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#DarkAllianceInvestigation

109 entries tagged DarkAllianceInvestigation.

People (79)

  • Adolfo Calero Longtime CIA agent and former Coca-Cola bottling plant manager in Managua who was selected by the CIA in 1983 to lead the political wing of the FDN and worked closely with Oliver North.
  • Alan Fenster Beverly Hills defense attorney who represented Ricky Ross throughout his legal troubles, including the DEA reverse sting case.
  • Alan Fiers Former CIA official who ran the Contra program for several years and explained how arms brokers used fraudulent end-user certificates from intermediary countries to divert weapons to the Contras.
  • Anastasio Somoza Dictator of Nicaragua whose family ruled the country for forty-six years until the Sandinista revolution in July 1979, after which his dispersed National Guard officers became the founding cadre of the Contras.
  • Andy Furillo Los Angeles Times police beat reporter who wrote the first national press story about crack cocaine in November 1984, documenting the explosion of rock houses in South Central Los Angeles.
  • Barry Seal Adler Berriman 'Barry' Seal (1939-1986) was a Baton Rouge, Louisiana pilot and the Medellín Cartel's chief U.S. cocaine distributor, who flew an estimated 56 tons of cocaine worth $3-5 billion before flipping as a DEA informant in 1984, providing photographic evidence of Sandinista officials loading cocaine at a Nicaraguan airfield; he was assassinated by cartel hitmen in February 1986, and his C-123K cargo plane was subsequently used in the Oliver North Contra supply network before being shot down over Nicaragua with Eugene Hasenfus aboard.
  • Bill Clinton William Jefferson 'Bill' Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001) and Governor of Arkansas during the period when Barry Seal operated his CIA-connected cocaine smuggling operation at Mena airport.
  • Brad Brunon Los Angeles attorney who represented Danilo Blandon and provided firsthand observations about Contra fundraising through cocaine trafficking.
  • Carlos Cabezas Nicaraguan cocaine trafficker in San Francisco who testified that drug profits from the Meneses organization were going to the Contras, was convicted in the Frogman Case, and in 1996 admitted on the record to delivering millions in drug money to the Contras.
  • Celerino Castillo DEA agent who discovered Contra drug trafficking operations at Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador and had his investigation repeatedly shut down by the CIA and State Department.
  • Craig Chretien DEA Special Agent in Charge of the San Diego regional office who met with Gary Webb in October 1995 in an attempt to dissuade him from publishing the Dark Alliance story, and who was later promoted to head the DEA's International Division.
  • Crossan Andersen Federal prosecutor in Los Angeles who took the Danilo Blandon case to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and described it as 'a sensitive matter' involving CIA allegations.
  • Daniel Garner LASD Majors II deputy and court-certified money-laundering expert whose prosecution for corruption nearly exposed the Contra-CIA drug connection through documents he had seized from Ronald Lister's home in 1986.
  • Danilo Blandon Nicaraguan cocaine trafficker who operated a multimillion-dollar distribution ring in Los Angeles from 1981 to 1991, serving as the primary supplier to Freeway Ricky Ross while maintaining connections to the Contra movement.
  • Dennis Ainsworth San Francisco Contra supporter and Republican activist who discovered the FDN's cocaine trafficking connections and alerted the FBI, only to be ignored.
  • Dewey Clarridge Chief of the CIA Latin American Division from 1981 to 1984 who oversaw the creation of the Contra project, recruited Contra leaders including Eden Pastora, and was later indicted for perjury during the Iran-Contra investigation.
  • Donald Barrios Wealthy Nicaraguan exile, FDN supporter, and relative of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro who introduced Norwin Meneses to Danilo Blandon and co-founded La Parrilla restaurant in Miami as a Contra gathering place.
  • Douglas Aukland FBI agent in Riverside, California, whose walk-in informant exposed the Blandon-Meneses Contra drug connection but who was given minimal resources to investigate.
  • 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.
  • Edwin Meese Edwin Meese served as Counselor to President Reagan and then as Attorney General from 1985 to 1988, and was named by INSLAW and the House Judiciary Committee as a central figure in the alleged conspiracy to steal the PROMIS software through his long association with Earl Brian and his recusal from PROMIS matters that left Lowell Jensen to administer the affair.
  • Enrique Bermudez Supreme military commander of the FDN and former Somoza military attaché in Washington who was hired by the CIA in 1980 to reassemble the National Guard into a Contra fighting force, and was murdered in Managua in 1991.
  • Enrique Miranda Former Sandinista intelligence officer who became a CIA double agent and DEA informant, serving as Norwin Meneses's right-hand man and providing detailed testimony about the Ilopango drug pipeline.
