Francisco "Chico" Guirola Beeche was the scion of one of [[El Salvador]]'s most influential families and a top aide to Salvadoran death squad leader [[Roberto D'Aubuisson]] who became one of the busiest Contra drug pilots at [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango Air Force Base]]. He had been caught with $5.9 million in cash—the largest cash seizure in Texas history—yet received only probation from the Justice Department.[^1] ### The $5.9 Million Seizure On February 6, 1985, Guirola and three Cuban-American companions departed John Wayne Airport in Orange County aboard a white T-39 Sabreliner jet. The plane stopped to refuel at Kleberg County Airport in Kingsville, Texas, where U.S. Customs agents were waiting. The agents had been tracking the men since January, when they were spotted in the same plane diverting mid-flight to [[Panama]] with $1.2 million in cash.[^1] All four men were listed in Customs databases as suspected drug traffickers, and their airplane was on a watch list as a suspected smuggling craft. In the Sabreliner's cargo hold were fourteen suitcases Guirola claimed as his own. He produced a Costa Rican diplomatic passport and warned agents not to search the bags or it would "cause trouble." They were bulging with $5.9 million in small bills. When agents announced arrests, Guirola claimed diplomatic immunity because his mother was the Costa Rican vice-consul in New Mexico.[^1] Federal agents charged the cash was drug money destined for El Salvador, citing [[DEA]] records that Guirola had been "reportedly involved in cocaine and arms smuggling in El Salvador and Guatemala" and was a top aide to death squad leader Roberto D'Aubuisson. The [[Los Angeles Times]] confirmed Guirola had accompanied D'Aubuisson to a "very sensitive" meeting with former CIA deputy director Vernon Walters in May 1984, where Walters tried to talk D'Aubuisson out of assassinating U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering. Guirola had allowed D'Aubuisson to use his house as campaign headquarters during his 1984 presidential run. Guirola's passport, signed by D'Aubuisson, identified him as a "special adviser" to the Salvadoran Assembly. He was also carrying credentials from the Salvadoran attorney general's office.[^1] ### The Deal The Justice Department made a quick deal: if Guirola let the government keep the money, he would receive probation. Guirola and one companion pleaded guilty to a minor currency violation and walked. Charges against the other passenger and pilot were dropped, and the plane was returned. Federal judge Hayden Head Jr. protested: "I have a hard time swallowing it. The punishment doesn't fit the crime. I don't know what you were up to, but this conduct cannot be tolerated." The investigation "came to a sudden, abrupt halt with a lot of questions unanswered," U.S. Customs agent Ernest Allison complained. The Customs Service later told FOIA requesters it could not locate any records relating to the case.[^1] ### Drug Flights at Ilopango Less than a year after the seizure, DEA agent [[Celerino Castillo]] and his informants were watching Guirola zoom in and out of Ilopango, hauling drugs in, carrying cash to the Bahamas, and flashing credentials from the Salvadoran Air Force and the Salvadoran president's office. "When I ran Guirola's name in the computer, it popped up in 11 DEA files, detailing his South America-to-United States cocaine, arms and money laundering," Castillo wrote. Guirola attended college in [[California]] with one of [[Anastasio Somoza|Anastasio Somoza]]'s nephews.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends"