Michael Palmer was a Detroit drug dealer whose aviation company, Vortex Aviation, received U.S. government contracts for Contra supply missions despite the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] knowing he was a narcotics trafficker. Palmer's case exemplified the direct overlap between drug trafficking and the U.S.-backed Contra supply chain.[^1] ### Vortex Aviation The Nicaraguan Humanitarian Assistance Office awarded contracts to Palmer's Vortex Aviation to transport supplies to the [[Contras]] in [[Honduras]], even though the CIA was aware of his drug trafficking background. Palmer's company joined [[SETCO]] and other drug-connected aviation firms as part of the Contra supply chain, demonstrating that the use of drug traffickers for logistical operations was not accidental but systematic. The government's willingness to hire known drug dealers for official Contra supply missions illustrated the depth of the contradiction between the Reagan administration's public anti-drug stance and its covert operations.[^2] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 16. [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 16.