"Despite the fact that a country friendly to the United States has charged a CIA agent and Iran/contra figure with murder in connection with a terrorist bombing which killed a U.S. citizen, the mainstream U.S. media has generally ignored the story." -- From the second and main article below - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --> [Send the 1-line message GET CIA BABIES ACTIV-L to ] [LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET for a copy of this file. ] --> [Send GET ACTIV-L ARCHIVE ACTIV-L to above address for a ] [listing with brief descriptions of other files available] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ################################################################## SUMMARY: Costa Rican investigators find CIA subversion of their government; confirm drug-running and gun-running Iran/Contra crimes largely ignored by Congress; Iran/Contra figures charged with murder; the costa Rican Cabinet last year declared Owen, former CIA station Chief Joe Fernandez, former Ambassador Lewis Tambs, North's, and former National security Advisor John Poindexter *persona non grata* in Costa Rica. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ################################################################## Short introductory article... ################################################################## ============================================================ La Penca's scattered shrapnel beats a path to the CIA's door ============================================================ Six years after the 1984 La Penca bombing, which killed three journalists and one contra, a new 54-page report illustrates a covert collaboration between Costa Rican and U.S. agents. Authored by the Costa-Rican government -- under pressure from the Costa Rican Journalists Association -- the report charges John Hull, a resident of Costa Rica for 20 years, with engineering the bombing that was intended to kill maverick contra leader Eden Pastora. Carlos Lehder, a Medellin drug lord imprisoned in the U.S. for life plus 135 years, has publicly said that Hull "was pumping about 30 tons of cocaine into the U.S. a year" from Costa Rica at the time of the bombing. Interpol, an international law-enforcement agency, has placed Hull -- who is currently holed up on his Indiana farm -- on its most-wanted list for homicide charges, and the Costa Rican government is slowly preparing a request for his extradition. The Bush administration, however, is taking no steps to detain the "fugitive," nor is it likely to. (Both Costa Rican and U.S. congressional staff sources claim Drug Enforcement Agency agent Juan Perez arranged Hull's getaway last year when Hull jumped bail on Costa Rican drug charges.) This latest report -- which also charges two Costa Rican official with taking CIA payoffs to sabotage the initial La Penca investigation -- lends credence to the 1986 report by U.S. journalists Martha Honey and Tony Avirgan, who was injured in the bombing. [The Christic Institute -- see below -- would file a lawsuit ] [on Avirgan's behalf that year ] Their 18-month investigation traced the bombing back to CIA operatives and contra suppliers, naming Hull and Cuban-American Felipe Vidal as principal engineers. The new findings have apparently stimulated efforts by the Bush administration to shut down the investigation. According to Costa Rican officials, U.S. Embassy "consular officer" Steven Groh recently confronted Chief Prosecutor Jose Maria Tijerino with a Florida court ruling that dismissed a case brought against Hull by Honey and Avirgan. "The matter has already been dealt with," Groh reportedly said. but, according to Tijerino, the Florida ruling has no jurisdiction in Costa Rica. [The Christic Institute's lawsuit was "dismissed" by a ] [Florida judge (in 1988, around the end of the presidential ] [campaign or so, at a time when the suit could have been quite] [embarrassing. The suit is now under appeal, and has been ] [given a boost by the very similar findings of the 1989/90 ] [Costa Rican gov't investigation) ] Costa Rican investigators also must contend with their country's own right-wing sectors, which have consistently sought to undermine the La Penca probe. According to Jorge Chaverria, Costa Rican prosecutor, the rightists Costa Rican Democratic Association fanned rumors that the Sandinistas or the Basque terrorist group ETA carried out the bombing and put forth false witnesses "to try to divert the investigation.." The conservative Costa Rican press has not only failed to support the new report but also prints blatantly hostile articles against the investigators to avoid problems with the U.S. Embassy, adds Chaverria. Even Chaverria's own investigators at first scoffed at the CIA conspiracy theory, but within three months they confirmed most of the damning allegations. Nevertheless, Costa Rican government officials -- who peg Tijerino as a Sandinista -- still insist the report merely reiterates the findings of Honey and Avirgan. Meanwhile, Hull's fate rests in the hands of U.S. officials, who are in no particular hurry to investigate or prosecute him. Interpol's arrest warrant for "hostile acts, drug trafficking [*], and homicide" can be found in an FBI informational file. If the U.S. does give permanent refuge to Hull and the dirty secrets he holds, "we can't do anything," says Chaverria. [[*]: See following artilce. Several witnesses and former