---
category: Intelligence & Government
summary: CIA asset based in Costa Rica who was one of the leaders of UDN-FARN and
  directly involved in the 1983 Frogman cocaine case but was never charged.
tags:
- Person
- CIA
- Contra
- Nicaragua
- Costa_Rica
- 1980s
- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
---

Vicente Rappaccioli Marquis was a [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) asset and [UDN-FARN](/organizations/udn-farn/) leader in [Costa Rica](/places/costa-rica/) who, along with [Francisco Aviles](/people/francisco-aviles/), attempted to recover drug money seized during the [Frogman Case](/events/frogman-case/).[^1]

### Background

Rappaccioli was one of the leaders of UDN-FARN and related Contra support groups based in Costa Rica. A former UDN-FARN commander stated he had been recruited by Rappaccioli. In the early 1980s, Rappaccioli was part of UDN-FARN and co-wrote a letter to Judge Robert Peckham along with Francisco Aviles on behalf of a group called the Conservative Party of Nicaraguans in Exile (PCNE).[^2]

### The Frogman Case

Rappaccioli co-signed the letter to Judge Peckham claiming that [Julio Zavala](/people/julio-zavala/)'s seized $36,020 belonged to UDN-FARN, not to drug trafficking. He provided his own UDN-FARN credentials and supporting documentation.[^2]

The CIA's Costa Rican station identified Rappaccioli as a "former covert action asset" and member of the board of directors of a Contra organization. CIA lawyer Lee Strickland warned in an August 24, 1984 cable that "by virtue of Rappaccioli's relationship as a former covert action asset and a member of board of directors of a Contra organization, Aviles' role as director of the Contra support group office in San Jose, and their formal claim of drug-tainted money, case could be made that CIA funds are being diverted by CIA assets into the drug trade."[^2]

### Aftermath

A 1988 State Department biography identified Rappaccioli as the secretary of the Contras' political division. The 1998 CIA Inspector General's report claimed that references to Rappaccioli as a CIA asset were "mistakes." Rappaccioli reportedly died in the early 1990s.[^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"