#Costa_Rica
20 entries tagged Costa_Rica.
People (15)
- Eden Pastora Former Sandinista war hero known as Commandante Zero who became commander of the ARDE Southern Front Contra army in Costa Rica, was put on the CIA payroll, and eventually broke with the agency over drug trafficking.
- Fernando Chamorro Commander of UDN-FARN, an early Contra faction based in Costa Rica, a former Sandinista whose army included Cuban-American drug traffickers, and who was approached by Norwin Meneses about hauling cocaine.
- Francisco Aviles U.S.-educated Nicaraguan lawyer and CIA asset who worked closely with the CIA in Costa Rica funneling funds to Contra organizations and was directly involved in the San Francisco Frogman case.
- Horacio Pereira Norwin Meneses's friend and business partner who became one of his top cocaine dealers in Costa Rica, identified by the FBI as the cocaine source for the Frogman drug ring in San Francisco.
- Ivan Gomez Pseudonym of a Venezuelan CIA contract agent who handled logistics on the Southern Front for the Contras, identified by Carlos Cabezas as the conduit for drug money from the Meneses organization to the Contras.
- John Hull John Hull was a CIA operative whose ranch in northern Costa Rica served as a training area and weapons depot for Contra forces and a transit point for drug flights.
- Joseph Fernandez Joseph Fernandez was the CIA's Costa Rican station chief who oversaw Contra operations on the Southern Front, was heavily involved in illegal activities, and was later fired and indicted.
- Joseph Kelso Former CIA and Customs Service informant who uncovered evidence of DEA corruption in Costa Rica, was beaten and deported, and had his evidence destroyed by Oliver North's network.
- Marcos Aguado CIA-trained Nicaraguan pilot who managed drug trafficking logistics for Norwin Meneses and Eden Pastora, later became a colonel in the Salvadoran Air Force at Ilopango.
- Moises Nunez Moises Nunez was a Cuban CIA agent who managed Frigorificos de Puntarenas while simultaneously dealing drugs and running covert maritime operations against the Sandinistas.
- Robert Nieves DEA agent who served as Norwin Meneses's control agent in Costa Rica, was accused of drug trafficking by multiple informants, and later rose to head the DEA's International Division before joining Oliver North's company.
- Sandalio Gonzalez Sandalio Gonzalez was a DEA agent in Costa Rica who handled Norwin Meneses as an informant and kept him off official DEA records while Meneses continued drug trafficking operations.
- Sebastian Gonzalez Sebastian "Guachan" Gonzalez was a CIA-linked Contra quartermaster who managed arms flights from Panama to the Costa Rican Contras while simultaneously running a major cocaine trafficking operation with Norwin Meneses.
- Troilo Sanchez Brother of FDN officials Aristides and Fernando Sanchez, business partner of Norwin Meneses in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, identified by the FBI as a cocaine source for the Frogman ring in San Francisco.
- Vicente Rappaccioli 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.
Organizations (3)
- ARDE Alianza Revolucionaria Democratica (ARDE) was a Contra faction based in Costa Rica and commanded by former Sandinista war hero Eden Pastora, formed when UDN-FARN merged with Pastora's group in September 1982.
- Frigorificos de Puntarenas Frigorificos de Puntarenas was a Costa Rican shrimp company created by the Medellín cartel as a money-laundering front that was later hired by the U.S. State Department to distribute "humanitarian" aid to the Contras.
- UDN-FARN Early Contra faction based first in Honduras then Costa Rica, commanded by Fernando Chamorro, that shifted allegiances between the FDN, ARDE, and back during the Contra war.
Places (2)
- Guanacaste Province Guanacaste Province in northern Costa Rica served as the headquarters for Contra drug and weapons trafficking operations during the 1980s, equipped with rural landing strips and corruptible local officials.
- Puntarenas Puntarenas was a Costa Rican Pacific coast city that gave its name to Frigorificos de Puntarenas, a shrimp company used by Oliver North as a cover for Contra supply operations and money laundering.