---
aliases:
- Dewey Clarridge
- Duane Clarridge
born: 1932-04-16
category: Intelligence & Government
created: 2026-05-17
died: 2016-04-09
location: Nashua, New Hampshire
summary: Chief of the CIA Latin American Division from 1981 to 1984 who oversaw the
  creation of the Contra project, recruited Contra leaders including Eden Pastora,
  and was later indicted for perjury during the Iran-Contra investigation.
tags:
- Person
- CIA
- UnitedStates
- Contra
- 1980s
- DarkAllianceInvestigation
title: Dewey Clarridge
updated: 2026-05-17
---

Duane "Dewey" Clarridge was the chief of the [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/)'s Latin American Division from 1981 to 1984 and oversaw the creation of the Contra project.[^1] He recruited many of the Contra leaders, including [Eden Pastora](/people/eden-pastora/) in 1981.[^1]

### Contra Project Leadership

Clarridge headed the CIA effort to organize, fund, and direct the [Contras](/organizations/contras/) from the project's inception. Under his leadership, the agency assembled the scattered anti-[Sandinista](/organizations/sandinistas/) factions into a unified fighting force, created the [FDN](/organizations/fdn/), and established the Costa Rican-based Southern Front under Eden Pastora.[^2]

When asked by a British television crew in late 1996 about [Iván Gómez](/people/ivan-gomez/), the pseudonymous CIA agent in [Costa Rica](/places/costa-rica/) whom [Carlos Cabezas](/people/carlos-cabezas/) identified as supervising Contra drug money, Clarridge said he had never heard of him. The 1998 CIA Inspector General's report confirmed that Gómez was indeed assigned to Costa Rica in 1982, largely corroborating Cabezas's account.[^2]

### Iran-Contra Indictment

Clarridge was indicted in 1991 on seven counts of perjury and providing false information to Congress during the [Iran-Contra Affair](/events/iran-contra-affair/) investigation. He was pardoned before trial by former CIA director [George H.W. Bush](/people/george-hw-bush/).[^1]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Cast of Characters
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom"