Date: Sat, 28 Sep 96 07:41:13 CDT From: Ralph McGehee Subject: Drugs and the Contras Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive The below represents a few citations from CIABASE re drugs and the drug traffic and the Contras. Ralph McGehee CIABASE Central America, 85-87 Contra ops in (costa rica) were funded by drug operations. pilots unloaded weapons, refueled and headed North toward the U.S. with drugs. drugs, law enforcement and foreign policy, report by Senate committee on foreign relations, 12/88 pages 41-2 Central America, 85 In personal diaries North kept in 85, he wrote down aide's tip that drugs being brought into U.S. on a Contra supply plane. he recorded type of aircraft and a stop enroute - new orleans. in testimony he said he gave info to DEA but DEA says it has no such evidence. North declined an interview on subject. numerous officials said North never mentioned shipments. plane and crew continued be used as official carriers. North relied on robert owen, who traveled to Central America. nhao hired owen who secretly worked for North. North wrote in diary on 8/9/85: "honduran dc-6 which is being used for runs out of new orleans is probably being used for drug runs into U.S." next day he wrote "meeting with a.c. - name of DEA person in new orleans re bust on mario dc-6." a.c. could be adolofo calero, brother of mario, who in charge of shipping and warehouse op in new orleans. mario regularly used a dc-6 based in honduras. jack lawn former head of DEA denied North gave any info re those flights. special DEA agent new orleans at time said they never received such info. mcfarlane did not know. nhao director duemling and 5 other nhao officials said North never told them. "on Contrary" duemling said, "North wanted me to work with mario." details of regular nhao flights. only dc-4 listed in nhao records was miami-based vortex air international inc. one of whose key officers has long series of drug allegations. owen's memo of 2/26/86 reads: "no doubt you know the dc-4 foley got was used at one time to run drugs, and part of crew had criminal records." "nice group of guys the boys choose. the company is also one that mario has been involved with using in the past, only that had a quick name change. incompetence reigns." in owen's testimony, he identified foley as pat foley of summit aviation, which still operates in delaware and identified the boys as CIA. North's notebooks show he aware they were still working for agency. vortex name appears twice, and one of its officers, who had numerous drug chargers - michael bernard palmer - appears twice. list of various charges against palmer. in 87 palmer was working for a gvt agency. customs records at miami say that "normal customs service procedures for incoming flights are expedited" at request of unnamed agency. in addition to vortex, senator's kerry's report listed DIACSA as doing NHAO work two foreign firms listed; setco air, a costa rican firm owned by alfredo caballero, and floyd carlton, who ran drug and money laundering op out of diacsa's miami offices. carlton pleaded guilty to cocaine conspiracy. washington post 10/22/94 a1,11 Central America, 85-87 chief CIA's of the Central American task force testified that links between Contras in costa rica and narcotics trafficking broader then earlier estimated.... it is not a couple of people it is a lot of people....we knew that everyone around pastora was involved in cocaine.... his staff and friends (redacted) they were drug smugglers or involved in drug smuggling. drugs, law enforcement and foreign policy, report by Senate committee on foreign relations, 12/88, p37-8 nicaragua, drugs, 86 Enterprise built a runway in costa rica, with assistance of ambassador tambs and cos castillo, as abort base and refueling stop Contra resupply efforts. completed early 86. 26 sept 86 new costa rican govt said discovered airfield used for resupplying Contras, for running drugs, or both. field abandoned. iran-Contra affair. (congress committees) 142-3 Central America. 85-87 dos used 4 companies owned and operated by narcotics traffickers to supply humanitarian assistance to the Contras. companies were: setco air, a company established by honduran drug trafficker ballesteros; diacsa, a miami-based air company; frigorificos de puntaremas; and vortex, an air service used by michael palmer. drugs, law enforcement and foreign policy, report by Senate committee on foreign relations, 12/88 43-48 nicaragua, 91 former CIA firm southern air filed a libel suit against miami t.v. station wplg in 1991 for airing eye-witness reports on airline's guns-for-drugs operations in support of Contras. miami jury rejected suit after a six-week trial. intelligence newsletter 9/25/91 3 costa rica, nicaragua, 80-91 in april 91 costa rica asked U.S. to extradite CIA operative john hull to stand trial on homicide charges. hull was allegedly at center of North's illegal Contra supply net. costa rican authorities accuse hull of allowing his ranch to be used as an arms-for-drugs swap meet. hull indicted in connection with bombing attempt against eden pastora in la penca, nicaragua. 5 died in bombing. washington post 5/26 91 d7 nicaragua, 84 North oversaw sting op involved flying shipment drugs to nicaragua, photographing little known sandinista official with drugs and then transporting load to florida. DEA official later admitted it had no evidence drug-running by any other nic. officials. washington post 9/4/88 c 1-4 a.g. thornburgh summoned to court to explain why gvt abandoned settlement involving a drug-laden plane leased to U.S. agents and the Contras. pilot michael tolliver testified he flew arms to Contras and illegal drugs back to U.S. washington post 3/21/90 a19 Central America. 85-87 state deparment used 4 companies owned and operated by narcotics traffickers to supply humanitarian assistance to the Contras. companies were: setco air, a company established by honduran drug trafficker ballesteros; diacsa, a miami-based air company; frigorificos de puntaremas; and vortex, an air service used by michael palmer. drugs, law enforcement and foreign policy, report by Senate committee on foreign relations, 12/88 p43-48 Central America, 81-96 dci deutch said he found no evidence of wrongdoing but has ordered the inspector general to investigate allegations CIA was involved in drug trafficking to support nicaraguan Contras. drugs sold to street gangs in los angeles. washington post 9/7/96 Central America, 82-96 norwin meneses, danilo blandon and freeway rick ross made fortunes creating the first mass market in America for crack cocaine. rick ross visited crack upon black neighborhoods in los angeles and cities as far east as cincinnati. 8/23/96 freeway rick may be sent to prison without parole. the two men who turned in rick ross, for at least five years, supplied him with colombian cocaine. in june 79, after the victory of sandinistas, oscar danilo blandon reyes age 29 fled to california. today, danilo blandon is a well-paid and trusted operative for DEA for latin America. in march, he was DEA's star witness at a drug trial in san diego. blandon with donald barrios. blandon then met, juan norwin meneses cantarero and they flew to honduras and met col. enrique bermudez. blandon and meneses started raising money for the Contras. norwin meneses, was then under active investigation by DEA and the fbi. norwin meneses came to the U.S. in july 1979 as a political refugee. he settled in the san francisco bay area, and for the next six years supervised the importation of thousands of kilos of cocaine into california. meneses cantanero's involvement. ricky donnell ross. ross and newell steadily built up clientele. eventually, corrales introduced ross and newell to his supplier, danilo blandon. within a year, ross' drug op grew to dominate inner-city los angeles. nicaraguan cocaine dealer jacinto torres, another former supplier of ross and a sometime-partner of blandon, told drug agents in 92 interview that blandon's cocaine business dramatically increased. ... norwin meneses, blandon's supplier as of 1983 and 1984, routinely flew quantities of 200 to 400 kilograms from miami to the west coast. norwin meneses, or the CIA, or the salvadoran air force planes that allegedly flew cocaine into an air base in texas. san jose mercury 8/19/96 Central America, 85-86 convicted drug smuggler gary betzner, a pilot, and george morales, a colombian emigre under charges of drug smuggling, both claim that CIA agents and other U.S. officials helped the Contras run drugs-out guns-in op. the DEA and CIA helped them. newsweek 1/26/87 26 colombia. george (jorge) morales: convicted colombian drug smuggler; testified to shipping arms to Contras for drugs in return for alleged promises of official protection. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 261 costa rica, 85-87 five witnesses testified that hull who helped the CIA supply the Contras, had at least six airstrips, was involved in cocaine trafficking. drugs, law enforcement and foreign policy, report by Senate committee on foreign relations, 12/88 53-54 costa rica, nicaragua, 80-91 in april 91 costa rica asked U.S. to extradite CIA operative john hull to stand trial on homicide charges. hull was allegedly at center of North's illegal Contra supply net. costa rican authorities accuse hull of allowing his ranch to be used as an arms-for-drugs swap meet. hull indicted in connection with bombing attempt against eden pastora in la penca, nicaragua. 