CIA operatives have testified that Hull's private ranch in Costa Rica, which came complete with a take-off/landing strip for airplanes, was used to fly drugs one way (to the U.S.), guns and other weapons the other way (for the contras)] [By Karen Brown. From "In Short" in In These Times, Sept. 19-25, 1990] ################################################################## . . . M a i n a r t i c l e f o l l o w s . . . ################################################################## The CIA and Its "Babies:" ============================================================= C o v e r t O p e r a t i o n s i n C o s t a R i c a ============================================================= by Tony Avirgan (*) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --> [Send the 1-line message GET CIA BABIES ACTIV-L to ] [LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET for a copy of this file. ] --> [Send GET ACTIV-L ARCHIVE ACTIV-L to above address for a ] [listing with brief descriptions of other files available] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Costa Rica has charged two CIA operatives with first degree murder for the 1984 terrorist bombing of a news conference at La Penca, Nicaragua. A request for the extradition, on murder charges, of Iran/contra figure John Hull has been forwarded to the Costa Rican Embassy in Washington and will soon be presented to the State Department. Hull, a 20-year resident of Costa Rica, jumped bail last year rather than face drug and arms trafficking charges and is now living in Potoka, Indiana. The drug trafficking charges were suspended due to a technicality, but Hull now faces the murder charge as well. The other CIA operative charged with murder is Felipe Vidal, who, since 1983, has clandestinely traveled between Central America and Miami. One of his pet projects was involving Cuban-Americans in the contra war so they could gain combat experience in preparation for a war against Cuba (1). Several months ago, Jorge Chavarria, a senior prosecutor charged with overseeing an investigation of La Penca for the Costa Rican Attorney General, issued a preliminary investigative report exposing a conspiracy of espionage, drug trafficking, and murder carried out by U.S., Panamanian, and Costa Rican officials acting for the CIA (2). The murder charges stem from that carefully footnoted, 54-page report. Chavarria, working with a special team of agents from the Office of Judicial Investigations (OIJ) -- roughly equivalent to the FBI -- says the 1984 La Penca news conference bombing was the work of Nicaraguan contras, the CIA, and Panamanian General Manual Noriega. The report recommended that first-degree murder charges be filed against Hull and Vidal and that charges of "illicit enrichment" be filed against nearly a score of Costa Rican security officials who were secretly on the CIA payroll. Most OIJ agents have been trained by the FBI, the CIA, or right wing security services in places such as Taiwan, Chile (under Pinochet), Argentina (during military rule) or Israel (3). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (*) Tony Avirgan has covered events in Central America for many years and now lives in San Jose', Costa Rica. For more on his role in the investigation of the La Penca bombing, see sidebar, this article. (1) For more on Vidal's role in the contra war, see: Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey, _La Penca, Reporte de una Investigacion_ (San Jose', Costa Rica: Editorial Pervenir, 1989); Lindsey Gruson, "Costa Rica is Asking U.S. to Extradite Rancher," New York Times, March 1, 1990. (2) Chavarria's information was gathered over a one-year period with the help of two OIJ agents. Their findings are reported in a document entitled, "The Public Prosecutor's Investigation of the `La Penca' Case," San Jose', Costa Rica, December 26, 1989. Copies of this document have been circulated among journalists in Costa Rica. An English translation is available from the Christic Institute in Washington, D.C. (3) This information is from personal observation and conversations with OIJ agents. Many OIJ agents wear small Taiwanese flag pins on their lapels to show that they have received training there. Graduation certificates on office wall of OIJ agents are from all the countries mentioned. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chavarria and the agents who worked with him have become something of pariahs within their organization. The agents accused of working for the CIA have generally not denied the charges, but have argued that close cooperation with the CIA and the U.S. Embassy has long been the norm and had the approval of the highest Costa Rican authorities. The La Penca bombing, at a contra camp just inside Nicaragua, killed three journalists -- two Costa Ricans and a North American -- and seriously wounded two dozen more. The intended target, maverick contra leader Eden Pastora, escaped with serious injuries. Although the bombing itself took place just inside Nicaragua, all the planning and preparation took place in Costa Rica, the U.S., Honduras, and Panama. Costa Rican law allows for prosecution of crimes committed against Costa Rican nationals outside the country. Hull has admitted in several interviews to taking orders and money from the CIA. Pastora says that he was first introduced to Hull by the the CIA station chief who said "Mr. Hull is your liaison." (4) Hull's name appeared in diagrams in Oliver North's notebooks showing the supply chain to contras in Costa Rica. Felipe Vidal, a shadowy Miami based Cuban-American, who spends much time in Costa Rica, has identified himself to numerous contras, including Pastora, as a CIA agent. He constantly carried a .45 caliber pistol in a shoulder holster and is known and feared among contras as an assassin. He kept a cross bow in a guest room at Hull's ranch (5). The Attorney General's report blames Costa Rica's failure to investigate the crime for the past five years on the fact that police officials in charge of the investigation were being paid by the CIA. It says the CIA fed Costa Rican investigators false information. The report also details the creation, by the CIA, of a special 15-member unit within Costa Rica's Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS). This unit took orders from the U.S. Embassy rather than from anyone in the Costa Rican government. It had its own offices, rented by the U.S. Embassy, and took orders from a CIA agent named Dimitrius Papas, according to the report. Papas, known as "Papi," called his Costa Rican underlings "The Babies." (6) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (4) In an interview on CBS's "West 57th Street" in 1987, Eden Pastora admitted that Hull was his CIA contact person in Costa Rica. Pastora also admitted this in his deposition for the Christic Institute's suit. Hull himself, admitted working for the Agency in various interview including on CBS's "West 57th Street." (5) On one occasion, Vidal showed his .45 caliber pistol to the author. Mercenary Peter Glibbery, who was based at Hull's ranch, related the information about the crossbow. (6) Op. cit., n. 2, pp. 25-29 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ====================== The CIA and the Babies ====================== According to various DIS agents interviewed by Chavarria, the formation of the special unit of highly trained intelligence agents was first suggested by the United States Embassy which offered to provide the training. The Costa Rican government of then-President Lui's Alberto Monge accepted the offer and the U.S. Embassy appointed Papas, who was introduced to the trainees as a CIA agent, to instruct and lead the new unit (7). Under the leadership of Papas, "The Babies" soon moved into their own building and obtained vehicles, office equipment, and communications equipment, all paid for by the CIA. According to Chavarria, "The Babies" "lost loyalty to their superiors" and set about spying on any Costa Rican official attempting to uphold the policy of neutrality at the expense of the CIA-backed Nicaraguan contras operating illegally in Costa Rican territory. The victims of this spying included President Monge', and several pro-neutrality ministers of his government. Information about their personal lives was turned over to the CIA. ________________________________ | | | [ ] | | [ Photograph of John Hull ] | | [ ] | | | | Credit: Julio Lainez | | John Hull -- charged with | | murder in Costa Rica | | | ------------------------------- Papas didn't stop with "The Babies." According to Chavarria's report he also developed "a close bond" with the Department of Special Affairs of OIJ, which investigated matters touching on national security. The bond was particularly strong with OIJ agent Alberto Llorente, who named Papas godfather to one of his children. Llorente was, at the time, responsible for OIJ's relations with the U.S. Embassy. He was also senior agent assigned to investigate the La Penca bombing. Papas ended up paying not just "The Babies" but also other members of DIS and OIJ. According to the report, he gave these organizations office equipment and equipment for phone tapping and electronic eavesdropping. Agents of all three Costa Rican organizations were being paid "per diems" for work done on behalf of the CIA. All of this was being done with no control whatsoever by the Costa Rican Government. According to Chavarria, the payoff money was laundered through the new York office of "the Cardinal Association." The money was then channeled through the Costa Rican law firm of Zurcher, Montoya and Zurcher which passed it on to DIS agent and "Babies" member Vera Arguedas Serrano. Some of the covert funds were funneled through the "Asociacio'n de Asistencia Civica Costarricence" (Costa Rican Civic Association), which, according to Chavarria, continues to channel CIA funds to DIS today. All of these uncontrolled payments to government employees are illegal under Costa Rican law and Chavarria has recommended further investigation with the possibility of eventually bringing charges against members of the DIS. Papas has since left Costa Rica, although journalists recently reported that he is in the U.S. embassy in Panama. Costa Rican intelligence and governmental sources have, in the past, accused "The Babies" of a variety of illegal actions including falsification of documents and break-ins at homes and offices of suspected leftists. Soon after the La Penca bombing, "The Babies" prepared and circulated to journalists hundreds of documents allegedly "proving" that the Sandinistas had committed the terrorist action. In addiction to the murder charges, the report recommends charges of "illicit enrichment" against members of "The Babies" and dereliction of duty against the detectives who failed to investigate the La Penca bombing. It