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. [52], The House Intelligence Committee issued its report in February 2000. In it, reporter Webb, a 40-year-old investigative specialist, traces the story of a notorious Los Angeles drug dealer, ""Freeway Ricky'' Ross, who created one of South-Central's biggest crack . Describes CIA involvement in drug trafficking Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2011-02-08 21:59:25 Bookplateleaf 0010 Boxid IA138122 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City London [u.a.] Five American Contra supporters who worked with the rebels confirmed the charges, noting that "two Cuban-Americans used armed rebel troops to guard cocaine at clandestine airfields in northern Costa Rica. [25][26] Some theories even invoke the involvement of political figures, including Oliver North, then vice president and former CIA director George H. W. Bush and then Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. 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. Webbs Dark Alliance series, appeared in the. 3) The series oversimplified how the crack epidemic grew. And the CIA and government officials were closing their eyes, fighting a war that was technically illegal.. The CIA has been one of the world's biggest illegal drug trafficking organizations in the world for decades, a leading American analyst has warned. New York: Lawrence Hill Books, 2003. The CIA spokesman responding to the allegation called it "ridiculous" to suggest that the agency had anything to do with the murder of a US federal agent or the escape of his alleged killer. 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. One of the businesses that relocated there was Rich Mountain Aviation Inc.that did illegal modifications to the planes which allowed Seal to fly weapons to Nicaragua and transport cocaine back into the United States. The US repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial. Illegal heroin labs were first discovered near Marseille, France, in 1937. In 1989, the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations (the Kerry committee) concluded a three-year investigation by stating: There was substantial evidence of drug smuggling through the war zones on the part of individual Contras, Contra suppliers, Contra pilots mercenaries who worked with the Contras, and Contra supporters throughout the region. [36] Operation Just Cause, whose ostensible purpose was to capture Noriega, pushed the former Panamanian leader into the Papal Nuncio where he surrendered to U.S. authorities. And my brother is the last major obstacle to them in the south. If they remove Ahmed Wali, the Taliban will fill the void. In August 1996, Gary Webb's three-part series of articles titled Dark Alliance was published by the San Jose Mercury News. 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. 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. California senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein also took note and wrote to CIA director John Deutch and Attorney General Janet Reno, asking for investigations into the articles. The incident, which was first made public in 1993, was part of a plan to assist an undercover agent to gain the confidence of a Colombian drug cartel. In 1984, U.S. officials began receiving reports of Contra 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. Its function of covert operations is by definition illegal and therefore requires secret funding. 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. [31], When the Los Angeles Times series appeared, Ceppos again wrote to defend the original series. [53], During a PBS Frontline investigation, DEA field agent Hector Berrellez said, "I believe that elements working for the CIA were involved in bringing drugs into the country. 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. But ultimately, the responsibility was, and is, mine. Former contract analyst for the CIA David MacMichael[14]. [32], In October 2013, two former federal agents and an ex-CIA contractor told an American television network that CIA operatives were involved in the kidnapping and murder of DEA covert agent Enrique Camarena, because he was a threat to the agency's drug operations in Mexico in the 1980s. ", The CIA Inspector-General's report was issued in two volumes. When he became de facto dictator of Panama in 1984, little changed. (See Christopher Robbins, Air America, Avon Books, 1985, chapter 9). ), For more than a decade, Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega was a highly paid CIA asset and collaborator, despite knowledge by U.S. drug authorities as early as 1971 that the general was heavily involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. After introducing the three, the first article discussed primarily Blandn and Meneses, and their relationship with the Contras and the CIA. Blandn and Meneses were Nicaraguans who smuggled drugs into the U.S. and supplied dealers like Ross. Season 5 of the Archer series (Archer Vice) depicts Archer trying to sell cocaine in America which they later discover is a part of a drugs for arms deal between the CIA and the dictator of the fictional Country of San Marcos. Theonline news sourceThe Huffington Postpublished an article titledRon Paul Had Accurate Conspiracy Theory: CIA Was Tied To Drug Traffickershighlights what the former Libertarian Presidential nominee Dr. Ron Paul said on the involvement of the CIA in the drug trade which was not aConspiracy Theorybut a fact when taking into consideration the Iran-Contra Scandal: Drug trafficking is a gold mine for people who want to raise money in the underground government in order to finance projects that they cant get legitimately. CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking Central Intelligence Agency A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in the Nicaraguan Contras ' cocaine trafficking operations during the 1980s Nicaraguan civil war. Carlos Cabezas, convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, said that the profits from his crimes "belonged to the Contra revolution." [45] The President demanded clear evidence before taking action, which the US and UK did not have. ", In contrast, the series received support from Steve Weinberg, a former executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors. 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 lead of the first article set out the series basic claims: 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. This drug ring opened the first pipeline between Colombias cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles and, as a result, The cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America.. Another Costa Rican-based drug ring involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA had hired as military trainers for the contras. After Ceppos' column, The Mercury News spent the next several months conducting an internal review of the story. Journalist Gary Webb's expose of CIA involvement in Nicaraguan drugs trafficking, supporting the contras, dealing with Los Angeles crack dealers, made him a . 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. 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. Some of these reports claim that congressional evidence indicates that the CIA worked with groups which it knew were involved in drug trafficking, so that these groups would provide them with useful intelligence and material support . According to an NBC affiliatereported that state officials were set to declare a public health emergency in New Haven, Connecticut over the rise of heroin use which has resulted in two deaths: Officials in New Haven on Friday were set to address a public health emergency declaration brought on by a rash of heroin overdoses in the city beginning Thursday. Editor's Note: The ongoing relationship between Drug Trafficking and the CIA has been fairly common knowledge for the past 45 years and was well documented by Alfred McCoy's, . There have been several allegations that the CIA facilitated smuggling lines for cocaine, heroin . [24], The New York Times published two articles on the series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden. Before long, someonethere were unproven allegations that it was a Mafia family from Floridahad established a heroin drug refinery lab in Region Two. The shipments took place despite the objections of the U.S. DEA. These included CIA assets, pilots who ferried supplies to the Contras, as well as Contra officials and others. [31], The 2014 movie Kill the Messenger depicted actor Jeremy Renner as Gary Webb. Barry Seal was indicted several times in 3 different states and protected from prosecution by the U.S Attorney Generals office and the D.E.A. The late Chalmers Johnson said its existence "shorten (s) the life of the American republic." From its very inception, the CIA has been embroiled in the murky underworld of drug trafficking. "In 1984, CIA received allegations that five individuals associated with the Democratic Revolutionary Alliance (ARDE)/Sandino Revolutionary Front (FRS) were engaged in a drug trafficking conspiracy with a known narcotics trafficker, Jorge Morales," the report found. [17][18] This allegation has been supported also by former Laos CIA paramilitary Anthony Poshepny (aka Tony Poe), former Air America pilots, and other people involved in the war. One of the Americans said "that in one ongoing operation, the cocaine is unloaded from planes at rebel airstrips and taken to an Atlantic coast port where it is concealed on shrimp boats that are later unloaded in the Miami area. The first one, "The California Story", was issued in a classified version on December 17, 1997, and in an unclassified version on January 29, 1998. [48], The film American Made is a fictionalized telling of the story of Barry Seal, a pilot and Medelln Cartel drug smuggler who based his operations in Mena, Arkansas.[49]. He told the Examiner, "I just wanted to get the Communists out of my country." And in return, large shipments of narcotics flowed . 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. This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 12:54. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, "C.I.A. officers". 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. A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s. They were hauling down weapons and drugs back. 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