---
aliases:
- Gary Betzner
- Gary Wayne Betzner
category: Organized Crime
created: 2026-05-17
location: Akron, Ohio
summary: Copilot who flew CIA-protected drug and weapons flights for the Contras and
  testified under oath as a Justice Department witness.
tags:
- Person
- DrugTrafficker
- Pilot
- 1980s
- ContraWar
- CongressionalTestimony
- DarkAllianceInvestigation
title: Gary Betzner
updated: 2026-05-17
---

Gary Wayne "Hippie" Betzner was a copilot who flew weapons and drug missions for Colombian trafficker [George Morales](/people/george-morales/) in support of the [Contras](/organizations/contras/). Betzner, who had pleaded guilty to federal drug charges, testified during a federal trial in Oklahoma as a witness for the Justice Department - not as a defendant.[^1]

### Sworn Testimony

When asked by a defense lawyer if CIA people permitted him to fly airplanes into foreign countries carrying weapons, Betzner replied: "Why, sure." Asked if he brought drugs back, he said: "Yes." Asked if the CIA people knew what he was doing with the drugs, Betzner insisted: "Certainly."[^1]

Betzner said he was not surprised that his boss Morales was helping the Contras: "No, actually, I wasn't surprised by it because I knew that George was anti-Communist, as are most Colombians. So the Cartel and people like that are definitely anti-Communist. . .It's strictly a capitalist movement, this drug business."[^1]

Betzner and ["Tito" Carrasco](/people/fabio-ernesto-carrasco/) both confirmed George Morales's story about flying weapons to [John Hull](/people/john-hull/)'s ranch in northern [Costa Rica](/places/costa-rica/) and returning with cocaine - under oath as U.S. government witnesses. George Morales also passed a DEA-administered lie detector test about his Contra drug dealings.[^1]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 11: "They were looking in the other direction"