---
category: Iran-Contra
summary: Sandra Smith was a DEA agent who filed an affidavit in 1981 documenting Norwin
  Meneses's involvement in cocaine trafficking, years before the Frogman Case.
tags:
- person
- nicaraguan
- contra-war
---

Sandra Smith was a [DEA](/organizations/dea/) agent who filed an affidavit in November 1981 documenting [Norwin Meneses](/people/norwin-meneses/)'s involvement in [cocaine](/concepts/cocaine/) trafficking. Smith's affidavit stated: "The Drug Enforcement Administration has evidence that Meneses is a major narcotics trafficker."[^1]

### Early Warnings

Smith's affidavit was one of the earliest official law enforcement documents establishing Meneses as a major drug trafficker. Despite this knowledge, Meneses was never prosecuted by federal authorities and continued to operate freely in [San Francisco](/places/san-francisco/) and [Los Angeles](/places/los-angeles/) for years. The DEA's awareness of Meneses's activities as early as 1981, combined with the failure to act, raised questions about whether his role as a Contra political figure and possible intelligence asset protected him from prosecution.[^2]

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