Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 23:51:34 GMT From: Ralph McGehee Subject: CIABASE DATA: Drugs and the CIA (2/4) (continued ...) central america, 85-87 chief cia's c.a. task force testified 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 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 p41-2 central america, 85-89 senator kerry said stopping drug traffic in u.s. sacrificed for political and institutional goals such as changing gvt in nicaragua, supporting gvt in panama, using drug-running orgs as intel assets, etc. covert action information bulletin (now covert action quarterly) summer 90 6 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, 86-90 see article z mag "farmer john's homegrown connections. deals with costa rican case against john hull, et al. for drugs and assassination attempt against pastora. z magazine mag 4/90 94-98 central america, 92-93 article, "drug traffickers build a new central american route to u.s." washington post 3/28/93 a1,3 central america, 94 despite u.s. gvt interdiction efforts, central america continues to be primary transhipment point for cocaine to u.s. supply of drugs via c.a. virtually uninterrupted. drug traffickers have adjusted modes of ops to avoid u.s. air interdiction and increasingly use sea and land transportation - difficult modes to detect. c.a. nations have neither resources nor capability to challenge and are heavily dependent on u.s. gao/nsaid-94-233, 8/94 36 pages central america, 96 members of the congressional black caucus called for an investigation into cia connections to a san francisco bay area drug ring that helped touch off the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s. a mercury news' three-part series "dark alliance," detailed how a drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the street gangs of south-central los angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a cia-run guerrilla army. series traced the crack cocaine explosion to two nicaraguan cocaine dealers, danilo blandon and norwin meneses, who were civilian leaders of the frente democratica nicaraguense (fdn), an anti-communist commando group formed and run by the cia during the 1980s. danilo blandon, a former nicaraguan gvt official, was conduit for thousands of kilos of cocaine that flowed to the los angeles street gangs between 1982 and 1986. blandon, who pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking charges in 1992 and went to work for dea as an informant, recently testified in federal court that he sold the cocaine in the city's black neighborhoods as a way to raise money for the guerrilla army. his biggest customer was a drug kingpin, rick "freeway" ross, who turned the drugs into crack. ross is now in jail, set up by blandon in a 1994 drug bust. deutch, said a 1988 cia study presented to intel committees concluded cia "neither participated in nor condoned drug trafficking by contra forces." san jose mercury news 9/13/96 central america, mexico, 92-93 "teamwork lacking on drug interdiction." there few seizures of drug shipments tracked by u.s. forces. u.s. role relegated to tracking flights, and relaying intel to local authorities. 107 suspect aircraft tracked by u.s. and mexican authorities in first 7 months of 92, there only 8 apprehensions. washington post 6/21/93 c12 china, 94 dea is planning to open an office in beijing. agence france presse * 12/8/94 christic institute claims 29 men in all including shackley, secord, hakim, clines, owen, etc., were supporting the contras when prohibited by law. some of these men have been associated with large-scale drug trafficking in cuba, sea and central america, for over 2 decades. christic institute special report 11/87 cia and drug traffic 47-90 discussed in interview with alfred mccoy. info similar to info in his book "the politics of heroin in sea." net result of post-war anti-commie policy was revival of organized crime operating initially under u.s. military gvt protection, ultimately under cia protection. the op in burma with kmt to invade china. kmt fled to n.e. burma and cia set up massive support op. cia became involved in factional politics in thailand and supported general phao who in opium business with kmt. opium traffic up to 1,000 tons by time cia's mercenaries driven out in 61. about 60% to 70% world's total illicit production. z magazine 1/91 69 cia involved in drug traffic at three levels: 1. coincidental complicity by allying with groups engaged in traffic; 2. support of traffic by covering up known traffickers and condoning their involvement; 3. active engagement in transport of opium and heroin. mccoy, a.w. (1991). the politics of heroin: cia complicity in the global drug traffic 23 cia shedding its reluctance to aid in fight against drugs. new york times * 3/25/90 1n, 1l cia spokesman james greenleaf 3/90 announced cia abandoned its former reluctance and "narcotics is a new priority." intelligence newsletter 4/25t/90 4 colombian drug