  • Eric Swenson Former assistant U.S. attorney who reported Norwin Meneses's Contra drug activities to the Justice Department and stated that the CIA was fully aware of Meneses's criminal operations.
  • Fabio Ernesto Carrasco Pilot who flew CIA-protected weapons and drug flights for the Contras between Colombia, Costa Rica, and Florida, testifying under oath as a U.S. government witness.
  • Federico Vaughn Alleged Sandinista aide shown by President Reagan loading drugs onto an aircraft, who evidence suggests was actually a U.S. double agent working for the CIA.
  • Felix Rodriguez CIA agent and Bay of Pigs veteran who oversaw Oliver North's Contra resupply operation at Ilopango Air Force Base under the alias 'Max Gomez.'
  • 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.
  • Fidel Castro Leader of Cuba targeted by CIA assassination plots involving organized crime figures Sam Giancana, Johnny Rosselli, and Santos Trafficante.
  • Floyd Carlton Manuel Noriega's personal pilot and drug operations manager who became the U.S. government's star witness against Noriega after sharing evidence of the dictator's drug trafficking with murdered doctor Hugo Spadafora.
  • 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.
  • Francisco Guirola Beeche Salvadoran elite and D'Aubuisson aide caught with $5.9 million in cash at a Texas airport who later flew Contra drug flights out of Ilopango.
  • Gary Betzner Copilot who flew CIA-protected drug and weapons flights for the Contras and testified under oath as a Justice Department witness.
  • Gary Webb Investigative reporter for the San Jose Mercury News whose 1996 Dark Alliance series exposed links between CIA-backed Contras, Nicaraguan cocaine traffickers, and the crack explosion in Los Angeles.
  • George H.W. Bush Vice President under Reagan and 41st U.S. President who dealt with Israel's nuclear program, the VELA incident, and sanctions discussions after Osirak bombing, while simultaneously overseeing anti-drug efforts as Contra-connected drug traffickers operated with impunity.
  • George Morales Major Colombian drug trafficker who provided aircraft, money, and weapons to Eden Pastora's ARDE Contra faction with the knowledge and approval of CIA operatives, according to sworn congressional testimony.
  • Harland Braun Prominent criminal defense attorney who represented Deputy Daniel Garner in the Operation Big Spender corruption trial and attempted to introduce evidence of CIA drug money laundering, resulting in a judicial gag order.
  • Henry Corrales Nicaraguan cocaine trafficker who served as the intermediary between Danilo Blandón and Ricky Ross after Ivan Arguellas was paralyzed.
  • 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.
  • Humberto Cardona Colombian cocaine kingpin extradited to the United States in 1985 who continued supplying the South Central Los Angeles crack market through the Meneses-Blandon network while jetting around the world.
  • 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.
  • Ivan Torres Nicaraguan drug trafficker and FDN West Coast branch chief who managed Danilo Blandon's Los Angeles cocaine operations while claiming CIA awareness of his drug activities.
  • Jack Blum Former Senate investigator and chief counsel to Senator John Kerry's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations, widely recognized for exposing the BCCI scandal and investigating Contra-connected drug trafficking.
  • Jerry Ceppos Executive editor of the San Jose Mercury News who initially championed the Dark Alliance series before publishing a column describing shortcomings in the reporting, effectively ending the investigation.
  • Jerry Guzzetta Bell Police Department narcotics detective whose personal vendetta against drug dealers led to the Torres brothers investigation, codenamed Project Sahara, which uncovered the massive Blandon-Ross cocaine network.
  • John Kerry Senator from Massachusetts who chaired the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations, investigating both BCCI and links between the Contras and cocaine trafficking with findings that were systematically suppressed.
  • John Vandewerker Former CIA officer who employed Richard Wilker and knew of his weapons business activities with Ronald Lister in El Salvador.
  • Jose Guillermo Garcia Salvadoran defense minister linked to death squad activities who received Pyramid International's security proposal in 1982.
  • Joseph Fernandez 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 Russoniello U.S. attorney in San Francisco whose cozy relationship with the CIA coincided with the decision not to prosecute Norwin Meneses for drug trafficking in spring 1985.
  • Julio Bonilla FDN coordinator in San Francisco who connected Contra supporters with the organization's leadership.
  • Julio Zavala Major cocaine trafficker in the San Francisco Bay Area and top-ranking U.S.-based member of UDN-FARN who recruited Carlos Cabezas into the Contra drug ring and was convicted in the Frogman Case.
  • Leroy Brown Corner Pocket Crip and Compton crack dealer who became a business partner of Ricky Ross.
