SETCO
SETCO was a Honduran air freight company owned by drug kingpin Juan Matta Ballesteros that served as the principal transportation provider for the FDN Contra army.
SETCO was a Honduran air freight company owned by drug kingpin Juan Matta Ballesteros that served as the principal transportation provider for the FDN Contra army. Despite the U.S. Customs Service knowing about Matta's drug trafficking since 1983, SETCO continued to receive contracts for Contra supply missions.1
The Contra's Principal Airline
The Nicaraguan Humanitarian Assistance Office hired SETCO to transport supplies and personnel for the FDN. Oliver North also used SETCO for airdrops of military supplies to Contra forces inside Nicaragua. The CIA's Inspector General reported that "SETCO was the principal company used by the Contras in Honduras to transport supplies and personnel for the FDN." Pilot Robert Moss flew FDN supply missions for both SETCO and Hondu Carib, a company operated by FDN leader Adolfo Calero's brother Mario. The arrangement placed the Contra supply chain directly in the hands of one of Central America's biggest drug traffickers.2
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