---
born: 1934-08-06
category: Iran-Contra
died: 2026-02-11
location: Edmond, Oklahoma
summary: Edwin Corr was the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador who received Celerino Castillo's
  reports about Contra drug trafficking at Ilopango and sent a secret cable to Washington.
tags:
- person
- u.s.-government
- contra-war
---

Edwin Corr was the U.S. Ambassador to [El Salvador](/places/el-salvador/) who received [Celerino Castillo III](/people/celerino-castillo/)'s reports about Contra drug trafficking at Ilopango Air Base and sent a secret "back channel" message to [Washington](/places/washington-dc/). Corr occupied a key position in the chain of information about the Contra-drug connection.[^1]

### Shutting Down the Investigation

When Castillo reported his findings about [cocaine](/concepts/cocaine/) trafficking at Ilopango to Ambassador Corr, Corr sent a secret back channel cable to Washington. Rather than supporting Castillo's investigation, the response from Washington was to shut it down. The CIA station in El Salvador sent a message to [Costa Rica](/places/costa-rica/) Station advising the [DEA](/organizations/dea/) not to make inquiries about Hangar No. 4 at Ilopango. Corr's role in the chain of suppression illustrated how the State Department participated in protecting the Contra supply operation from law enforcement scrutiny.[^2]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 15.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 15.