  • Luis Posada Carriles Veteran CIA agent with a documented history of drug trafficking who ran day-to-day Contra resupply operations at Ilopango Air Force Base under the alias Ramon Medina.
  • Malcolm Klein USC sociologist who, with colleague Cheryl Maxson, conducted the first scientific study of the early Los Angeles crack market in 1985, documenting the proliferation of rock houses and street gang involvement.
  • Manuel Noriega Military dictator of Panama who simultaneously served as a CIA asset and facilitated Colombian drug trafficking, was ousted by U.S. invasion in 1989, and had his 40-year sentence reduced to 10 years after former CIA officials testified on his behalf.
  • 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.
  • Norwin Meneses Norwin Meneses Cantarero, known as 'El Rey de la Droga,' was Nicaragua's most prolific drug trafficker who simultaneously served as a DEA informant while running a cocaine distribution network spanning from Central America to California in support of the Contra movement.
  • Octaviano Cesar CIA asset and former social director of Norwin Meneses's VIP nightclub in Managua who arranged drug deals with Colombian trafficker George Morales to fund Eden Pastora's Contra army.
  • Oliver North Marine lieutenant colonel and National Security Council staff member who ran the illegal Contra resupply operation from the White House, central figure in the Iran-Contra Affair implicated in drug trafficking, arms dealing, and obstruction of justice.
  • Rafael Cornejo Norwin Meneses's nephew and distributor in the San Francisco Bay Area since the mid-1970s whose territory stretched to Portland, Oregon, convicted of income tax evasion in 1985 and cocaine trafficking in 1996.
  • Renato Pena FDN San Francisco representative and cocaine dealer for Norwin Meneses who was arrested in 1984 and implicated the CIA in Contra drug trafficking during DEA debriefings.
  • Richard Wilker Former CIA agent who served as technical director for Pyramid International Security Consultants' weapons operations in El Salvador.
  • Ricky Ross Freeway Ricky Donnell Ross led South Central Los Angeles's largest crack cocaine distribution network, expanding from local dealing to a coast-to-coast operation that moved over 150 kilos per week at its peak.
  • Robert Byck Yale University cocaine expert who warned Congress in 1979 about an impending freebase cocaine epidemic, was ignored, and returned in 1986 to criticize the government's failure to act.
  • 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.
  • Roberto D'Aubuisson Salvadoran army major and ARENA party leader who ran death squads during El Salvador's civil war, linked to weapons deals with Ronald Lister's operations.
  • Ronald Lister Former police officer who became Danilo Blandón's partner in cocaine trafficking and weapons dealing through Pyramid International Security Consultants, with suspected CIA connections.
  • Ronald Reagan 40th President of the United States who authorized CIA operations in Nicaragua, oversaw the Contra war and the secret drug-crimes reporting exemption, while simultaneously prosecuting the War on Drugs.
  • Sandalio Gonzalez 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.
  • Scott Weekly Former Navy SEAL and weapons expert known as 'Dr. Death' who was Ronald Lister's CIA contact and participated in covert operations for the NSC and State Department while connected to the Blandon drug investigation.
  • Sebastian Gonzalez 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.
  • Seth Rosenfeld San Francisco Examiner reporter whose 1986 investigative stories exposed the Frogman Case Contra drug connections and Norwin Meneses's cocaine trafficking network.
  • Thomas Dowling Fake Catholic priest and Contra activist who received $73,000 from Oliver North and Adolfo Calero for domestic propaganda operations.
  • Thomas Gordon LASD Major Violators detective who led the investigation into the Blandon-Ross cocaine network after receiving Jerry Guzzetta's Project Sahara reports.
  • Torres Brothers Nicaraguan cocaine traffickers who worked for Danilo Blandón before becoming independent suppliers to Ricky Ross, eventually rivaling Blandón in volume and sparking a bitter feud.
  • Walter Grasheim New York weapons dealer and U.S. military contractor raided by DEA agent Celerino Castillo, who was found with embassy plates, C-4 explosives, and a massive weapons cache.
  • Wanda Palacios Miami FBI informant and wife of a Colombian trafficker who witnessed Southern Air Transport planes being loaded with cocaine and unloading guns in Colombia.
  • William Downing Ronald Lister's partner in the Mundy Security Group who designed a laser sighting device for AR-15 assault rifles and was involved in procuring weapons sold to Danilo Blandón and crack dealers in Los Angeles.
  • William J. Casey William J. Casey was Reagan's 1980 campaign manager and CIA Director from 1981 to 1987 who, among other disputed roles, is alleged to have secretly negotiated with Iranian representatives in Madrid and Paris in 1980 to delay the release of American hostages past Election Day -- the core allegation of the October Surprise -- and who died of a brain tumor in May 1987 as the Iran-Contra scandal unfolded.