flow unabated. washington post 3/9/93 a14 colombia, 86-94 joe toft retired from dea after 7 years as chief u.s. drug agent in colombia. he calls colombia a "narco-democracy." washington times 10/19/94 a10 colombia, 89 stepped up american drug interdiction in colombia, including cia's counter narcotics center and dea's anti-drug operations, may lead to attacks on u.s. citizens/property by drug lords according to witnesses before senate governmental operations committee on 11 sep 89. dea informant barry seal was assassinated in 1987, the first such incident. intelligence newsletter 9/27/89 3 colombia, 93 article, "global mafia: the new global mafia poses the most serious criminal threat in history." a newsweek team spent several months writing article. around globe intel agencies are refocusing efforts from spies to criminals - roy godson a source (sic). cia is investigating whether organized crime groups could acquire nuclear weapons. death of pablo escobar in columbia via a raid by bloque de busqueda (search unit), an elite police commando force whose members screened by cia and dea, which helped train them. cia did not participate in raid but in bogota, a cia-run tactical analysis team fed intel to bloque. nsa diverted spy satellites into orbits over columbia and c-130 reconnaissance planes from southern command helped. escobar's phone tapped. recent meeting between cia and fbi lawyers broke up testily when they could not agree how to share crime intel. cia has penetrated cali cartel and a british mi6 operative helped crack a ring in london. fbi has conducted seminars for polish, czech and hungarians on methods of investigating economic crime. newsweek 12/13/93 17 colombia, 93 "the drug war: colombia is undertaking antidrug programs. but impact is uncertain." gao/nsaid-93-158 colombia, 94 dea started a phony bank to catch drug lords in op dinero. by mid december they had seized 9 tons of cocaine an d $52 million, made 88 arrests worldwide. bank established in anguilla an british dependency. dea relied on irs partners. phone and fax lines to phony caribbean bank routed to atlanta. toll-free numbers to banks in venezuela, colombia and mexico. u.s. news & world report 1/2/95 34 colombia, 95 cia has loaned technicians to colombia's search brigade. new york times 6/26/95 colombia, 95 colombia is the source of an estimated 80 percent of cocaine coming into the united states, is winning war against the cali drug cartel. "the cartel is being dismantled and is crumbling," said lee brown, director of the white house office of national drug control policy. colombian national police, aided in part by intel from u.s. agencies, have captured a number of previously untouchable leaders of cali cartel within past month. colombian police also are continuing operation "search blockade," an open attack on the cartel, and many drug leaders have been forced to give up their opulent lifestyles and go underground. dea has more than 50 field offices worldwide. upi 8/9/95 colombia, 95 dci deutch flew to cali on monday to observe a massive police and army manhunt for the cali cartel drug lord who escaped from prison last week. cali, capital of guerrilla-infested valle del cauca province and headquarters of the notorious drug cartel, is one of the focal points of the nationwide hunt for jose santacruz londono, the cartel kingpin who escaped in broad daylight from a maximum-security prison in bogota on thursday. deutch was to return to bogota for talks with president ernesto samper. visit comes four days after u.s.-colombia ties took a turn for the worse following the escape of santacruz, who is wanted on drug and murder charges in the us. the escape, prompted immediate demands by the state department and dea for the revival of a u.s.-colombian extradition treaty scrapped in 1991 after the late medellin cartel drug lord pablo escobar waged a campaign of assassinations and bombings against it. the u.s. embassy warned that washington could decertify colombia as a partner in the anti-drug fight when certification comes up for renewal in march. decertification would strip colombia of important economic aid and trade preferences. reuter 1/15/96, washington times 1/16/96 a9 colombia, nicaragua, 91 former drug cartel leader carlos lehder said cartel members paid around $10 million to contras. he did not specify when aid was given. lehder also said he contributed $500,000 to political party of bohamian prime minister lynden pindling. lehder's statements were made in nov 91 while serving as u.s. gov witness in its case against manuel noriega. lehder, who admitted he agreed to testify on behalf of gov with the hope of obtaining early release from his life sentence, reluctantly made the contra-drug statements under cross-examination from noriega's defense attorney. washington post 11/26/91 a1,8 colombia. carlos lehder: colombian drug trafficker, extradited to united states and convicted. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 260 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 colombia. gilberto rodriguez orejuela: kingpin of colombian cali cartel; arrested with jorge ochoa in spain in 1984 and extradited to colombia, where he was later freed. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 262 colombia. isaac kattan kassin: colombian money launderer for cali cartel. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 260 colombia. jorge luis ochoa vasquez: leader of medellin caertel, indicted in united states in 1984 and 1986; arrested in spain in 1984 and extradited to colombia, freed on $10,500 bail. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 261 colombia, 50-90 the situation in colombia, outlines various guerrilla groups and parties. nacla 4/90 "the people's war," 13-21; "the dirty war," 22-29; "the drug war," 30-38 colombia, 83 a plane with southern air transport markings was seen being used for a guns-for-drugs transfer at an airfield in barranquilla, colombia. justice dept investigating. washington post 1/20/87 a12 colombia, 84 op to capture drugs named op chemcom, perhaps dea's most successful undercover op ever. dea planted 2 barrels of there own among 76 barrels chemicals going colombia. two barrels were equipped with radio tracking devices and battery packs embedded in false bottom. military satellites followed the beeping barrels and dea passed coordinates to colombian police. dinges, j. (1990). our man in panama notes 322 colombia, 88 40 persons, including 9 senior officials of bcci, arrested 10/9/88 for part in money laundering net of medellin cocaine cartel. arrested were ian howard, dir of paris branch and nazir chinoy dir for europe and africa. sting organized by u.s. customs. more than 32 million supposedly recycled by bcci. intelligence newsletter 10/18/88 8 colombia, 88 federal sting exposes drug cartels' money-laundering methods. during 2-year federal sting "op c-chase" that climaxed 10/12/88 with indictment of more than 70 alleged drug traffickers and luxenberg-based bcci. customs commissioner william van raab, accused bcci of "prostituting" itself for money laundering. details of bcci's role. washington post 10/24/88 a1,4 colombia, 89-90 see article "colombia cracks up." nacla (magazine re latin america) 4/90 12 colombia, 92 150 arrested in 6-nation drug sting. money laundering disrupted, dea says. washington post 9/29/92 a3 colombia, 92 colombian officials said cia, with knowledge of colombian gvt, has stepped up participation in drug war. cia lending support in a series of raids against the cali cartel, which is believed to be involved in both cocaine and heroin trafficking. cia has increased its personnel over past two months to lend technological support in drug war - but cia agents did not participate in raids. washington post 1/18/92 a14 colombia, 92 pentagon 45-day anti-drug op, used land-based radar systems and airborne warning and control systems - awacs. also used navy ships, air force jet fighters and navy and customs service aircraft to monitor suspected flights. u.s. southern command ran op called "support sovereignty." op ended 1 june. washington post 6/26/92 a25,6 colombia, peru, 94 u.s. refusal to share intel in drug fight called absurd. chairmen of two house committees blasted clinton adm for continuing to reuse sharing info with colombia and peru that would enable them to shoot down suspect civilian aircraft. washington post 8/4/94 a12 congress passed $10 million for new national drug intel center to be located in pennsylvania. no one but rep. murtha seemed to want center. washington post 10/29/90 a13 costa rica. claims by carr and glibbery that much of activity around hull's ranch involved transshipment of cocaine to u.s. carr found dead in van nuys, california - police said he died of drug overdose. terrell, j., and martz, r. (1992). disposable patriot 319,344 costa rica. frigorificos de puntarenas: a shrimp company in costa rica allegedly created as a cover for laundering of drug money; it was involved in north's contra support operations and used by state department to deliver humanitarian contra aid. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 260 costa rica. john hull was cia's man in costa rica, but he dabbled in every illegal scheme from assassination to gunrunning. terrell, j., and martz, r. (1992). disposable patriot 241 costa rica. john hull: u.s. rancher in costa rica who backed contras in conjunction with local cia station and whose airfield received contra supply flights and allegedly drug shipments. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 260 costa rica. octaviano cesar: an aide to contra leader eden pastora; arranged for drug trafficker jorge morales to provide support for contras in costa rica. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 259 costa rica. sebastian "guachan" gonzalez": arde contra official who fled costa rica in 1984 after indictment for drug trafficking. