Juan Rafael Bustillo was the Salvadoran Air Force commander who provided hangar space at Ilopango Air Base for [[Felix Rodriguez]]'s Contra resupply operation. Rodriguez "greased the skids" with Bustillo, using his influence to secure the facilities needed for the covert weapons and [[cocaine]] trafficking operation at the base in [[San Salvador|El Salvador]].[^1] ### Ilopango Operations Bustillo's cooperation was essential to the Contra resupply operation at Ilopango. By providing military hangar space, he enabled the CIA and [[Oliver North]] to use the Salvadoran military air base as the hub for their covert air force. The arrangement placed a foreign military commander at the center of an operation that moved weapons to the [[Contras]] and narcotics back to the [[United States]], with flights carrying cocaine from Hangar No. 4 to [[Miami]].[^2] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 15. [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 15.