Organizations (14)

  • Air America CIA proprietary airline that provided covert transportation services during the Vietnam War, linked to heroin trafficking out of the Golden Triangle region.
  • ARDE Alianza Revolucionaria Democrática (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.
  • Cali Drug Cartel Powerful Colombian drug trafficking organization based in Cali, described in a 1994 Time magazine article as controlling 80% of the world's cocaine trade.
  • Contras Nicaraguan rebel groups organized and funded by the CIA to overthrow the Sandinista government, composed largely of former Somoza National Guard officers and implicated extensively in cocaine trafficking throughout the 1980s war.
  • DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration was the principal federal anti-narcotics agency that possessed extensive knowledge of Danilo Blandón's cocaine trafficking as early as 1981 yet took no action while he received U.S. political asylum.
  • Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is a major intelligence agency of the United States, specializing in defense and military intelligence.
  • Department of Justice U.S. federal law enforcement and legal agency whose prosecution of the INSLAW-PROMIS case, 1982 drug trafficking exemption for CIA assets, and 1993 internal inquiry into CIA involvement with The Finders make it a central subject of this vault.
  • FDN The FDN was the largest and best-armed Contra faction, created by the CIA and commanded by Enrique Bermudez, with documented connections to cocaine trafficking for fundraising.
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency.
  • Medellin Cartel Colombian drug trafficking organization based in Medellín that dominated the international cocaine trade, driving down U.S. prices and creating conditions for the crack epidemic.
  • National Security Council Principal presidential forum for national security and foreign policy matters that under the Reagan administration became an operational intelligence agency running Oliver North's illegal Contra supply network.
  • Nicaraguan National Guard Somoza's military force that served as army, police, and intelligence service, trained at U.S. military schools, whose dispersed officers formed the founding cadre of the Contras.
  • Sandinistas Leftist revolutionary guerrilla group that overthrew Somoza's U.S.-supported dictatorship in Nicaragua in 1979 and governed the country during the CIA-backed Contra war.
  • 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.

Events (2)

  • Boland Amendment Series of congressional amendments prohibiting U.S. funding for Contra military operations, widely circumvented by the Reagan administration and the CIA.
  • Frogman Case Largest cocaine bust in West Coast history at the time (January 1983), which exposed direct links between Contra drug traffickers in San Francisco and the CIA, connections suppressed through direct CIA intervention.

Concepts (1)

  • Crack Cocaine Smokable, mass-producible form of cocaine that transformed the drug from an expensive luxury into a cheap commodity devastating American inner cities throughout the 1980s.

Places (13)

  • Cabazon Indian Reservation Sovereign tribal territory near Indio, California used during the 1980s as a site for a CIA-linked Wackenhut Corporation weapons development and PROMIS software modification joint venture.
  • Central America Geographic region connecting North and South America that was the primary theater of Contra operations, drug trafficking, and CIA covert activities during the 1980s.
  • Colombia South American nation that was the world's primary source of cocaine during the 1980s, profoundly shaped by the operations of the Cali Drug Cartel and the Medellín cartel whose product flowed through Contra-connected trafficking networks.
  • Costa Rica Central American nation bordering Nicaragua that served as the primary base for the Southern Front Contra operations, the site of Norwin Meneses's drug empire, and the location of CIA operative John Hull's ranch.
  • El Salvador Central American nation where the CIA ran the Contra project from Ilopango Air Force Base, where DEA agent Celerino Castillo discovered Contra cocaine trafficking, and where the Salvadoran military facilitated drug-for-arms exchanges.
  • Guanacaste Province Guanacaste Province in northern Costa Rica served as headquarters for Contra drug and weapons trafficking operations during the 1980s, equipped with rural landing strips and corruptible local officials.
  • Honduras Country in Central America that served as the primary base of operations for the FDN Contra army during the 1980s and a focal point for U.S. military, drug trafficking, and covert operations.
  • Ilopango Airbase Salvadoran military air base that served as the hub for Oliver North's illegal Contra resupply operation and a center for Contra-connected cocaine trafficking during the 1980s.
  • Nicaragua Central American nation ruled by the Somoza family dictatorship for forty-six years until the Sandinista revolution in 1979, after which it became the battleground for the CIA-backed Contra war.
  • Panama Central American nation that was a major conduit for cocaine trafficking and money laundering, ruled by military dictator Manuel Noriega who simultaneously worked for the CIA and Colombian drug cartels.
  • San Francisco Major California city that served as the base of operations for Norwin Meneses's cocaine trafficking network, the site of the Frogman Case, and the location of key DEA and FBI offices investigating Contra drug trafficking.
  • South Central Los Angeles Region of Los Angeles that was the epicenter of the crack cocaine explosion in the early 1980s, where Danilo Blandón's Contra-connected cocaine was converted to crack and distributed by Ricky Ross's network.
  • Vietnam Vietnam was the site of a protracted U.S. military involvement (1955-1975) that produced veterans and intelligence networks appearing throughout this vault's coverage of Nugan Hand Bank, drug trafficking, and Iran-Contra-era covert operations.