Fort Lauderdale, [[Florida]] was where [[George Morales]] had his offices and where Contra representatives approached him to contribute to the war effort. [[Marcos Aguado]] and [[Felipe Vidal]] met with Morales at his Fort Lauderdale offices and asked him to contribute to [[Eden Pastora|Pastora]]'s army.[^1] ### The Morales Connection Morales, a major drug trafficker, was asked to provide aircraft and financial support for the Contra cause from his Fort Lauderdale base. The meeting illustrated how Contra fundraisers directly solicited support from known drug traffickers in South Florida, offering a quid pro quo where drug dealers provided resources for the war effort in exchange for protection from law enforcement. Fort Lauderdale's proximity to [[Miami]] placed it at the center of the overlapping worlds of drug trafficking, Contra politics, and intelligence operations in South Florida.[^2] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 13. [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 13.