The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was used by [[Gary Webb]] to obtain government documents that revealed the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and [[DEA]]'s knowledge of Contra-connected drug trafficking. Webb's FOIA requests produced thousands of pages of previously classified documents that formed the evidentiary backbone of the [[Dark Alliance]] series.[^1] ### Document Discovery Webb filed FOIA requests with multiple federal agencies to obtain records about [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]], [[Norwin Meneses]], and their connections to the Contra war. The documents he received confirmed that federal law enforcement agencies had been aware of the Blandón-Meneses cocaine trafficking network for years but had failed to prosecute or disrupt it. The FOIA-obtained records included DEA reports, CIA cables, FBI files, and court documents that corroborated the testimony of witnesses and filled in gaps in the narrative.[^2] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 1. [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 1.