5 died in bombing. washington post 5/26 91 d7 Central America, 86 smuggler michael tolliver paid to fly arms to Contras then allowed to return to U.S. with drugs. he would find his own return load or be supplied with a network run by Oliver North. once landed plane with 25,000 lbs marijuana at homestead air base in fla. drug route protected by CIA. the progressive 4/88 11 Central America, 85-86 article in nation by jonathan kwitny, "money, drugs and the Contras." na 9/29/87 cover & p162 Central America, 85-86 letters to the editor of the nation debate contents of kwitney's article "money, drugs and the Contras." 9/19/87 DEA official in embassy in san jose, costa rica said the Contras were part of the drugs-for-arms trade in latin America. dr. hugo spadafora fingered a Contra drug smuggler from costa rica, said the smuggler fled to panama and was being protected by noriega. spadafora was beheaded. mother jones 4/87 p48-9 mexico, 84-90 manuel buendia, mexican jack anderson, gunned down may 84. probably killed in coverup of international drug-dealing net that had complicity of mexican gvt and looped in CIA. in 89 mexican gvt charged jose antonio zorilla who at time of murder was head of federal security directorate, or dfs, mexico's fbi. DEA docs at los angeles trial show buenda was investigating drugs etc. DEA interviews with laurence victor harrison show links. a vasquez had told buendia about a ranch allegedly owned by drug traffickers and used by CIA to train guerrillas. airstrips owned by drug lords used by CIA to fly arms to Contras. washington post jack anderson 8/21/90 d13 nicaragua, 81-96 news story has made danilo blandon the star. "a full-service drug dealer, is the star of a recent series of explosive articles on how fbi ignored and CIA encouraged california cocaine and crack consumption to finance Contra rebels in nicaragua during mid-1980s. in addition to tons of inexpensive cocaine, blandon also sold assault weapons and sophisticated commo gear, including hidden microphone detectors. blandon first appeared in DEA files in 1981 and was arrested during police raids in 1986, but no charges were filed. again in 1991, he was arrested, this time for money laundering in los angeles, but case was dropped at federal request. blandon, 45, is youngest son of wealthy nicaraguan landowners and worked for somoza in the late 1970s before raising money for Contras during 80s. he was a full-time DEA informant and, as a businessman, ran car rentals in miami, tampa, fort lauderdale and orlando, all in florida, plus restaurants in miami and san diego, a car lot in los angeles and import-export businesses on the east and west coasts. his right-hand men in the Contra drug business were nicaraguan norwin meneses, 48, and American "freeway" rick ross, 36, who, by 1987, had one of the largest crack cocaine distribution networks in the country. blandon is "the johnny appleseed of crack in california -- the crips' and bloods' [los angeles gangs] first direct-connect to cocaine cartels of colombia". according to scientific reports, crack was invented in san francisco, in 1974 and, with help of blandon and others, the world epidemic spread from there in the late 1970s and early 1980s. intelligence - a computerized intelligence newsletter published in france 9/9/96 14 nicaragua, 82-96 congressional black caucus urges probe of CIA-Contra drug charge. allegations raised in articles in san jose mercury news re crack cocaine being smuggled into the us. and sold to inner-city blacks to help support Contras. washington post 9/13/96 a28 nicaragua, 84-85 drug trafficker jorge morales claimed CIA approached him in 1984 offering him legal protection if he agreed to fly weapons to Contras while returning with drugs. weapons were loaded at opa-locka airport near miami or executive airport in fort lauderdale and flown to honduras, costa rica or el salvador. $4.5 million in drug profits went to Contras. op went on for 18 months with full U.S. gov knowledge. eddy, p. (1988). the cocaine wars 327-332 nicaragua, colombia, 83-96 during much of 1980s, the san jose mercury news has reported, a drug-dealing op sold tons of cocaine to street gangs in los angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a latin American guerrilla Contra army run by CIA. an extensive three-part series, published aug. 18-20 by the mercury news, maps a CIA drug network that "opened the first pipeline between colombia's cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of los angeles. reporter gary webb concluded: cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America -- and provided the cash and connections needed for l.a.'s gangs to buy automatic weapons. CIA arranged an alliance between a U.S.