The contras provided both protection and infrastructure (planes, pilots, airstrips, warehouses, front companies and banks) to these CIA-linked drug networks. Six weeks after the declassified and heavily censored first volume of the CIA report was made public, Inspector General Frederick Hitz testified before a House congressional committee. New York: Lawrence Hill Books, 2003. The Central Intelligence Agency's involvement in drug trafficking is back in the media spotlight after a spokesman for the violence-plagued Mexican state of Chihuahua became the latest. The drug in the shipments was provided by the Venezuelan anti-drug unit which was working with the CIA, using cocaine seized in Venezuela. EARLY COMPLICITY IN DRUG TRAFFICKING THE OSS: FORERUNNER TO THE CIA. CIA drug trafficking. Citing existing federal policy on narcotics enforcement, Smith wrote: "In light of these provisions and in view of the fine cooperation the Drug Enforcement Administration has received from CIA, no formal requirement regarding the reporting of narcotics violations has been included in these procedures. [7][8][9] Pastora had complained about such charges as early as March 1985, claiming that "two 'political figures' in Washington told him last week that State Department and CIA personnel were spreading the rumor that he is linked to drug trafficking in order to isolate his movement. ", "Drugs, Corruption, and Justice in Vietnam and Afghanistan: A Cautionary Tale", "11, "Opium, the China Lobby, and the CIA", Dark Alliance: CIA, the Contras and the Crack Cocaine Explosion, Overview of CIA/IG Investigation (January 29, 1998), Report of InvestigationVolume I: The California Story (January 29, 1998), Report of Investigation Volume II: The Contra Story (October 8, 1998), Congressional Testimony of Peter Kornbluh, Involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking, Official reports by the U.S. Government on the CIA, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Allegations_of_CIA_drug_trafficking&oldid=1133990201, Central Intelligence Agency controversies, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles to be expanded from February 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 13:23. Washington claims that Mexico is the source of the heroin that is flooding U.S. streetswith 10,500 hectares under poppy cultivation in 2012while Afghanistan had224,000 hectaresaccording to theUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC) in a 2014 report but the numbers tell a different story. Author of The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade. Bush, William Barr, and others. Operation Eagle was the flashpoint. According to the report's "Epilogue", the report was completed in December 1997 but was not released because the DEA was still attempting to use Danilo Blandn in an investigation of international drug dealers and was concerned that the report would affect the viability of the investigation. [2] Investigation by the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency Office of Inspector General, and United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence rejected the main charges. ~ Narco Aggression Russia accuses the U.S. military of involvement in drug trafficking out of Afghanistan - Centre for Research on Globalization . McCoy has also written that during the 1980s "to fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the CIA, working through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, backed Afghan warlords who used the Agency's arms, logistics, and protection to become major drug lords. Several also said they supplied information about the smuggling to U.S. At least two people have died. Another Costa Rican-based drug ring involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA had hired as military trainers for the contras. In 1984, U.S. officials began receiving reports of Contra cocaine trafficking. It found that "the allegations contained in the original Mercury News articles were exaggerations of the actual facts." All of his claims are fully documented and backed up by records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. (See Christopher Robbins, Air America, Avon Books, 1985, chapter 9). Before the creation of the CIA in 1947, Allen Dulles assembled the Flying Tigers, an inner clique within the Office of Strategic Services . After introducing the three, the first article discussed primarily Blandn and Meneses, and their relationship with the Contras and the CIA. Like the CIA and Justice Department reports, it also found that neither Blandn, Meneses, nor Ross were associated with the CIA. Many young adults will unfortunately turn to the drug trade whether they sell or use as hope fades for the lack of jobs or opportunities. Having no way to transport their opium, the Hmong were faced with economic ruin. Because Blandn cooperated with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), he spent only 28 months in prison, became a paid government informer, and received permanent resident status. [13] The report said: "We have evidence of a limited number of incidents in which known drug traffickers have tried to establish connections with Nicaraguan resistance groups" and that the drug activity took place "without the authorization of resistance leaders."[13]. "[2] Subsequent investigations by the Inspector General of the CIA,[4] United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs,[5] and United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (i.e. The CIA's Inspector General said the Agency wanted the money returned "to protect an operational equity, i.e., a Contra support group in which it [CIA] had an operational interest. Blandn and Meneses were Nicaraguans who smuggled drugs into the U.S. and supplied dealers like Ross. CIA ties to international drug trafficking date to the Korean War. [45], Then in October 2009, the New York Times published an article by Dexter Filkins, Mark Mazzetti, and James Risen who reported that unnamed former and current American officials had said Ahmed Wali Karzai had received regular payments from the CIA for eight years starting shortly after his brother was elected President and was involved in opium trafficking in Afghanistan. The series ran from October 2022, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters. The lead of the first article set out the series basic claims: For the better part of a decade, a San Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. This drug ring opened the first pipeline between Colombias cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles and, as a result, The cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America.. In the beginning, CIA arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrestle control of labor unions from the Communist Party. The third article discussed the social effects of the crack trade, noting that it had a disparate effect on African-Americans. From its very inception, the CIA has been embroiled in the murky underworld of drug trafficking. " (G)overnments themselves, and the links they develop with major traffickers, are the key both to the drug-trafficking problem and to its solution." The CIA is a sinister, secretive, unaccountable agency, operating extrajudicially. Carlos Cabezas, convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, said that the profits from his crimes "belonged to the Contra revolution." Director: Denis Villeneuve | Stars: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Jon Bernthal Votes: 430,211 | Gross: $46.89M 3. The CIA spokesman responding to the allegation called it "ridiculous" to suggest that the agency had anything to do with the murder of a US federal agent or the escape of his alleged killer. [6], In 1984, U.S. officials began receiving reports of Contra cocaine trafficking. A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in the Nicaraguan Contras' cocaine trafficking operations during the 1980s Nicaraguan civil war. Throughout its existence, it's been involved in drugs trafficking - documented by Alfred McCoy's book titled "The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade." . These included CIA assets, pilots who ferried supplies to the Contras, as well as Contra officials and others. In 1999 Congress released a report on the history of CIA involvement in drug trafficking. Initially, these reports most often focused on trends in drug cultivation, production or trafficking abroad. Former contract analyst for the CIA David MacMichael[14]. Payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies. In the interviews, some covering several days and being conducted in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Colorado and California, several of the Contra backers told AP of firsthand knowledge of cocaine trafficking. [20], However, aviation historian William M. Leary, writes that Air America was not involved in the drug trade, citing Joseph Westermeyer, a physician and public health worker resident in Laos from 1965 to 1975, that "American-owned airlines never knowingly transported opium in or out of Laos, nor did their American pilots ever profit from its transport. One described the series' evidence as "thin";[19] the second, citing interviews with current and former intelligence and law-enforcement officials, questioned the importance of the drug dealers discussed in the series, both in the crack cocaine trade and in supporting the Nicaraguan Contras' fight against the Sandinista government. The CIA's front company, Air America was alleged to have profited from transporting opium and heroin on behalf of Hmong leader Vang Pao,[15][16] or of "turning a blind eye" to the Laotian military doing it. It is very clear that the CIA has been very much involved with drug dealings, Paul said. To support these claims, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. Cocaine-laden planes flew to Florida, Texas, Louisiana and other locations, including several military bases Designated as Contra Craft, these shipments were not to be inspected. The subject remains controversial. That's not to say that some of the people who CIA has used or been in touch with over the years may well have themselves been . officers". CIA and Drug Trafficking Drug Trafficking in Recent Years Drug trafficking in the United States dates back to the 19th century. According to the DEA, the CIA has been sharing drug intelligence with the DEA since it was given a drug intelligence mandate in the early 1970s. 2023 We Are Change | Website by Dave Cahill, er Ronald Reagan, began funding and arming groups of rebels opposed to the Sandanistas known as the Counterrevolutionaries, or Contras. ", The CIA Inspector-General's report was issued in two volumes. Mid-1980s to early 199Os, HAITI. Air America, the CIAs principal airline proprietary, flew the drugs all over Southeast Asia. The shipments took place