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 260 costa rica, 84-87 despite widespread drug trafficking there not a single case against a drug trafficker which was made on the basis of a tip or report by an official of a u.s. intel agency. drugs, law enforcement and foreign policy, report by senate committee on foreign relations, 12/88 122 costa rica, 84-90 according to senate report hull allowed ranch to be used as an arms-for-drugs swap meet. in jan 89 costa rican authorities arrested hull on charges of drug trafficking and neutrality violations. he jumped bail in august and fled to u.s. he also charged with homicide in 84 bombing aimed at eden pastora. washington post jack anderson 8/8/90 d13 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, 87-89 john hull a cia-connected rancher was arrested in 1/89 for, inter alia, illegal drug trafficking per president arias. the nation 4/3/89 p440 costa rica, 89 lt. col. north, secord, poindexter, tambs and former cia station chief fernandez declared persona non grata because their activities led to the establishing of narcotics nets. the nation 12/18/89 742 costa rica, 89 lt. col. north, secord, poindexter, tambs and former cia station chief fernandez declared persona non grata because their activities led to the establishing of narcotics nets. the nation 12/18/89 742 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 cuba, 76-87 guillermo tabraue, a bay of pigs vet, is charged with running a miami drug syndicate. tabraue also employed by cia at $1400 a week to give info about drug trafficking among bay of pig vets. tabraue's trial to begin 4/3/89. the nation 4/17/89 p512 cuba, 80-91 see article "cuba and cocaine": frontline fabrication. lies of our time 4/91 9-10 cuba, 91 defector in interior ministry says cuba involved in novel drug-smuggling technique. washington times 7/3/91 a10 cuba, panama, 91 a handwritten letter to manual noriega indicates that fidel castro had no role whatsoever in noriega's dealings with the medellin cartel. the letter, written by convicted marijuana smuggler steven kalish in 1984, contradicted the testimony of a u.s. govt witness, jose blandon, in the trial of manual noriega. the nation 10/07/91 dci webster said threats other than ussr will require aggressive u.s. intel efforts: terrorism, narcotics trafficking and regional conflicts. stakes in third world become higher as more nations possess increasingly sophisticated weapons. new york times 11/30/89 a18 dea versus cia operations in the "drug war." top secret 1-89 12-14 dea, 90 has drug data ctr in el paso, cia has one in langley, treasury had one in arlington. gvt has created drug or money laundering intel ctrs--secretive computerized ops. justice dept plans a national drug center (ndic) in d.c. and will spend more than $50 million next 3 year. cia's counter narcotics ctr will not pass much info to justice for fear of compromising sources and methods. dea's intel ctr (epic) primarily interested in tactical intel to aid specific investigations and does not draw strategic portraits. justice with staff of 30 and start up budget of $8 million to begin op in oct. should have budget of $46 million in 91. washington post 6/8/90 a21 doc released under foia (19 pages) re cia/justice department agreement regarding possible criminal activities arising out of cia activities. the need to protect sources and methods and the duty to enforce laws. included is a brief summary of 20 cases in which violations of criminal statutes were reported to doj between 54-75 a detailed review involved in the prosecution of putaporn khramkhruan, former cia employee. hopc 5/10/84 p112 from center for national security studies c-37 drugs, mexico, 84-90 pablo aleman diaz, head of mexican judicial police, temporarily stepped down re investigation of possible involvement in kidnapping to u.s. of dr humberto alvarez machain on 4/3/90. dr machain alleged be involved in 2/85 murder of dea agent camarena. publication "proceso" names 49 dea agents in mexico. intelligence newsletter 5/9/90 4 eduardo tascon moran: 1970s cali arms and drug trafficker with alleged links to torrijos family in panama. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 263 el salvador, 81-93 former dea station chief in salvador, celerino castillo, writing book on open involvement of contra supply op in drug trafficking thru ilopongo airfield. oliver north was directly involved. castillo says he can document his claims with photos. unclassified 1/94 3 england, 88 panam flight 103 supposedly downed by cia to protect drug pipeline? random lengths 11/15/89 p1,4 felipe ("morgan") vidal: miami cuban and alleged cia agent who took over small costa rica contra faction after drug indictment of sebastian gonzalez. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 263 floyd carlton: panamanian drug trafficker using diacsa as cover; after conviction he became major u.s. government witness in indictment of noriega. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 259 france, 47-50 cia joined forces with corsicans to break hold of communist party over city gvt and to break two dock strikes - that threatened efficientcy of marshall plan and 1st indochina war. mccoy, a.w. (1991). the politics of heroin: cia complicity in the global drug traffic 25 france, 93 on 2/16/93 french businessman for third time in 4 months, was expelled from netherlands. michael bosio, is alleged victim of cia/dea drug op. intelligence newsletter 3/4/93 7 france, laos, 87 prince sopsaisana of laos to paris in april. one of his suitcases contained 60 kilos of high-grade laotian heroin worth $13.5 million in new york. french refused to accept his credentials and he recalled to vientiane in june. according to dea, sopsai's venture was financed by gen vang pao, and the heroin had been refined in lab at long tieng, cia's hqs for ops in n. laos. mccoy, a.w. (1991). the politics of heroin: cia complicity in the global drug traffic 284-5 from about 48-91 cia involved in drug traffic at 3 levels: 1) coincidental complicity thru covert alliances with groups actively engaged in drugs; 2) support of traffic by covering up for drug lord allies; 3) active engagement in transport of opium and heroin. from burma's opium traffic in 50s and growth of golden triangle in sea in 60s and 70s u.s. role a catalyst. in 5/80 dr. david musto, angry. in late 77 he on carter's w.h. strategy council on drug abuse. next two years cia and other intel agencies denied council access to all classified info on drug traffic. cia lied about dollar role of drugs. dr. joyce lowinson another council member in nyt op-ed criticized policy. both musto and lowinson worried about drugs in afghanistan and pakistan. dea investigated surge of drugs from southern asia. drug traffic in u.s. in large part due to failure dea's interdiction and cia's covert ops. cia ops transformed southern asia to major supplier of world heroin. by 88 there an estimated 100 to 200 heroin refineries in kyber district alone. trucks from pakistani army's logistics with cia arms often returned loaded with heroin - protected with papers from pakistan's isi. dea said 40 significant narcotics syndicates in pakistan. annual earnings $8 to 10 billion. pro 7/91 20-26. info from alfred mccoy's adapted from book, politics of heroin: cia complicity in global drug trade, a revised edition to be pub in july 91 gao report: war on drugs - heroin price, purity, and quantities seized over past 10 years. u.s. general accounting office ggd-92-95fs gerard latchinian: international arms dealer, former business partner of felix rodriguez and mossad agent pesakh ben-or, convicted for his part in 1984 bueso rosa cocaine plot. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 260 germany, scotland. dea probing report pan am 103 terrorists exploited dea op "courier" to plant explosives. op allowed informants put suitcases on pan am flights without usual security checks. washington post 10/31/90 a12 golden triangle. "biic" (adi 16 rue des ecoles, 75005 paris 326.04.52). issue contains study of opium war in golden triangle and its relation to cia, a fourteen page dossier on intel and covert ops in southern africa and other articles including: "shadow deals in the golden triangle: cia connection," "south africa and cia against the mpla," and "cia - blunders and disagreements." parapolitics xi 82 p2-3 gonzalo rodriguez gacha: drug trafficker in medellin cartel; killed in 1990. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 262 haiti, 88-93 alexandra marks of christian science monitor wrote on anti-drug intel center established in haiti in 88 by dea but was effectively controlled by cia-created, financed and trained haitian national intel service (sin). dea believed sin was the u.s.-financed center for drug ops with cia protecting haitian officers in return for a continuing intel relationship. unclassified 1/94 3 haiti, 88-93 tim weiner of nyt said "cia formed haitian unit later tied to narcotics" - having created haitian intel service, cia failed to insure that several million dollars spent training and equipping service from 86 to 91 was actually used in war on drugs. unclassified 1/94 3-4 haiti, 90-94 dea chief miami, thomas cash, told story from informant of aristide's involvement in drug trade. info from uncorrobated source. the nation 10/31/94 482,96 haiti, 92 only weeks ago u.s. adamant in resolve to force return of ousted haitian president aristide to govern country. now he warned that he would have to negotiate his possible return with current haitian leadership. flip-flop due to a re-examining of aristide's brief tenure as president. one concern whether drug corruption, which flourished under previous regimes, also persisted under aristide. discusses roland seide. jack anderson washington post 7/16/92 c11 haiti, 93 haiti's largest trafficker of cocaine, fernando burgos martinez, operates freely per dea study. washington post 4/4/93 a41 holland, 92-93 dea sting catches two. intelligence newsletter 4/1/93 3 honduras. jose bueso rosa: honduran general convicted in drug-financed plot to assassinate president of honduras. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 259 honduras, 88 u.s. intel identified ten senior honduran military officers involved in drug trafficking. they included col. roberto nunez, chief of military intel, col. leonel riera lunatti, chief of police and col. leonel gutierrez, head of navy. additionally col. rigoberto regalado lara, former ambassador to peru, was arrested in miami for possession of 11 kilos of cocaine. intel parapolitics 7/88 8 honduras, colombia. pablo escobar gaviria: major colombian trafficker in medellin cartel fdn (frente democratio nicaraguense): leading contra faction in honduras. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 260 honduras, israel. during contra war honduran military intel officers on double salary from cia and colombian drug cartels, who saw advantage of using honduran airstrips for transiting cocaine under cover of war effort. israelis also trained honduran death squads. cockburn, a. & cockburn, l. (1991). dangerous liaison 225 honduras, juan ramon matta ballessteros: honduran drug trafficker with important drug connections in mexico, cali, and honduran army. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 261 in 71 nixon made cia chief drug intel agency. old cia hand lucien conein headed dea's special operations branch. he created deep-cover cia/dea narcotics op in miami, code-named buncin/deacon, and recruited a staff of 19 - anti-castro contract agents. documents released under foia to researcher john hill describe a gentlemen's agreement between cia and justice department to ask for dismissals rather than expose sources or techniques. convicted drug smuggler and bay of pigs vet carlos hernandez rumbaut, continued his trafficking activity through 1976. justice dumped agreement in 76, but conein had worked out a "crossover' arrangement whereby dea would claim that any cia asset busted for narcotics smuggling was on a deep-cover dea assignment. none of cia's cubans prosecuted for drug smuggling. 27 u.s. prosecutions of latin america drug cases and two other major cases had to be dropped because of cia's domestic involvement. hinckle, w. & turner, w. (1992). deadly secrets xxxvii in 72 bureau of narcotics and dangerous drugs, predecessor to dea, was formulated in cooperation with cia for purpose of gathering strategic narcotics intel and would be used to neutralize suspected narcotics traffickers. project became known as "buncin" (bureau of narcotics covert intel network), but was soon renamed "deacon" (drug enforcement administration covert operations network) which proved far more effective in gathering info of an "internal security nature" within u.s. a former dea official noted that with exception of one cocaine seizure in 1974, no buncin/deacon intel ever made it to courtroom. cia destroyed evidence so as not to reveal sources. intel analyst in southeast asia noted "it was ironic that cia should be given responsibility of narcotics intel, particularly since they were supporting the prime movers." intelligence newsletter 6/21/89 1 in 83 the reagan adm said the national narcotics border interdiction system will draw on cia informers, army and navy helicopter surveillance and domestic crime-fighting agencies in hopes of intercepting drug smugglers. washington post 6/14/83 in 89 national security council drafted a directive to broaden war on drugs and to explicitly include assassination of foreign drug lords. cia's counter narcotics center provides analytical and operational support to anti-narcotic operations. according to rafael perl, an international narcotics specialist with congressional research service, eliminating four or five leaders could disrupt drug operations for as long as 18 months. intelligence newsletter 6/21/89 1 in 90 state dept office for drug control, international narcotics bureau (inm) was one of few anti-drug agencies that did not have anyone assigned to the cia's center for narcotics control. washington post 2/7/90 a 21 in an escalation in cia's drug work, dci webster created an antinarcotics unit that will "lend analytical and ops support" to fight drug traffickers. impetus for the center was to respond to complaints about the quality of intel the cia has provided the dea. dea officials complain there little intel of value from the cia. one dea agent assigned to the center as liaison. washington post 5/28/89 a12-3 in drug war, nearly every agency involved. u.s. general accounting office nsiad-92-104 4/92 39 iran, 79 bakhtiar, a rich iranian, according to him, was approached by the cia to use heroin resources of his family to finance the overthrow of khomeini. this in court. rebel 11/22/83 p83 israel, 90-92 fbi suspects israeli money laundering op is processing as much as $200 million a year through u.s. banks to be used in covert ops. ultra-orthodox jews