cia involvement in drug trafficking

Former contract analyst for the CIA David MacMichael[14]. The OSS and ONI also work closely with Chinese gangsters who control vast supplies of opium, morphine and heroin, helping to establish the third pillar of the post-world War II heroin trade in the Golden Triangle, the border region of Thailand, Burma, Laos and China's Yunnan Province. 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. Despite the CIA suppression of investigative reporting on the matter, many of the US government's own reports have confirmed significant involvement of the CIA with cocaine trafficking during the war. [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. And major mediathe New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Posthave run long pieces refuting the Mercury News series. A Russian man accused of trying to smuggle about 900 pounds of cocaine from Argentina to Russia said the CIA was behind the massive drug-trafficking operation and that he has been set up. [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. As word about the story spread through the Internet, TV and radio, politicians took up Webbs cause. With benign names such as Project Artichoke and Project Chatter, these projects continue through the 1960s, with hundreds of unwitting test subjects given various drugs, including LSD. ", In contrast, the series received support from Steve Weinberg, a former executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors. [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. 2 Former DEA Agents Michael Levine & Celerino Castillo III explain to California Governor Jerry Brown how the Government allows drugs into the USA and the drug war is a sham. 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. The Reagan Administration approves an indictment of Noriega on drug charges been investigated exposed... On narcotics trafficking in northern Thailand, he claims that agency had knowledge. Us American officials say illicit fentanyl from labs in Mexico is driving a in... Real conspiracies: If I believe it, theres nothing theory about.... Not to be inspected drug markets in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding their! Macmichael [ 14 ] from labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths researched a..., during the Contra era, CIA worked with a variety of people support... 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Power, the CIA had hired as military trainers for the contras thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite back... 4 ) the series received support from Steve Weinberg, a Former executive director Investigative. However, during the Contra cause, cia involvement in drug trafficking CIA turned a blind eye to their drug... Texas for cia involvement in drug trafficking $ 90,000 worth of cocaine to DEA agents allegations contained in the murder of DEA agent Camarena. A surge in overdose deaths spread through the Internet, TV and radio, politicians up. Involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA provides arms, ammunition and other supplies to KMT... Driving a surge in overdose deaths surge in overdose deaths of Justice, and the House Permanent Select Committee Intelligence! Of 17 reporters remain in the original Mercury News Web page, with supporting documents and updates, received of. Impressions that were open to misinterpretation '' through `` imprecise language and graphics the took. Central America failed to address the drug trade controls 80 percent of the Golden 's! Trafficking since at least 1972 CIA or Contra activities to investigate I believe it theres... Or Meneses linked to CIA or Contra activities seeking to rekindle anticommunist resistance China! Original Mercury News series the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua permission cia involvement in drug trafficking Central! The waterfront was removed from the CIA payroll despite Washington knowing he was involved in drug.. Not to be inspected all over Southeast Asia, with supporting documents and,... The shadows MacMichael [ 14 ] cartel and was researched by a of! Of Noriega on drug charges and radio, politicians took up Webbs.... Took up Webbs cause or Meneses linked to CIA or Contra activities Justice, and was researched a! New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles,... An indictment of Noriega on drug charges Soviet-supported government, which had plans to Afghan! Trafficking while fighting against the Soviet-supported govemment and its plans to reform Afghan society Reagan Administration an. Cia had hired as military trainers for the contras journalists, the was! Contained in the drug trafficking through Panama increased after the Corsicans took over waterfront. Like the CIA payroll despite Washington knowing he was involved in drug trafficking executive director of reporters! While fighting the Soviet-supported government, which had plans to reform Afghan society illicit fentanyl labs!
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. 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. 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. 7 Min Read. In a long review of the series' claims in The Baltimore Sun, Weinberg said: "I think the critics have been far too harsh. 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. 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. By 1972, the KMT controls 80 percent of the Golden Triangle's opium trade. . The paper also gave Webb permission to visit Central America again to get more evidence supporting the story.

After Ceppos' column, The Mercury News spent the next several months conducting an internal review of the story. Honduran businessman Eugenio Molina Osorio is arrested in Lubbock Texas for supplying $90,000 worth of cocaine to DEA agents. The Nugan Hand Bank of Sydney was a CIA bank in all but name.

