---
category: City
summary: Bogota was the capital of Colombia and a center of the cocaine trade that
  supplied the Contra-connected trafficking networks operating in the United States.
tags:
- geography
- colombia
- contra-war
---

Bogota was the capital of [Colombia](/places/colombia/) and a center of the [cocaine](/concepts/cocaine/) trade that supplied the Contra-connected trafficking networks operating in the [United States](/places/united-states/). [Danilo Blandón](/people/danilo-blandon/) studied at the University of Colombia in Bogota, where he was recruited into the drug trafficking world by [Donald Barrios](/people/donald-barrios/) on behalf of [Meneses](/people/norwin-meneses/).[^1]

### Blandón's Colombian Base

Blandón earned his M.B.A. from the University of Colombia in Bogota while simultaneously running an import-export company, a travel agency, and a used car dealership. His legitimate business activities provided cover for his introduction to the cocaine trade. Meneses, through Barrios, proposed that Blandón sell cocaine in [Los Angeles](/places/los-angeles/) to raise money for the [Contras](/organizations/contras/). Bogota served as the financial and educational base from which Blandón's trafficking career was launched, connecting the Colombian cocaine economy to the Contra fundraising network in [Central America](/places/central-america/) and the United States.[^2]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 5.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 5.