Doyle McManus was the Washington bureau chief of the [[Los Angeles Times]] who spread a 1984 CIA leak falsely accusing Nicaraguan government officials of cocaine trafficking and later authored the Times' refutation of Contra drug trafficking allegations.[^1] ### The 1984 CIA Leak In July 1984, McManus played a central role in disseminating a CIA leak about [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] officials dealing cocaine, timed to support the Reagan administration's request for additional Contra aid. [[Oliver North]]'s notebooks contain several references to conversations McManus was having with the White House. "McManus talking to WH," North wrote on July 12, 1984. "Unhappy with negotiations." On July 17, 1984, after the CIA leak appeared in the Washington Times, McManus called the White House and informed officials that the [[National Security Council]] would be his official source.[^1] The following morning, McManus reported on the Times' front page that "high-ranking members of the Nicaraguan government have been linked to a scheme involving three of [[Colombia|Colombia's]] largest cocaine traffickers, U.S. intelligence sources say," naming Interior Minister Tomas Borge and Defense Minister Humberto Ortega. A day later, McManus's coauthor reported that intelligence sources had obtained a photograph of Borge standing next to Pablo Escobar as a plane was loaded with cocaine. No such photograph ever surfaced, and the [[DEA]] later admitted it had no information implicating high-ranking Sandinista officials in drug trafficking. The story was a hoax. The Times never acknowledged it had wrongly accused Nicaraguan government officials.[^1] ### Refutation of Contra Drug Allegations In early 1987, McManus and coauthor Ronald J. Ostrow wrote a front-page story bearing the deck head "No Supporting Evidence, DEA Says," reporting that a Senate committee was investigating Contra cocaine smuggling but DEA officials had found no evidence. The story listed the accusations about [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango]], the [[Frogman Case]], and [[Southern Air Transport]] shipments, devoting a sentence or two to each, surrounded by denials. [[Carlos Cabezas]], a Contra drug courier imprisoned in [[California]], read the story and wrote McManus stating: "I am going to tell you that there was indeed 'supporting evidence,' hidden by the government." McManus replied two months later asking Cabezas to substantiate his "allegations" and, by the way, "Can you give me any further information about Sandinista drug trafficking?" Cabezas said he sent documents about the Contras and never heard from McManus again.[^1] ### Attack on Dark Alliance In October 1996, McManus authored the L.A. Times' story absolving the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] of involvement with [[Danilo Blandon|Blandón]] and [[Norwin Meneses|Meneses]]. His authoritative sources were former CIA director Robert Gates, former CIA official Vincent Cannistraro, and current CIA director John Deutch. The story declared that "no solid evidence has emerged that either Meneses or Blandón contributed any money to the rebels after 1984," ignoring the 1986 sheriff's affidavit and DEA reports. Buried deep in the story were admissions that Contra supporters "were involved in drug running" and that "the allegation that some elements of the CIA-sponsored Contra army cooperated with drug traffickers has been well documented for years." Columnist Molly Ivins observed: "Like good little boys and girls, the Times, the Washington Post et al., toddled off to the CIA and asked the agency if it had ever done such a thing. When the CIA said 'no' the papers solemnly printed it."[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 27: "A very difficult decision"