-backed army attempting to overthrow a revolutionary socialist government" in nicaragua and drug-dealers wielding machine guns in ghetto areas of southern california. on capitol hill that summer, iran-Contra hearings avoided CIA and Contra links to large-scale cocaine smuggling. yet, congressional panels had access to handwritten notes by reagan administration official Oliver North, whose notebooks contained 543 pages with references to the drug trade. in one notation about Contra arms supplies, North wrote: "$14 million came from drugs." even after such excerpts from North's notes were made public, most news media bypassed the Contra-CIA-cocaine connection. the detour around the story became more extreme in 1988: the Senate's subcommittee on terrorism and narcotics, chaired by john kerry, released an in-depth report that nailed the CIA for cocaine trafficking with the Contras. but media coverage was muddled and fleeting. mediabeat igc.apc.org 8/23/96 panama, 71-91 motion in noriega's trial describes CIA efforts to arm nicaraguan Contras - a guns-for-drugs policy. many heavy deletions re his two meetings with bush, dci casey, and Oliver North. "noriega called upon defuse situations which threatened U.S. interests in Central America and elsewhere." prosecutors acknowledged noriega paid 161,000 by CIA dating from 1971 and another 162,168 from army. washington post 9/4/91 a1,4 Central America, 81-96 dci deutch assured black lawmakers that the CIA's inspector general (ig) will probe charges the CIA funneled profits from a crack cocaine ring in 80s to aid nicaraguan Contras. washington times 9/20/96 a11 Central America, 81-96 justice department's ig to open investigation into allegations CIA helped flood U.S. ghettos with crack cocaine and used money to help nicaraguan Contras. washington post 9/21/96 a15 Panama, 85-92 noriega's defense [seems to be holding back] on revelations on Contras because of a deal with bush adm. judge hoeveler blocked testimony about arms shipments to Contras and use of classified records from 83 meeting between v.p. bush and noriega. defense lawyers trying to show noriega was a loyal ally on war on drugs. various DEA and attaches admitted noreiga's panama defense forces closed down darien drug-refining lab of medellin cartel, confiscated chemicals, helped catch drug traffickers and money launderers, etc. prosecution case based largely on testimony from former drug traffickers who received lenient treatment for their testimony. time 2/17/92 33 panama, 91 noriega defense team to detail secret U.S. deals. court papers describe noriega as CIA's "man in panama" whose activities conducted with consent of U.S. intel community. declassified motion describes numerous covert activities that noriega purportedly undertook for U.S. - tipping negotiators about panama's strategy during panama treaty negotiations; providing info to CIA about castro; and selling french-made exocet air-to-surface missiles to argentina during 82 falklands war as reagan adm publicly supported england. motion describes CIA efforts to arm nicaraguan Contras - a guns-for-drugs policy. many heavy deletions re his two meetings with bush, dci casey, and Oliver North. noriega called upon defuse situations which threatened U.S. interests in Central America and elsewhere. prosecutors acknowledged noriega paid 161,000 by CIA dating from 1971 and another 162,168 from army. washington post 9/4/91 a1,4 thailand, drugs. CIA agents who drug smugglers protected by CIA. puttaporn khramkhruan, a thai who worked for CIA in North thailand, burma and laos in antidrug intel work, arrested in 73 while attending syracuse u. after investigation of smuggling 59 pounds opium. CIA prevented case getting to court and eventually U.S. attorney's office in chicago forced to drop it. colby told congress an investigation into his activity would reveal CIA ops and justice dept agreed drop case. robbins, c. (1979). air America 245 panama, 83-91 "noriega called CIA's man in court papers." noriega controlled an 11 million $ slush fund and supplied info on gorbachev. backed by CIA, noriega sent exocet missiles to argentina to use against english ships in falklands war and funneled hundreds thousands dollars to leader of Contra rebellion in nicaragua. info in 107 pages his defense plans present at noriega's trial in july. justice dept deleted items including his contacts with bush, North, casey and 4 pages re his aid to U.S. army intel unit panama. many deletions appear to be re Contra aid. noriega passed hundreds thousands dollars from CIA at casey's direction to eden pastora. much of doc deals with "guns-for-drugs" flights to costa rica. washington post 5/16/91 a24 50-75 early 1950s, CIA engaged in an extensive program of human experimentation, using drugs, psychological and other means in search of techniques to control human behavior CIA has so far found no evidence that radiation experiments on humans were part of this program. CIA documents and a 1963 inspector general (ig) report. however state quite clearly that mkultra was a program concerned with research and development of chemical. biological. and radiological materials capable of employment in clandestine operations to control human behavior. ig report states that "additional avenues to the control of human behavior had been designated . . as appropriate to investigation under the mkultra charter, including radiation, electroshock. various fields of psychology, sociology, and anthropology, graphology, harassment substances, and paramilitary devices and materials." program included unwitting experimentation on humans with lsd (lysergic acid diethylamide), brainwashing, and other interrogation methods. CIA's human behavior program originated in 1950 and was motivated by soviet, chinese, and North korean use of mind control techniques. it began under the code name bluebird (and was later known as artichoke) and was operated by the office of security and osi with support from other offices. mkultra formally began in 4/53 as a special, clandestine funding mechanism for dod human behavior research. program was subject of investigations by 75 rockefeller commission, Senate church committee in 1976, and hearings by senator kennedy in 1975 and 1977, however, these committees did not focus on radiation experiments, and no such information was found by them. CIA said that mkultra involved human experimentation using every research "avenue" except for radiation. CIA also noted that most of the mkultra records were deliberately destroyed in 73 by the order of then dci r. helms. in early 9/91, CIA found a document that summarized work done for artichoke which states that in addition to hypnosis, chemical and psychiatric research [it explored] other physical manifestations. including heat and cold, atmospheric pressure, radiation. there is no indication from this document that radiation was explored on humans directly. it makes clear that CIA did "explore" radiation as a possibility for the defensive and offensive use of brainwashing and other interrogating techniques. advisory committee on human radiation experiments, interim report (1994) central america. diacsa: aircraft and parts supply company that came under DEA investigation for cocaine trafficking and money laundering; chosen by state department to supply humanitarian aid for contras. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 260 honduras. setco (servicios turisticos): airline established by honduran cocaine trafficker juan matta ballesteros and used by fdn and state department to deliver supplies to contras. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 262 nicaragua 91 diacsa was a miami-based airplane sales firm owned by floyd carlton caceres, a pilot who flew cocaine into u.s. and arms to nicaraguan contras. according to 1988 senate investigation, diacsa received two state department contracts totaling $43,130 to fly humanitarian aid to contras. washington post 10/2/91 a4 central america, 85-87 a money launderer for the major colombian cocaine cartel testified before congress that he funneled nearly $10 million to nicaraguan contras thru former cia operative felix rodriguez. ramon milian-rodriguez who serving time in prison said the cartel thought it was currying favor with the cia. washington post 6/30/87 a4 latin america, colombia, nicaragua, 90 dozens weapons given by u.s. to contras acquired by colombia drug dealers. now an alliance between colombian drug cartels and criminal orgs in italy and spain to provide and distribute cocaine in europe. contras appear to sell weapons in c.a. market. m67 fragmentation grenades and ussr made ak-47 assault rifles and rpg grenade launchers. contras when demobilized turned in only half of weapons. half of redeye portable antiaircraft missiles missing. washington post 9/18/90 a16 nicaragua, 94 oliver north sacrificed antidrug effort when it benefitted contras. in 88, dea officials testified how they believed north compromised drug investigation. when briefed north developed hypothetical plan using barry seal - that would swing congressional vote in favor of contras. leak, that appeared in washington times, destroyed op but linked sandinistas to drug but there was no such evidence of that link. north also tried to get leniency for "a serious international terrorist," honduran general jose bueso rosa - a contra supporter who pleaded guilty in plotting to smuggle cocaine to u.s. to finance the assassination of the democratically elected president of honduras. gen. released from jail. the nation 6/13/94 820,1 nicaragua, panama 91 u.s. govt. witness floyd carlton caceres testified in manual noriega trial of oct 91 that he had flown weapons to nicaraguan contras in 1983-84 while he was flying cocaine into u.s. for medellin drug cartel. flights were organized by alfredo caballero, a miami-based businessman later indicted with carlton on drug charges. washington post 10/2/91 a4