in new york reported to have laundered money that israeli col yair klein and his company, spearhead ltd., earned training and arming hit squads of medellin cartel. kerry's senate report says part of klein's op - a 89 arms sale to cartel boss jose gonzalo rodriguez gacha by state-owned israel military industries was linked to bcci. report said bcci helped israeli maurice safati obtain u.s. gvt financing of a melon farm on antigua in 83 intelligence newsletter 11/5/92 6 israel, colombia, 87-90 4 federal agencies investigating arik afek, aka flower man, who killed in miami. israeli tv said cia gave afek a u.s. passport in exchange for info on israeli activity in colombia. israeli foreign affairs 2/90 1,8 israel, colombia, 89 colombia issued a warrant for arrest of lt.col. yair klein, who led an israeli team and trained paramilitary squads for medellin cocaine cartel. harari involved. ifa 10/89 1,5. israeli foreign affairs 9/89 1,2,4-8 israel, panama, 88-90 mike harari recruited israelis for noriega's personal bodyguard during 89. he had previously organized this force. this means he beefed up noriega's security after u.s. officials had begun extensive cia action against noriega and had repeatedly asked israel to recall harari. ifa 1/90 3, 4,5,8. mike harari is israel's man in panama where he has handled israeli arms sales and noreiga's personal security for a number of years. between 82-85 he ran harari net, a u.s.-israeli contra supply op that worked in cahoots with medellin cartel to transport cocaine from colombia to u.s. israeli foreign affairs 11/89 1,2 italy, 94 "onig" connection dismantled. over the last month italian and u.s. law enforcement services have dismantled an important international network of italian and colombian drug traffickers. latter had established their headquarters in manhattan at "famous original pizza ray's" through which 50 kilos of cocaine was processed every month. op involved specialized fbi teams and teams from palermo, reggio di alabra and rome of criminalpol. a hundred persons were arrested and 200 kilos of cocaine were seized. u.s. mafia doesn't seem to have been associated with network which was set up by colombians who furnished their sicilian and calabrian counterparts in cocaine, relying particularly upon macri' family for distribution in southern italy. intelligence - a computerized intelligence newsletter published in france 251 251/7 jack terrell: former u.s. mercenary and contra supporter who was persecuted by north and osg after he began talking to dea and fbi about contra smuggling activities; later indicted on antineutrality charges that were eventually dropped. scott, p. & marshall, j. (1991). cocaine politics 263 la weekly 10/13/88 beginning p18 re "the miami network." la weekly 10/6/88 beginning p18 re "cocaine and the white house." an article in "the miami connection" discusses the drug traffic and says four groups of players are prominent in the miami action: italian and jewish crime syndicates; cuban exile terrorist groups and the cia; latin american drugs dealers; and bankers. the nation 2/18/84 p186-198 asia, 88 larger share drugs entering east u.s. coming from southeast asia. burma still largest supplier. thai gvt accused lao gvt complicity in heroin traffic. most sea heroin goes via bangkok to u.s. west coast. washington post 3/16/88 a6 australia, 80 nugan hand bank which collapsed was used by cia to channel money to southeast asia and by australian heroin traffickers to finance their trade. a number of the bank's officers and consultants are former cia employees. a dozen or so persons connected with the bank have died or disappeared, according to report in london sunday times. first principles 11/80 p10 australia. see article "strange tales of nuggan hand drug clients," covert action information bulletin (now covert action quarterly) summer 87 9 australia. "nugan hand bank and cia/drugs." mother jones sep/87 16-23 australia, proprietary. discussion of nugan hand bank 61-80 involvement with cia. marshall, j., scott p.d., & hunter, j. (1987). the iran-contra connection 36-40 barry seal a convicted drug smuggler was killed 2/19/86 in baton rouge. he had been used to tyr to tie nicaraguan gvt officials into drug traffic. mother jones 4/87 49-50 bay of pigs veterans drug ring profits used to supply contras according to christic institute. marshall, j., scott p.d., & hunter, j. (1987). the iran-contra connection 43 bay of pigs vets links 70-87 with organized crime and terrorists. marshall, j., scott p.d., & hunter, j. (1987). the iran-contra connection 42-6 involvement of former cia latin american operatives in drug smuggling. marshall, j., scott p.d., & hunter, j. (1987). the iran-contra connection 134-9 blowback. florida drug prosecutor said 86 "a great many of drug smugglers in miami today are bay of pigs vets. that's why they're so tough. they're intel trained. that's why we're having such a tough time". marshall, j., scott p.d., & hunter, j. (1987). the