Louisiana was a primary drop zone for [[Barry Seal]]'s cocaine airdrops and a destination for Contra-connected drug flights through the southern United States. The state's rural airfields and proximity to the Gulf Coast made it ideal for the large-scale drug smuggling operations that funded both the [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín Cartel]] and the [[Contras|Contra]] war.[^1] ### Barry Seal's Operations In the early 1980s, Seal was one of the biggest cocaine and marijuana importers in the southern [[United States]], flying loads in directly for the Medellín Cartel and air-dropping them with pinpoint precision across Louisiana, [[Arkansas]], and other southern states. A letter from Louisiana's attorney general to U.S. Attorney General [[Ed Meese]] stated that Seal had "smuggled between $3 billion and $5 billion worth of drugs into the U.S." Seal's farm in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], was allegedly used as a drop site for cocaine and marijuana flown into the country, according to a 1983 [[U.S. Customs]] report.[^2] ### Noriega's Drug Routes [[Manuel Noriega|Noriega]]'s drug ring planes refueled at Contra airstrips in northern [[Costa Rica]] before continuing to the United States and dumping their loads in Louisiana and [[Texas]]. The state served as a key destination for the Caribbean drug corridor, with [[New Orleans]] functioning as both an airfield entry point and a base for Contra-connected cocaine distribution.[^3] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 7. [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 7. [^3]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Ch. 14.