[[DEA]] agent Sandalio Gonzalez was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in [[San Jose]], [[Costa Rica]], during the mid-1980s and served as handler for drug kingpin [[Norwin Meneses]]. According to Gonzalez's official report, Meneses walked into the embassy uninvited in July 1986 and announced his desire to join the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] Administration's war on drugs. Gonzalez recorded the official reasons: "(a) his desire to clear up a minor problem he has with the IRS (b) his decision to totally terminate his involvement in drug trafficking activities and (c) his desire to help the present U.S. Administration's fight against drugs, in view of President Reagan's total commitment to free his native land, [[Nicaragua]]."[^1] ### Off-the-Books Arrangement Gonzalez made no official record of Meneses as an informant for at least a year. Meneses's name did not appear in the DEA's database of informers until 1987. Gonzalez explained this to Justice Department investigators by saying Meneses "initially refused to sign DEA's informant registration." Gonzalez admitted this was unusual but said he "[allowed] it because of Meneses' background and potential to make cases." The practical effect was that "other DEA offices could not get information on Meneses' use by the DEA through this database." Meneses was wanted by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] in San Francisco for trafficking, and the off-the-books arrangement effectively protected him from other law enforcement agencies.[^1] The Justice Department's Inspector General found that the vague and sometimes wildly misleading accusations Meneses made against other traffickers included the claim that [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]], who had helped start the [[FDN]] offices in California, "was a Sandinista sympathizer."[^1] ### CIA Collaboration Gonzalez told Justice Department investigators that Meneses was paired with a veteran [[Central Intelligence Agency]] operative who had arrived from Europe. The CIA man, whom Meneses introduced as "Roberto," "claimed to have worked for the CIA for many years before in Europe and the Soviet Union, and the CIA had then turned [him] over to the DEA." Gonzalez said he planned to use Meneses "only to introduce other informants into the Blandón organization," but reuniting Meneses with his old friend and employee Blandón while inserting a CIA agent into the mix raised questions about the true purpose of the operation.[^1] Gonzalez kept the CIA supplied with intelligence on arms smuggling by leftist guerrillas in [[El Salvador]]. DEA agents assigned to Costa Rica told the Justice Department of "having an amicable relationship with the CIA Costa Rica Station personnel." Despite this amicable relationship, not a single DEA agent "could recall the CIA providing any information about Contras who might have been involved in narcotics trafficking."[^1] ### Suspicions About Meneses Gonzalez suspected Meneses was moving cocaine while serving as an informant. [[Rafael Cornejo]], one of Meneses's Bay Area distributors, confirmed that Norwin's business "expanded terrifically" while he was supposedly working for the DEA. "Those were very big years in terms of. . .well, the contraband. That's why I have a hard time believing Norwin was working with the feds."[^1] ### Warning to Thomas Gordon When [[LASD Major Violators]] detective [[Thomas Gordon]] ran NADDIS checks on Blandón and [[Ronald Lister|Lister]] in September 1986, he discovered Gonzalez "owned" both cases from Costa Rica. Gordon called Gonzalez, who "went through the ceiling," screaming that phone lines went through Nicaragua and ordering Gordon not to put any details in search warrant affidavits. "It's a burn," Gonzalez told him—cop slang meaning the investigation had been exposed. Gordon was baffled: his investigation hadn't even started yet, and only Gonzalez knew about it. When Gordon called the DEA's L.A. office, he was told the Costa Rican office was not investigating Lister and Blandón—a Riverside agent was. Gonzalez's reaction and the conflicting information deepened Gordon's suspicions.[^2] ### Operation Perico In early December 1986, after Costa Rica's biggest newspaper La Nacion published an exposé identifying Norwin Meneses as a Contra supporter and drug trafficker, Gonzalez frantically cabled the DEA office in Los Angeles asking for permission to send Meneses to the U.S. "as soon as possible." The publicity and the specter of deportation had Meneses scared; Gonzalez warned he was considering going underground, which meant the DEA "would lose what appears to be one of the best sources of information to walk into a DEA office in years."[^3] On December 21, 1986, without waiting for DEA approval, Gonzalez sent Meneses and the CIA operative "Roberto" to the United States on a mission code-named "Operation Perico," officially to penetrate Blandón's organization. Gonzalez kept the operation secret from FBI agent [[Douglas Aukland]], who was leading the federal investigation. The move also appeared designed to keep Meneses from falling into the hands of Costa Rican police and to gather intelligence on what the impending OCDETF investigation might expose.[^3] In March 1987, DEA agent Tom Schrettner called Gonzalez and told him to send Roberto back to California to infiltrate Blandón's organization again. Gonzalez reported that Roberto would not come without Meneses, and Meneses would not return while the FBI was looking for him. Gonzalez told Schrettner he was so exasperated with Meneses he had already dropped him as an informant, despite having deemed him an extraordinarily productive source only months earlier.[^3] ### Transfer to Bolivia In May 1987, federal prosecutor [[Crossan Andersen]] called Gonzalez in Costa Rica and told him to get Roberto to California for questioning by the agents. Gonzalez replied that he did not think Roberto would ever come to California but promised to pass along a message. Gonzalez added that he was being transferred to Bolivia and someone else would be handling the case from then on.[^3] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 11: "They were looking in the other direction" [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 16: "It's a burn" [^3]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 20: "It is a sensitive matter"