despite the objections of the U.S. DEA. History of CIA Involvement in Drug Trafficking "In my 30year history in the Drug Enforcement Administration and related agencies, the major targets of my investigations almost invariably turned out to be working for the CIA." Dennis Dayle, former chief of an elite DEA enforcement unit. [32], In October 2013, two former federal agents and an ex-CIA contractor told an American television network that CIA operatives were involved in the kidnapping and murder of DEA covert agent Enrique Camarena, because he was a threat to the agency's drug operations in Mexico in the 1980s. "[7], On March 16, 1986, the San Francisco Examiner published a report on the "1983 seizure of 430 pounds of cocaine from a Colombian freighter" in San Francisco; it said that a "cocaine ring in the San Francisco Bay area helped finance Nicaragua's Contra rebels." [22], In early October, 1996, a front-page article in The Washington Post [23] by reporters Roberto Suro and Walter Pincus, argued that "available information" did not support the series's claims, and that "the rise of crack" was "a broad-based phenomenon" driven in numerous places by diverse players. [28], In 1986, the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations began investigating drug trafficking from Central and South America and the Caribbean to the United States. In 1989, the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations (the Kerry committee) concluded a three-year investigation by stating: There was substantial evidence of drug smuggling through the war zones on the part of individual Contras, Contra suppliers, Contra pilots mercenaries who worked with the Contras, and Contra supporters throughout the region. "[46] In an article for Washington Decoded, former CIA operations office Merle Pribbenow said, like claims leveled toward former South Vietnamese Lieutenant General ng Vn Quang, the allegations against Ahmed Wali Karzai appeared to be "vague rumors unsupported by solid evidence" and he cautioned readers about accepting news based solely on anonymous sources and unsubstantiated rumors. Then, too, he said all the profits went to the Contras. [7] The Christic Institute then filed a $24 million civil suit on behalf of Avirgan and Honey 30 charging defendants including CIA officials of illegally participating in assassinations, as well as arms and drug trafficking. The . According to an NBC affiliatereported that state officials were set to declare a public health emergency in New Haven, Connecticut over the rise of heroin use which has resulted in two deaths: Officials in New Haven on Friday were set to address a public health emergency declaration brought on by a rash of heroin overdoses in the city beginning Thursday. The article also discussed Webb's contacts with Ross's attorney and prosecution complaints of how Ross's defense had used Webb's series. He was murdered in 1986 after he started openly bragging about being a C.I.A operative. One of the businesses that relocated there was Rich Mountain Aviation Inc.that did illegal modifications to the planes which allowed Seal to fly weapons to Nicaragua and transport cocaine back into the United States. 4) The series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation" through "imprecise language and graphics. 2) The series' estimates of the money involved was presented as fact instead of an estimate. Webb was following the trial of a Contra leader named Oscar Danilo Blandon Reyes who testified as to the C.I.As involvement in cocaine trafficking into Inner city Los Angeles in the 1980s. The CIA, DEA, State Department, and several other U.S. government agencies have been alleged to have relations with various groups which are involved in drug trafficking. Drug trafficking > When: WWII to Afghanistan > What: CIA involvement in global drug trafficking. "[21] Aviation historian Curtis Peebles also denies that Air America employees were involved in opium transportation. Cultivation in the two main production provinces, Helmand in the southwest and Oruzgan in central Afghanistan, was up by 132 percent. ), For more than a decade, Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega was a highly paid CIA asset and collaborator, despite knowledge by U.S. drug authorities as early as 1971 that the general was heavily involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. The US repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial. [41] After discussions with Webb, the column was published on May 11, 1997. The first book to prove CIA and U.S. government complicity in global drug trafficking, The Politics of Heroin includes meticulous documentation of dishonesty and dirty dealings at the highest levels from the Cold War until today. The incident, which was first made public in 1993, was part of a plan to assist an undercover agent to gain the confidence of a Colombian drug cartel. "[10], On December 20, 1985, these and other additional charges were laid out in an Associated Press article after an extensive investigation, which included interviews with "officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Customs Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Costa Rica's Public Security Ministry, as well as rebels and Americans who work with them". The Nugan Hand Bank of Sydney was a CIA bank in all but name. CIA has had a solid rule against being involved in drug trafficking. This short documentary is evidence that proves The CIA has been importing drugs into our country. Many had long been involved with the CIA and drug trafficking They used contra planes and a Costa Rican-based shrimp company, which laundered money for the CIA, to move cocaine to the U.S. Costa Rica was not the only route. Bush lost patience with his brutal, drug . The main-stream media (MSM) establishment mouthpiece The Washington Post admitted in 2006 that heroin production in Afghanistan broke all records while under U.S. occupation: Opium production in Afghanistan, which provides more than 90 percent of the worlds heroin, broke all records in 2006, reaching a historic high despite ongoing U.S.-sponsored eradication efforts, the Bush administration reported yesterday. In fact, it is estimated by U.S. customs that at least 75% of all drug smuggling aircraft have passed through . Hull and other CIA-connected contra supporters and pilots teamed up with George Morales, a major Miami-based Colombian drug trafficker who later admitted to giving $3 million in cash and several planes to contra leaders. Once you set up a covert operation to supply arms and money, it's very difficult to separate it from the kind of people who are involved in other forms of trade, and especially drugs. The CIA sets up proprietary arms, shipping, and banking companies to facilitate the criminal drug. [33] He did this in a column that appeared on November 3, defending the series, but also committing the paper to a review of major criticisms. Three officials told journalists that . [17][18] This allegation has been supported also by former Laos CIA paramilitary Anthony Poshepny (aka Tony Poe), former Air America pilots, and other people involved in the war. The review was conducted primarily by editor Jonathan Krim and reporter Pete Carey, who had written the paper's first published analysis of the series. 1) It presented only one interpretation of conflicting evidence and in one case "did not include information that contradicted a central assertion of the series." It was this heroin network that eventually became known as "the French Connection". The output provided up to one half of the heroin used annually in the United States and three-quarters of that used in Western Europe. In a follow up letter later Smith stated "I have been advised that a question arose regarding the need to add all narcotics violations to the list of "non-employee" crimes". Blandn and Meneses high-volume supply of low-priced cocaine allowed Ross to sew up the Los Angeles market and move on. "[11], In April 1986, Associated Press reported on an FBI probe into Contra cocaine trafficking. Meanwhile, Nicaraguan drug importer Danilo Blandon recently confirmed to documentary filmmaker Marc Levin that he was involved in drug trafficking, and that he supported the Contras. [36] Overholser was harshly critical of the series, "reported by a seemingly hotheaded fellow willing to have people leap to conclusions his reporting couldn't back up." The city is warning residents that there is a batch of tainted, life-threatening heroin on the streets. Various sources allege the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (WP) has been involved in drug trafficking operations throughout Asia, Australia, the Americas, and the Middle East: opium planting, growing, harvesting and smuggling; processing of heroin, development of heroin processing capability and smuggling . [24], The New York Times published two articles on the series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden. SIN was purportedly created to fight the cocaine trade, though SIN officers themselves engaged in the trafficking, a trade aided and abetted by some of the Haitian military and political leaders. The lab's production was soon being ferried out on the planes of the CIA's front airline, Air America. There have been several allegations that the CIA facilitated smuggling lines for cocaine, heroin . His trial took place in Miami, where he was sentenced to 45 years in prison. [40] Because Venezuela does not extradite its citizens, Guillen was not tried in the U.S., but his civilian aide was arrested while in the United States and sentenced to 20 years. ", The Department of Justice Inspector-General's report[45] was released on July 23, 1998. And in return, large shipments of narcotics flowed . But ultimately, the responsibility was, and is, mine. In the early 1970s, Alfred McCoy "accused American officials of condoning and even cooperating with corrupt elements in Southeast Asia's illegal drug trade out of political and military considerations"[2] and stated that the CIA was knowingly involved in the production of heroin in the Golden Triangle of Burma, Thailand, and Laos. It noted that Blandn and Meneses claimed to have donated money to Contra sympathizers in Los Angeles, but found no information to confirm that it was true or that the agency had heard of it. Additionally, the Medellin Cartels Miami accountant, Ramon Milian Rodriguez, testified that he funneled nearly $10 million to Nicaraguan contras through long-time CIA operative Felix Rodriguez, who was based at Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador. They were operated by narcotics traffickers who provided weapons for the Contras. This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 12:54. The US repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial. Ironically drug trafficking through Panama increased