Eugene Hasenfus

Eugene Hasenfus was a former Central Intelligence Agency Air America cargo handler who survived the shootdown of a Contra supply plane over Nicaragua on October 5, 1986, becoming living proof that the CIA and White House had been lying about U.S. involvement with the Contras.¹

The Shootdown

Hasenfus was the only crew member carrying a parachute when Sandinistas shot down Southern Air Transport's C-123K cargo plane - the same aircraft formerly used by Barry Seal in CIA-DEA operations. The Sandinistas found Hasenfus's crewmates carried "all sorts of pocket litter that identified and connected them back to Ilopango," including cards of NHAO employees and flight logs, said Alan Fiers Jr., the CIA officer then in charge of the Contra program.¹

Exposing the Operation

Hasenfus told the press he was working for the CIA - at a time when the agency was officially not involved with the Contras. He identified his CIA handlers as "Ramon Medina," the alias of Luis Posada Carriles, and "Max Gomez," the alias of Felix Rodriguez. Hasenfus also exposed the secret Contra air base at Ilopango. The revelation created enormous political problems for the Reagan administration. "Aside from the legal problems Hasenfus presented for the administration, he was an even bigger political headache - living proof that the CIA and the White House had been lying about U.S. involvement with the Contras," threatening to derail the $100 million Contra aid bill then in its final stages of passage.¹

Cover-Up

Reagan administration officials scrambled to contain the damage, sending false press advisories, booking spokesmen on talk shows to spread the official line, and sending CIA officials to give false testimony to congressional committees. The disinformation campaign, combined with reluctance by congressional intelligence committees to investigate, worked long enough to get the $100 million aid bill through Congress.¹