urchinTracker(). Senior U.S. policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the contras funding problems.. In 1993, an official of the DEA called Afghanistan the new Colombia of the drug world. Southern Air Transport, formerly CIA-owned and later under Pentagon contract, was involved in the drug running as well. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). Did CIA intervene or otherwise play a role in any investigative or judicial processes involving the drug trafficking activities of Ross, Blandon or Meneses? Brian Barger and Robert Parry, "Reports Link Nicaraguan Rebels to Cocaine Trafficking". The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. 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.' Based on a year-long investigation, reporter Gary Webb wrote that during the 1980s the CIA helped finance its covert war against Nicaragua's leftist government through sales of cut-rate cocaine to South Central L.A. drug dealer, Ricky Ross. 
In 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 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. 
Thai national Puttapron Khramkhruan is arrested in connection with the seizure of 59 pounds of opium in Chicago. [41] The editors met with Webb several times in February to discuss the results of the paper's internal review and eventually decided to print neither Carey's draft article nor the articles Webb had filed. WebCentral Intelligence Agency Involvement with the Contras Chronology of Key Developments Related to the Contra War Cocaine Flows through Central America in the 1980s Results of Previous Investigations into Alleged Contra Drug Trafficking FINDINGS Was CIA involved in the California-based drug trafficking of Ricky 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. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). (However, he also noted that Webb disagreed with him on this point.). 
', The Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Communications, headed by Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, issues its 1,166-page report on drug corruption in Central America and the Caribbean. The Agencys principal client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the leading druglords and leading heroin refiner. 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. Ceppos said that the paper did not have proof that top CIA officials knew about the connection between the L.A. drug trade and the contras. 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. A laboratory built at CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin. (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. When Senate investigators later asked the Justice Department to explain this unusual turn of events, they ran into a wall of secrecy. This eventually leads CIA head Allen Dulles, in April 1953, to institute a program for `covert use of biological and chemical materials' as part of the agency's continuing efforts to control behavior. 
The inspector general is clear that in some cases CIA knowledge of allegations or information indicating that organizations or individuals had been involved in drug trafficking did not deter their use by CIA. In other cases, CIA did not act to verify drug trafficking allegations or information even when it had the opportunity to do so. WebCIA has had a solid rule against being involved in drug trafficking. WebThe first book to prove CIA and U.S. government complicity in global drug trafficking, The Politics of Heroin includes meticulous documentation of dishonesty and dirty dealings at 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. 
At the end of March, however, Ceppos told Webb that he was going to present the internal review findings in a column. 
U.S. officials involved in Central America failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua. "[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. In 1980, amidst several mysterious deaths, the bank collapsed, $50 million in debt. CIA-supplied contra planes and pilots carried cocaine from Central America to U.S. airports and military bases. William Blum is author of Killing Hope: U.S Military and CIA Interventions Since World War ll available from Common Courage Press, P.O. WebDrug trafficking is a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. pageTracker._initData(); The Mercury News Web page, with supporting documents and updates, received hundreds of thousands of hits a day. While working to keep key Haitian military and political leaders in power, the CIA turned a blind eye to their clients' drug trafficking. This article was published in 1996 and has not been updated since. U.S. 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. (In 1982, the DEA learned that Felix Gallardo was moving $20 million a month through a single Bank of America account, but it could not get the CIA to cooperate with its investigation.) But the director of the Drug Enforcement Agency initially praised him for his vigorous anti-drug trafficking policy. [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. [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. While a few cases have been investigated and exposed by journalists, the issue continues to remain in the shadows. A 1996 Peter Dale Scott affidavit on CIA drugs trafficking explained his research into longstanding US government involvement. When Danilo Blandn was finally arrested in 1986, he admitted to drug crimes that would have sent others away for life. The contras provided both protection and infrastructure (planes, pilots, airstrips, warehouses, front companies and banks) to these ClA-linked drug networks. 
