---
category: City
summary: Compton was a city in Los Angeles County heavily affected by the crack cocaine
  epidemic fueled by Danilo Blandón's Contra-connected trafficking network.
tags:
- geography
- u.s.-city
- contra-war
---

Compton was a city in [Los Angeles](/places/los-angeles/) County heavily affected by the [crack cocaine](/concepts/crack-cocaine/) epidemic fueled by [Danilo Blandón](/people/danilo-blandon/)'s Contra-connected trafficking network. The city became a major market for the cocaine distributed by "Chico" Brown and other dealers supplied by Blandón's network.[^1]

### Ground Zero

Compton, along with [South Central Los Angeles](/places/south-central-los-angeles/), bore the brunt of the crack explosion that resulted from the thousands of kilos of [cocaine](/concepts/cocaine/) dumped into the Los Angeles area by Blandón and [Meneses](/people/norwin-meneses/). The city's predominantly Black neighborhoods became primary markets for the cheap crack cocaine that devastated communities through addiction, violence, and mass incarceration. The Contra-connected drug pipeline's impact on Compton was a direct consequence of the decision to fund the [Contras](/organizations/contras/) through cocaine trafficking in American inner cities.[^2]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 7.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 7.