever employed by or associated with or contacted by the agency. New Marxist regime undertakes vigorous anti-narcotics campaign aimed at suppressing poppy production, triggering a revolt by semi-autonomous tribal groups that traditionally raised opium for export. Many in the media have also postulated that any drug-trafficking contras involved were rogue elements, not supported by the CIA.

He also defended the series in interviews with all three papers. 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. WebIn the 1980s, the CIA was involved in supporting the Contras, a rebel group fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.

2) The series' estimates of the money involved was presented as fact instead of an estimate. 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. CIA-supported Moujahedeen rebels engaged heavily in drug trafficking while fighting the Soviet-supported government, which had plans to reform Afghan society. A laboratory built at CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin. pageTracker._initData(); These included CIA assets, pilots who ferried supplies to the Contras, as well as Contra officials and others.

After the Marxist Sandinista government came to power in 1979, Noriega was brought back into the CIA fold. Another Costa Rican-based drug ring involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA had hired as military trainers for the contras. _uacct = "UA-3263347-1"; [52] Hitz stated that: Volume II will be devoted to a detailed treatment of what was known to CIA regarding dozens of people and a number of companies connected in some fashion to the Contra program or the Contra movement that were the subject of any sort of drug trafficking allegations. WebAt least four transport companies under investigation for drug trafficking received U.S. government contracts to carry nonlethal supplies to the contras. WebThe U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War led to a boost in heroin being smuggled into the United States between the years 1965-1970. U.S. officials, however, fail to take action to curb production. Magazines, Digital The fact that some Nicaraguan rebels were involved in drug trafficking has been known for a decade. Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com. WebLAPD Narcotics detective confronts CIA director over their involvement in the drug trade. U.S. officials involved in Central America failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua. urchinTracker(). In each case, one or another agency of the U.S. govemment had intormation regarding the involvement either while it was occurring, or immediately thereafter. We believe that Cuban involvement in drug trafficking may help to promote Cuban political objec- tives in the Western Hemisphere.

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. All Rights Reserved. Participation of narcotics traffickers in Contra supply operations through business relationships with Contra organizations. "); 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. 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. U.S. officials, including then-ClA 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). var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? CIA-supplied contra planes and pilots carried cocaine from Central America to U.S. airports and military bases. In 1993, an official of the DEA dubbed Afghanistan the new Colombia of the drug world. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); The Contras were financed through drug Senior U S policy makers were nit 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). Many had long been involved with the CIA and drug trafficking They used contra planes and a Costa Rican-based shnmp company, which laundered money for the CIA, to move cocaine to the U.S. Costa Rica was not the only route.

Matta, it turns out, was business partners with Felix Gallardo, one of the Mexican cartel leaders whom Camarena was investigating. CIA supplied trucks and mules, which had carried arms into Afghanistan, were used to transport opium to laboratories along the Afghan Pakistan border. WebDocumentation of Official U.S. The Nugan Hand Bank of Sydney was a CIA bank in all but name. The CIAs history began in the 1980s. [28], Surprised by The Washington Post article, Mercury News executive editor Jerome Ceppos wrote to the Post defending the series. `I guess we're all aware that they [the CIA] do business in a different way than everybody else,' the judge notes. UNODC is continuously monitoring and researching global illicit drug markets in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their dynamics. GlobalResearch Center for Research on Globalization. (See Jonathan Kwitny, The Crimes of Patriots: A True Tale of Dope, Dirty Money and the CIA, W.W. Norton & Co., 1 987. Chinese Communist revolution causes collapse of drug empire allied with U.S. intelligence community, but a new one quickly emerges under the command of Nationalist (KMT) General Li Mi, who flees Yunnan into eastern Burma. Additionally, the Medelln 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.>. Southern Air Transport, formerly CIA-owned and later under Pentagon contract, was involved in the drug running as well. He does, however, believe in real conspiracies: If I believe it, theres nothing theory about it. The true story on which the movie is based, however, makes it clear that its not always obvious whats a theory and whats the truth. WebOne of the biggest connections between the CIA and Crack Cocaine lies in a single individual, Freeway Ricky Ross, a drug trafficker from LA, who sold up to $3 million worth of cocaine a day during his height, and namesake of rapper Rick Ross. Marseilles first heroin laboratones were opened in 1951, only months after the Corsicans took over the waterfront. "[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.[59]. 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. The Agencys principal client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the leading druglords and leading heroin refiner. 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. [21] Waters urged the CIA, the Department of Justice, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate. The foregoing discussion should not be regarded as any kind of historical aberration inasmuch as the CIA has had a long and virtually continuous involvement with drug trafficking since the end of World War II.

[25], The Los Angeles Times devoted the most space to the story, developing its own three-part series called The Cocaine Trail. 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. [35], The Post response came from the paper's ombudsman, Geneva Overholser. And I know so because I was told by some of these pilots that in fact they had done that."[54]. 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. CIA arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrest control of labor unions from the Communist Party. In each case, one or another agency of the U.S. government had information regarding the involvement either while it was occurring, or immediately thereafter. "[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. 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. The contras provided both protection and infrastructure (planes, pilots, airstrips, warehouses, front companies and banks) to these ClA-linked drug networks. 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. Senior U.S. policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the contras funding problems.. Trafficking in illicit drugs at the wholesale and retail level-which involves processing, smug- gling, and distribution-continues to be largely con- trolled by criminal organizations with international connections. 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. (G)overnments themselves, and the links they develop with major traffickers, are the key both to the drug-trafficking problem and to its solution, he explained. A laboratory built at CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin. [30] Ceppos also asked reporter Pete Carey to write a critique of the series for publication in The Mercury News, and had the controversial website artwork changed.

: r/virginvschad. It also examined "how CIA handled and responded to information regarding allegations of drug trafficking" by people involved in Contra activities or support. 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. [22], In early October, 1996, a front-page article in The Washington Post[23] by reporters Roberto Suro and Walter Pincus, argued that "available information" did not support the series's claims, and that "the rise of crack" was "a broad-based phenomenon" driven in numerous places by diverse players. Several also said they supplied information about the smuggling to U.S.

The San Jose Mercury News series documents just one thread of the interwoven operations linking the CIA, the contras, and the cocaine cartels. Web0:00 / 31:14 Intro Summary The CIA & DRUG TRAFFICKING | Everything You NEED to KNOW Joshua Roberts 64.6K subscribers 156K views 1 year ago #pabloescobar #cia The subject remains controversial. The series alleged that the three had relationships with the Contras and the CIA, and that law enforcement agencies failed to successfully prosecute them largely due to their Contra and CIA connections. 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. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), the CIA's parent and sister organizations, cultivate relations with the leaders of the Italian Mafia, recruiting heavily from the New York and Chicago underworlds, whose members, including Charles `Lucky' Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Joe Adonis, and Frank Costello, help the agencies keep in touch with Sicilian Mafia leaders exiled by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. 2021 Institute for Policy Studies1301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 | 202-234-9382. While working to keep key Haitian military and political leaders in power, the CIA turned a blind eye to their clients' drug trafficking.

The US repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial. 7 Min Read. In short, Webb accused the CIA of being complicit in getting thousands of poor African-Americans addicted to crack in order to fund rebels in Central America.

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