also recommended charges be filed against Oliver North's's "messenger" Robert Owen, mercenary organizer Tom Posey, mercenary Rene' Corvo, former CIA station chief Philip Holts, CIA operative and drug trafficker Moises Dagoverto Nun~ez, CIA operative Frank Castro, and a number of Costa Ricans associated with the Nicaraguan contras. Many of those named by Chavarria were previously named in a report last year by a Costa Rican Legislative Commission investigating drug trafficking (8). The Commission concluded that the arms supply network set up by the National Security council, the CIA, and Oliver North to supply Nicaraguan contras in Costa Rica soon turned into a drug trafficking operation. As a result of the Commission's findings, the costa Rican Cabinet last year declared Owen, former CIA station Chief Joe Fernandez, former Ambassador Lewis Tambs, North's, and former National security Advisor John Poindexter *persona non grata* in Costa Rica. ==================== The La Penca Bombing ==================== Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica Deane Hinton said the latest report "is an invention." Hinton is now Ambassador to Panama. According to sources in the U.S. Embassy, Hinton circulated an order instructing all Embassy personnel to take every opportunity to - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (7) Ibid. (8) Commission on Narcotics Trafficking, Costa Rican Legislative Assembly, The Second Report, July 1989 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - denounce the costa Rican La Penca investigation. Hinton, a veteran of covert actions has served in such sensitive posts as Syria (1946-50), Kenya (1950-52), Guatemala (1954-69), Chile (1969-73), Zaire (1974-75), El Salvador (1981-83), and Pakistan (1986) (9). Costa Rican government sources say that Steven Groh, a "consular officer" at the U.S. Embassy, recently visited Government officials and demanded that they close down the Costa Rican investigation of La Penca. Referring to U.S. Federal Judge Lawrence King's Dismissal of the Christic Institute's La Penca lawsuit, Groh said the matter had "already been dealt with" by the U.S. courts. (The Christic Institute suit is currently on appeal and King's dismissal is expected to be reversed.) The Costa Ricans patiently explained to Groh that U.S. courts have no authority in this sovereign country. _________________________________________________________________ | | | Tony Avirgan, was among the victims of the La Penca | | bombing. His wife Martha Honey and he conducted an | | investigation at the request of the Committee to Protect | | Journalists and the Newspaper Guild and concluded, in | | 1985, that the bombing had been carried out by the CIA | | and Nicaraguan contras. Their report named John Hull | | and Felipe Vidal as principals in the bombing. Their | | findings were denounced by the U.S. government and | | they suffered severe harassment, including the murder | | of a key source and the planting of cocaine in a book | | supposedly mailed to them by Tomas Borge, then-Interior | | Minister of Nicaragua . | | | | Their findings form the basis of a lawsuit filed on | | behalf by the Christic Institute. The case was | | dismissed by a Federal Judge in Miami days before it | | was to go to trial. It is currently before the 11th | | Circuit Court Appeals in Atlanta . | | | | For more information, a copy of the original La Penca | | report or the latest Costa Rican report, contact: The | | Christic Institute, 1324 North Capitol Street , | | Washington, D.C. 20002, Telephone: (202)797-8106 | | | --------------------------------------------------------------- Hull, who jumped bail and fled Costa Rica last year after being charged with arms and drug trafficking, said from his home in Indiana, "I think the same thing I've always thought, the government down there is infiltrated and manipulated by communists led by the Christic Institute." Former contra leader Adolfo Calero and former U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica Curtin Winson also rejected the findings presented in the report, sticking to the cover story that the La Penca bombing was carried out by the Sandinistas. The day after the bombing, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the now defunct Office for Public Diplomacy (State Department) circulated the story that the Basque separatist group ETA had carried out the bombing on behalf of the Sandinistas. ABC news and the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour carried the planted story which was soon shown to be false. Costa Rican officials implicated in the report, and sectors of the right wing press, have tried to discredit the findings, saying they represent a repetition of the charges in the Christic Institute La Penca law suit and the original La Penca investigation carried out by journalists Martha Honey and this writer (see box). Asked about this, Dr. Jose' Maria Tijerino, Costa Rica's equivalent of an Attorney General, said the prosecutor's investigation was carried out in complete independence and the fact that its finding coincide with the Honey/Avirgan La Penca report only strengthens it. He said "they were parallel investigations which reached the same conclusions." Manuel Noriega was brought in to the report in testimony saying he had aided CIA contra supply efforts by supplying pilots who also worked for the Medellin Cartel. Later he participated in unsuccessful CIA efforts to pressure Pastora to unite his forces with the largest contra faction, the FDN. [See _Of Puppets and Heroes_ in NACLA (North American ] [Congress on Latin America) _Report on the Americas_ ] [ issue: July/August (?) 1988 (?) ] The report says it was Pastora's refusal to unite and his efforts to clean up drug trafficking on the "Southern Front" which led to the La Penca bombing. These findings are based on more than 50 sworn testimonies, transcripts of previous trials and testimony presented at U.S. congressional hearings. The report was handed over to a "Judge of Instruction" who had to decide if the evidence was sufficient to bring charges. In early April, the Fourth Judge of Instruction in San Jose' ruled that there is sufficient evidence to charge Hull and Vidal with first degree murder and attempted murder. Under Costa Rican law, Hull and Vidal cannot be officially charged until they appear before a Costa Rican judge. With that end in mind, the murder charges and the previous gun running charge were joined to form the basis of a request to the United States Government to extradite Hull. Since Hull took out Costa Rican citizenship in 1984, Costa Rican officials say the U.S. is obligated to send him back. However, Hull was allowed by the U.S. to retain his U.S. citizenship and, in the eyes of the U.S. government, he is a U.S. citizen. That would make extradition exceedingly difficult if not impossible. In a recent press release, Hull complained that the U.S. government is now harassing him about having dual citizenship. Hull was quoted as saying he took out costa Rican citizenship because the CIA ordered him to. Much of the investigative work carried out by Chavarria and his team originated with leads provided in testimony given to the U.S. Congress in the Iran/contra hearings. Costa Rican authorities chose to follow up those leads. U.S. authorities, from the Justice Department to congressional committees, chose to ignore them. Despite the fact that a country friendly to the United States has charged a CIA agent and Iran/contra figure with murder in connection with a terrorist bombing which killed a U.S. citizen, the mainstream U.S. media has generally ignored the story. ################################################################## From: Covert Action Information Bulletin, Number 34 (Summer 1990) CAIB's entry in the AML resource file "publications:" Covert Action Information Bulletin (CAIB) [D.C. nonprofit corp.] P.O. Box 50272 Washington, DC 20004 Tel (202)737-5317 * and c/o Sheridan Sq. Publ's, 145 West 4th St., NY,NY 10012 * (212)254-1061 * Excellent source (well documented articles), about 70pp/issue ################################################################## Christic Institute 1324 North Capitol St., NW Washington, DC 20002-3337 (202) 797-8106 Recorded message hotline (e.g. legis. updates/alerts):202-667-2634 Email: "christic" on PeaceNet (see below) The Christic Institute is a non-profit center in Washington, D.C. which specializes in public-interest law and investigation. Its team of attorneys and investigators have litigated some of the landmark human rights cases of the past decade, including _Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee_ and the Greensboro Massacre lawsuit against the American Nazi Party and Ku Klux Klan. The Institute's civil-rights division in Carrboro, North Carolina represents black and native-American communities in voting and property-rights cases. -------------------------------------------- To send email to a PeaceNet account "XYZ" just substitute "XYZ" for "peacenet" in the following: Internet: cdp!peacenet@labrea.stanford.edu Bitnet: cdp!peacenet%labrea@stanford UUCP: uunet!pyramid!cdp!peacenet DASNet: [DE3MIR]peacenet -------------------------------------------- For general questions/help, substitute "support" for "peacenet" above. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "The Christic Institute has done this country a great service by investigating and exposing violations of law carried out by the contra network" -- Rev. Jesse Jackson "The Christic Institute was targeted by Oliver North because it was close to the truth. We may still not know the while story, but the American people owe a debt of gratitude to all those who helped expose the illegal acts in the Iran-contra affair." -- Representative Dick Gephardt, Missouri "This lawsuit has the potential of enlightening the American public -- more than anything I've seen since the Pentagon Papers and the Church Committee investigation -- on the hidden arms and instruments of our covert foreign policy over the last two generations. It needs our utmost support" -- Daniel Ellsberg [From Spring '88 mailing from Christic] ################################################################## ############################################################### # Harel Barzilai for Activists Mailing List (AML) # ################################################################ { For more info about ACTIV-L or PeaceNet's brochure send } { inquiries to harel@dartmouth.edu / mathrich@umcvmb.bitnet } To join AML, just send the 1-line message "SUB ACTIV-L " to: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET; you should receive a confirmation message within 2 days. Alternate address: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU Qs/problems: Rich Winkel, MATHRICH@UMCVMB.["MISSOURI.EDU" or "BITNET"]