iran-contra connection 135 bolivia, 89 "u.s., drugs and bolivia: the u.s. in bolivia, playing golf while the drugs flow." the nation 2/13/89 p188-92 burma, 50-59 cia activities burma (with kmt) helped transform shan states into largest opium-growing region in world. kmt shipped heroin to north thailand where sold to gen. phao sriyanonda of thai police, a cia client. mccoy, a.w. (1972). the politics of heroin in southeast asia 127 burma. cia involvement with kmter's who source of drug traffic. kwitny, j. (1984). endless enemies 331-4 burma/china, 50s cia contract aircraft used to transport opium from burma to bangkok in li mi op. corson, w.r. (1977). armies of ignorance 321-4 burma/china, 50s li mi's forces did little to china but became ensconced in drug trafficking. cia's aircraft carried guerrillas opium to market in bangkok. corson, w.r. (1977). armies of ignorance 321-3 burma/thailand. jack killam a contract us. gvt employee shot in head by unknown persons. buried by two cia operatives. may have been involved in drug traffic. corson, w.r. (1977). armies of ignorance 322-3 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, circa 85-86 g.w. betzner testified before senator kerry's committee re his participation in drug smuggling. said he made 2 trips into costa rica and landed near ranch of john hull. betzner said hull watched as load of machine guns unloaded and replaced by cocaine. second flight near strip near voice of america near hull's ranch where guns unloaded and cocaine loaded. washington post 4/8/88 a1&15 central america, 85 contra collaborator and former panama official hugo spadafora blew whistle on coke dealing to dea agents 9/85. next day his headless body found inside mail bag in costa rica. in 85 costa rican authorities arrested contra commander sebastian gonzalez mendiola on charges of cocaine trafficking. national reporter summer 86 43 central america, 86 senator kerry said it clear there is networking of drug trafficking thru contras. "and it goes right up to [contra leaders] mario calero, adolfo calero [and] enrique bermudez." cia has actively blocked federal drug investigations of contra supporters. covert action information bulletin (now covert action quarterly) summer 87 13, 15 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 central america, circa 84-87 info coming out of senator kerry's hearings re contras and the drug traffic. na 4/30/88 p589,593-4 central america, circa 85-86 officials of justice dept., state dept., and dea have told congressional committees during past 18 months that north sacrificed u.s. anti-drug efforts when he thought it would benefit the contras. arizona daily star 11/27/88 comment, see major article in common cause magazine 10/88 p23-33 central america, circa 86 joe fernandez, cos costa rica testified at closed session that on one occasion a "higher authority" in the agency ordered him to continue working with 2 contra leaders suspected of drug dealing. the nation 6/2787 p874 chairman of the house committee on narcotics abuse and control requested the dea, cia and customs service to brief his committee on contra drug links at a closed session. cia and justice dept, which oversees dea, refused. the nation 6/13/87 p787 chicago daily news reported cia forced justice department to drop an indictment against one of its (cia) agents involved in a plot to smuggle 100 pounds of raw opium into u.s. the nation 7/5/75 4 chile. "plan of mobilization and operations for the coup d'etat" code name plan z gien in white paper which said cubans had prepared plan. 2 cia officers helped prepare. white paper said allende gvt involved in drug traffic and terrorism. cited a list of weapons and ammo caches. tarasov, k., & zubenko, v. (1984). the cia in latin america 147-50 china. payments at small oss base 42-45 in kunming frequently made with opium. marshall, j., scott p.d., & hunter, j. (1987). the iran-contra connection 64 china, burma, taiwan. cat in op repat evacuated chinat troops from burma of the yunnan anti-communist national salvation army. invasions china unsuccessful and it clear kmt irregulars more interested in drug trade than fighting communists. leary, w.m. (1984). perilous missions 195 cia, 76 testimony dea agent indicates that cia aware of drug smuggling activities cia backed kuomintang armies of burma and laos. allegedly cia ordered some smuggling activity. counterspy winter 76 33 cia coordinates 69-75 clandestine intel collection overseas and provides other gvt agencies with foreign intel on drug traffic. rockefeller commission report. (1975). report on cia activities within the u.s. 36-7 cia never trafficked in drugs as matter of official policy, but willing overlook fact that meo's primary cash crop was opium, while cia planes of air america were on occasion used to carry drugs. marchetti, v., & marks, j.d. (1974). the cia and the cult of intelligence 215 cia reported role with nugan hand bank and drug running. counterspy 5/83 8-9