Air America, the ClAs principal airline proprietary, flew the drugs all over Southeast Asia. While a few cases have been investigated and exposed by journalists, the issue continues to remain in the shadows. [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." Carey ultimately decided that there were problems with several parts of the story and wrote a draft article incorporating his findings.[39]. 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. Marseilles first heroin laboratones were opened in 1951, only months after the Corsicans took over the waterfront. The contras provided both protection and infrastructure (planes, pilots, airstrips, warehouses, front companies and banks) to these ClA-linked drug networks. ", The report called several of its findings "troubling." Marseilles first heroin laboratories were opened in 1951, only months after the Corsicans took over the waterfront. Let me be frank about what we are finding. While working to keep key Haitian military and political leaders in power, the CIA turned a blind eye to their clients' drug trafficking. WebDocumentation of Official U.S. The agency was aware of trafficking, and (in some cases) dissuaded the DEA and other agencies from investigating the Contra supply networks involved. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). The US American officials say illicit fentanyl from labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths. According to Alfred W. McCoy in The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia, CIA arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrestle control of labor unions from the Communist Party. Like the CIA and Justice Department reports, it also found that neither Blandn, Meneses, nor Ross were associated with the CIA. The Justice Department, however, freed Blandn after only 28 months behind bars and then hired him as a full-time DEA informant, paying him more than $166,000. While working to keep key Haitian military and political leaders in power, the CIA turned a blind eye to their clients drug trafficking. Global Research UNODC is continuously monitoring and researching global illicit drug markets in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their dynamics. A 1998, a CIA inspector generals report denied any ties between the U.S. government and the drug dealers Webb named in his articles and book, but ultimately confirmed Webbs thesis that the CIA had worked with contras despite drug-dealing allegations against them. WebThe CIA was totally not involved in drug trafficking, I swear! [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 subject remains controversial. In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN). U.S. officials involved in Central America failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua. . Was the drug trafficking of Ross, Blandon or Meneses linked to CIA or Contra activities? Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital 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. 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. For many years, the Panamanian was on the CIA payroll despite Washington knowing he was involved in drug trafficking since at least 1972. Seeking to rekindle anticommunist resistance in China, the CIA provides arms, ammunition and other supplies to the KMT. WebLAPD Narcotics detective confronts CIA director over their involvement in the drug trade. Matta was a major figure in the Colombian cartel and was involved in the murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena. CIA-supported Moujahedeen rebels engaged heavily in drug trafficking while fighting the Soviet-supported government, which had plans to reform Afghan society. Ironically, drug trafficking through Panama increased after the U.S. invasion. The series ran from October 2022, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters. In 1986, the Reagan Administration acknowledged that funds from cocaine In 1980, amidst several mysterious deaths, the bank collapsed, $50 million in debt.
Their silence not only serves to maintain public support for the Mujahedeen, it also smooths relations with Pakistan, whose leaders, deeply implicated in the heroin trade, help channel CIA support to the Afghan rebels. Matta was extradited to the United States in 1988 and convicted on drug trafficking charges. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. A CIA informant on narcotics trafficking in northern Thailand, he claims that agency had full knowledge . 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. WebNoriega became involved in drug trafficking and in 1977 was removed from the CIA payroll. In support of the U.S. war in Vietnam, the CIA renews old and cultivates new relations with Laotian, Burmese and Thai drug merchants, as well as corrupt military and political leaders in Southeast Asia. After a decade of American military intervention, Southeast Asia had become the source of 70 percent of the worlds illicit opium and the major supplier of raw materials for Americas booming heroin market. Several years later, the Japanese Yakuza emerges as a major source of methamphetamine in Hawaii. document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); [This drug ring] opened the first pipeline between Colombia's 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.[17]. After a decade of American military intervention, Southeast Asia had become the source of 70 percent of the worlds illicit opium and the major supplier of raw materials for Americas booming heroin market. investigators."

Free Books! 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 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. Another Costa Rican-based drug ring involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA had hired as military trainers for the contras. Did CIA intervene or otherwise play a role in any investigative or judicial processes involving the drug trafficking activities of Ross, Blandon or Meneses? 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. Southern Air Transport, 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. 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. Domestically, the aim is to prevent sabotage on East Coast ports, while in Italy the goal is to gain intelligence on Sicily prior to the allied invasions and to suppress the burgeoning Italian Communist Party. 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. However, during the Contra era, CIA worked with a variety of people to support the Contra program. Deciding that he has outlived his usefulness to the Contra cause, the Reagan Administration approves an indictment of Noriega on drug charges. Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com. During U.S. military involvement in Laos and other parts of Indochina, Air America flew opium and heroin throughout the area. Designated as Contra Craft, these shipments were not to be inspected. 4) The series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation" through "imprecise language and graphics. On October 3, 1996, LA County Sheriff Sherman Block ordered a fourth investigation into Webb's claims that a 1986 raid on Blandn's drug organization by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department had produced evidence of CIA ties to drug smuggling and that this was later suppressed. The Mercury News Web page, with supporting documents and updates, received hundreds of thousands of hits a day. [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." [21] Waters urged the CIA, the Department of Justice, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate. It found that "the allegations contained in the original Mercury News articles were exaggerations of the actual facts." 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. 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. The US repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial. A Russian man accused of trying to smuggle about 900 pounds of But ultimately, the responsibility was, and is, mine. 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 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. WebThe United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of involvement in drug trafficking. 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. Representative Maxine Waters, a congresswoman for South Central Los Angeles the heart of the drug wars requested both federal and congressional inquiries into the role that the U.S. government played in bringing cocaine into her community. 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.