The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. When Blandn testified in a 1996 trial against Ricky Ross, the Justice Department blocked any inquiry about Blandns connection to the CIA. CIA-supplied trucks and mules that had carried arms into Afghanistan were used to transport opium to laboratories along the Afghan-Pakistan border. The DEA did nothing, and Castillo was gradually forced out of the agency. WebThe United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of involvement in drug trafficking. 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. [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. U.S. officials, however, fail to take action to curb production. They, in turn, had long dominated the drug traffic in the area of north-east Afghanistan that they controlled during the Taliban years. 7 Min Read. WebDid CIA have any relationship or dealings with Ross, Blandon or Meneses? Marseilles first heroin laboratories were opened in 1951, only months after the Corsicans took over the waterfront. By 1972, the KMT controls 80 percent of the Golden Triangle's opium trade. 
As word about the story spread through the Internet, TV and radio, politicians took up Webbs cause. PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was for years a useful tool of the United States, until President George H.W. The Nugan Hand Bank of Sydney was a CIA bank in all but name. WebThe CIA was totally not involved in drug trafficking, I swear! The paper also gave Webb permission to visit Central America again to get more evidence supporting the story. The next year, he published a book titled Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras and the Crack Cocaine Explosion detailing his own reporting process and the controversy the series provoked. 
The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of involvement in drug trafficking. [5] 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. In fact, a report by the Senate Intelligence Committee corroborated this claim that the CIA actively supported Contra groups. A design-driven short about the CIA's involvement in drug trafficking during Iran Contra. U.S. authorities claim the CIA is more interested in protecting its assets, including top drug trafficker and kidnapping principal Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo. 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 Office of Inspector General, "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. By 1986, the State Department admits that Afghanistan is `probably the world's largest producer of opium for export' and `the poppy source for a majority of the Southwest Asian heroin found in the United States.' 
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. They deny that Bay Area-based Nicaraguan drug dealers, Juan Norwin Meneses and Oscar Danilo Blandon, worked for the CIA or contributed millions in drug profits to the contras, as Webb contended. 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. It only concluded that the State Department gave money to companies with the intent of helping the Contras that were involved in drug trafficking. US officials admitted in 1990 that they had failed to investigate or take action against the drug operabon because of a desire not to offend their Pakistani and Afghan allies. WebFor 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 But these denials overlook much of the Mercury News evidence of CIA complicity. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. _uacct = "UA-3263347-1"; DEA, FBI and U.S. Customs Service investigators accuse the CIA of stonewalling during their investigation. Many Gls in Vietnam became addicts. U.S. officials, the subcommittee said, `failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua.' 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. 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. The Cuban exile claims he was a CIA protege, trained as part of the agency's anti-Castro efforts, and in exchange for his help in moving weapons to certain groups in Central America, the CIA facilitated his movement of drugs. Among its officers were a network of US generals, admirals and CIA men, including fommer CIA Director William Colby, who was also one of its lawyers. Ironically, drug trafficking through Panama increased after the U.S. invasion. The story attracted hundreds of thousands of readers to the newspapers site at a time when going viral was still a twinkle in the Internets eye. Many had long been involved with the CIA and drug trafficking. [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. Guatemala, whose military intelligence service closely associated with the CIA harbored many drug traffickers, according to the DEA, was another way station along the cocaine highway. 
For many years, the Panamanian was on the CIA payroll despite Washington knowing he was involved in drug trafficking since at least 1972. [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. After the Marxist Sandinista government came to power in 1979, Noriega was brought back into the CIA fold. Southern Air Transport, investigators." `I guess we're all aware that they [the CIA] do business in a different way than everybody else,' the judge notes. 
[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 (200kg) 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." Carey ultimately decided that there were problems with several parts of the story and wrote a draft article incorporating his findings.[39]. Several also said they supplied information about the smuggling to U.S. In 1986, the In Costa Rica, which served as the Southern Front for the contras (Honduras being the Northern Front), there were several CIA-contra networks involved in drug trafficking. 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." 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