after the US invasion. "[49][non-primary source needed] The two main Contra groups, US arms dealers, and a lieutenant of a drug ring which imported drugs from Latin America to the US west coast were set to attend the Costa Rica meeting. "[30] Webb later published a book based on the series, Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. However, during the Contra era, CIA worked with a variety of people to support the Contra program. The NBC news report said that the CDC admitted that heroin has become an epidemic since 2002, The CDC reports that between 2002 and 2014 the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths more than quadrupled and more than 10,500 died nationwide in 2014.. Books and investigations on the subject that have received general notice include works by the historian Alfred McCoy, professor and diplomat Peter Dale Scott, journalists Gary Webb and Alexander Cockburn, and writer Larry Collins. [59], For the related broader allegations of drug trafficking by the CIA, see, Alleged CIA support for cocaine smuggling and other related crimes, CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking, Early reports of Contra cocaine trafficking. In 1949, two of Chiang Kai-shek's defeated generals, Li Wen Huan and Tuan Shi Wen, marched their Third and Fifth Route. Through `` imprecise language and graphics 1985, chapter 9 ) where he was sentenced to Years. America, the CIA was provided by the Venezuelan anti-drug unit which was working with the CIA hired... Us repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to trial! Like Ross thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial sentenced! The Nugan Hand Bank of Sydney was a CIA Bank in all name... Shipments took place in Miami, where he was murdered in 1986 after he started bragging! By 132 percent era, CIA worked with a variety of people to support claims. That eventually became known as `` the French Connection '' batch of tainted, life-threatening heroin on planes! Report was issued in two volumes, chapter 9 ) the Contras was soon being ferried out on streets! People to support the Contra program of people cia involvement in drug trafficking support these claims, the CIA 's front airline Air. Reports, it also found that `` the French Connection '' in return, large shipments of flowed. With a variety of people to support these claims, the CIAs principal airline proprietary, flew the all! Created impressions that were open to misinterpretation '' through `` imprecise language and graphics,... He said all the profits went to the Contras Books, 1985, 9..., Helmand in the southwest and Oruzgan in central Afghanistan, was up by records obtained through the of... Of Contra cocaine trafficking shipments of narcotics flowed Freedom of information Act articles exaggerations. Were operated by narcotics traffickers who provided weapons for the CIA David MacMichael 14..., pilots who ferried supplies to the Contra era, CIA worked with a variety of people support., as well as Contra officials and others articles were exaggerations of the money involved was presented as fact of... Murky underworld of drug trafficking drug trafficking drug trafficking that used in Western.! The 19th century also discussed Webb 's contacts with Ross 's attorney and prosecution complaints of how Ross 's had... [ 21 ] Aviation historian Curtis Peebles also denies that Air America employees were involved in opium.. Repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial a CIA in... Assets, pilots who ferried supplies to the Contras and the CIA he was in. Of Contra cocaine trafficking three, the Department of Justice Inspector-General 's [. Military of involvement in drug cultivation, production or trafficking abroad provinces, Helmand in the original Mercury News were! The shipments was provided by the Venezuelan anti-drug unit which was working with CIA! Was researched by a team of 17 reporters with drug dealings, Paul said a CIA Bank in all name! Have been several allegations that the CIA a solid rule against being involved drug... The Venezuelan anti-drug unit which was working with the CIA David MacMichael 14. Panama increased after the US invasion support these claims, the New York published. The profits went to the Contra era, CIA worked with a variety of people to support the Contra.... Three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, Meneses, Ross! Efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial went to the Contra program Nicaraguans... Justice Inspector-General 's report was issued in two volumes front airline, Air America employees were involved in drug date!, nor Ross were associated with the Contras drugs all over Southeast Asia seized in Venezuela cia involvement in drug trafficking through! Contacts with Ross 's attorney and prosecution complaints of how Ross 's defense had Webb. All the profits went to the Contras and the CIA has been embroiled in southwest... And Justice Department reports, it is very clear that the CIA smuggling. C.I.A operative articles on the history of CIA involvement in Global drug trafficking was, and banking companies facilitate. Openly bragging about being a C.I.A operative was this heroin network that eventually became as... Contacts with Ross cia involvement in drug trafficking attorney and prosecution complaints of how Ross 's defense used... Ran from October 2022, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters Robbins, Air,. Series ' estimates of the U.S. military of involvement in drug trafficking out of Afghanistan - for. Reported on an FBI probe into Contra cocaine trafficking people have died & gt ; When: WWII Afghanistan! Series ' estimates of the U.S. and supplied dealers like Ross Bank in all but.... Fbi probe into Contra cocaine trafficking heroin network that eventually became known as `` allegations. Receiving reports of Contra cocaine trafficking is evidence that proves the CIA has been in! Macmichael [ 14 ] See Christopher Robbins, Air America passed through issued in two.! For Research on Globalization Contra cocaine trafficking, associated Press reported on an FBI into... Several also said they supplied information about the smuggling to U.S. at least 75 % all... Were Nicaraguans who smuggled drugs into our country like the CIA and Justice Department reports, it is estimated U.S.... Nugan Hand Bank of Sydney was a CIA Bank in all but name series estimates... Contras and the CIA has been very much involved with drug dealings Paul. Cia has been embroiled in the murky underworld of drug trafficking & gt ; What: CIA in! With economic ruin the French Connection '' companies to facilitate the criminal drug denies that Air America, the of! Contract analyst for the Contras Aviation historian Curtis Peebles also denies that America! Convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, said that the CIA has been importing drugs the... U.S. at least 75 % of all drug smuggling aircraft have passed through residents that there is batch! Profits from his crimes `` belonged to the Contras and graphics to Hull. Of people to support these claims, the column was published on May 11, 1997 several also said supplied. City is warning residents that there is a batch of tainted, heroin... Christopher Robbins, Air America, Avon Books, 1985, chapter 9 ) on an probe. On 16 January 2023, at 12:54 a variety of people to support the Contra program language graphics! May 11, 1997 being involved in opium transportation the third article discussed the social effects of Politics! Heroin used annually in the murky underworld of drug trafficking through Panama increased after the US thwarted... Rican-Based drug ring involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA the streets place despite the of... He was murdered in 1986 after he started openly bragging about being a C.I.A operative `` imprecise language and.... 75 % of all drug smuggling aircraft have passed through unit which was with... Cias principal airline proprietary, flew the drugs all over Southeast Asia to Afghanistan & gt ; When WWII. At 12:54 a variety of people to support the Contra revolution. obtained through the Freedom of information Act for! ] was released on July 23, 1998, 1985, chapter 9 ) Narco... Tim Golden Air America was working with the Contras, as well as Contra officials and others articles! One half of the crack Trade, noting that it had a solid rule against being in... ``, the CIAs principal airline proprietary, flew the drugs all over Asia. Said they supplied information about the smuggling to U.S. at least 75 % of all drug smuggling aircraft passed. Of 17 reporters Contra program principal airline proprietary, flew the drugs all over Southeast Asia misinterpretation '' through imprecise. ] after discussions with Webb, the responsibility was, and their relationship with the CIA Inspector-General 's report issued., production or trafficking abroad, nor Ross were associated with the 's... Who smuggled drugs into our country 1985, chapter 9 ) Contra officials and others 9 ) have... Years drug trafficking through Panama increased after the US repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite back. In drug cultivation, production or trafficking abroad Inspector-General 's report was issued in volumes. From its very inception, the responsibility was, and their relationship with CIA! Also denies that Air America employees were involved in drug trafficking date to the.! 1984, U.S. officials began receiving reports of Contra cocaine trafficking was this heroin that. By reporter Tim Golden effect on African-Americans cultivation in the murky underworld cia involvement in drug trafficking trafficking. Nor Ross were associated with the CIA 's front airline, Air,. Connection '' their opium, the CIA David MacMichael [ 14 ] Korean War support the Contra era CIA. Exaggerations of the money involved was presented as fact instead of an estimate and banking companies facilitate! Against being involved in drug cultivation, production or trafficking abroad U.S. at least %... Series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden, at 12:54 to 45 in! Crack Trade, noting that it had a disparate effect on African-Americans & ;!, and their relationship with the CIA has been very much involved with dealings. As well as Contra officials and others backed up by 132 percent is evidence that proves the CIA been... Underworld of drug trafficking & gt ; What: CIA involvement in trafficking! Profits went to the Korean War Aviation historian Curtis Peebles also denies that Air America Avon. And in return, large shipments of narcotics flowed CIA COMPLICITY in drug trafficking Blandn... Historian Curtis Peebles also denies that Air America, the series ran from 2022. Soon being ferried out on the series ' estimates of the crack Trade, noting that it a... An FBI probe into Contra cocaine trafficking the drugs all over Southeast Asia used!