The Real Drug Lords - A Brief History Of CIA Involvement In Drug Trafficking
All the while people think this agency - THE Agency - only gathers information. Have you heard about the CIA involvement in drug trafficking? Now you will.
Apr 04, 20173607 Shares50803 Views
The CIA involvement in drug traffickinghas been going on since the ‘50s - at least in Southeast Asia.
In the beginning, Central Intelligence Agency arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrestle control of labor unions from the Communist Party.
The Corsicans gained political influence and control over the docks - ideal conditions for cementing a long-term partnership with mafia drug distributors, which turned Marseille into the postwar heroin capital of the Western world.
Marseille’s first heroin laboratories were opened in 1951, only months after the Corsicans took over the waterfront.
Early 1950s - Southeast Asia
The Nationalist Chinese army, organized by the CIA, aka the Agency, to wage war against Communist China, became the opium barons of The Golden Triangle (parts of Burma, Thailand, and Laos), the world’s largest source of opium and heroin.
Air America, the CIA’s principal airline proprietary, flew the drugs all over Southeast Asia.
1950s To Early 1970s - Indochina
During the U.S. military involvement in Laos and other parts of Indochina, Air America flew opium and heroin throughout the area.
Many GIs in Vietnam became addicts.
A laboratory built at the CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin.
After a decade of American military intervention, Southeast Asia had become the source of 70 percent of the world’s illicit opium and the major supplier of raw materials for America’s booming heroin market.
1973 To 1980 - Australia
The Nugan Hand Bank of Sydney (1973-1980) was a CIA bank in all but name.
Among its officers were a network of U.S. generals, admirals and CIA men, including former CIA Director William Colby (1920-1996), who was also one of its lawyers.
With branches in Saudi Arabia, Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, and the U.S., Nugan Hand Bank financed drug trafficking, money laundering, and international arms dealings.
In 1980, amidst several mysterious deaths, the bank collapsed, with $50 million in debt.
1970s And 1980s - Panama
For more than a decade, Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega was a highly paid CIA asset and collaborator, despite knowledge by U.S. drug authorities as early as 1971 that the general was heavily involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.
Noriega facilitated “guns-for-drugs” flights for the Contras, providing protection and pilots, as well as safe havens for drug cartel officials, and discreet banking facilities.
U.S. officials, including then-CIA Director William Webster and several U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers, sent Noriega letters of praise for efforts to thwart drug trafficking (albeit only against competitors of his Medellin Cartel patrons).
The U.S. government only turned against Noriega, invading Panama in December 1989 and kidnapping the general once they discovered he was providing intelligence and services to the Cubans and Sandinistas.
Ironically, drug trafficking through Panama increased after the U.S. invasion.
1980s - Central America
The San Jose Mercury Newsseries, written by American journalist Gary Webb (1955-2004), documents just one thread of the interwoven operations linking the CIA, the Contras, and the cocaine cartels.
Obsessed with overthrowing the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua, Reagan administration (1981-1989) officials tolerated drug trafficking as long as the traffickers gave support to the Contras.
In 1989, the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations, aka the Kerry Committee, concluded a three-year investigation by stating:
“„There was substantial evidence of drug smuggling through the war zones on the part of individual Contras, Contra suppliers, Contra pilots mercenaries who worked with the Contras, and Contra supporters throughout the region.- the Kerry Committee
It added:
“„U.S. officials involved in Central America failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua…. In each case, one or another agency of the U.S. government had information regarding the involvement either while it was occurring, or immediately thereafter.- the Kerry Committee
It concluded:
“„Senior U.S. policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras’ funding problems.- the Kerry Committee
Operations In Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, which served as the “Southern Front” for the Contras (Honduras being the Northern Front), there were several different CIA-contra networks involved in drug trafficking.
In addition to those servicing the Meneses-Blandon operation detailed by the Mercury News and Noriega’s operation, there was CIA operative John Floyd Hull, whose farms along Costa Rica’s border with Nicaragua were the main staging area for the Contras.
Hull and other CIA-connected contra supporters and pilots teamed up with George Morales, a major Miami-based Colombian drug trafficker, who later admitted to giving $3 million in cash and several planes to Contra leaders.
In 1989, after the Costa Rica government indicted Hull for drug trafficking, a DEA-hired plane clandestinely and illegally flew the CIA operative to Miami via Haiti.
The U.S. repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial. Another Costa Rican-based drug ring involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA had hired as military trainers for the Contras.
Many had long been involved with the CIA and drug trafficking.
They used contra planes and a Costa Rican-based shrimp company, which laundered money for the CIA, to move cocaine to the U.S.
Costa Rica was not the only route.
Guatemala, whose military intelligence service - closely associated with the CIA - harbored many drug traffickers, according to the DEA, was another way station along the cocaine highway.
Cocaine In American Soil
Additionally, the Medellin Cartel’s Miami accountant, Ramon Milian Rodriguez, testified that he funneled nearly $10 million to Nicaraguan Contras through long-time CIA operative Felix Rodriguez, who was based at Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador.
The Contras provided both protection and infrastructure (planes, pilots, airstrips, warehouses, front companies, and banks) to these CIA-linked drug networks.
At least four transport companies under investigation for drug trafficking received U.S. government contracts to carry non-lethal supplies to the Contras.
Southern Air Transport, “formerly” CIA-owned, and later under Pentagon contract, was involved in the drug running as well.
Cocaine-laden planes flew to Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and other locations, including several military bases Designated as “Contra Craft,” these shipments were not to be inspected.
When some authority wasn’t clued in and made an arrest, powerful strings were pulled on behalf of dropping the case, acquittal, reduced sentence, or deportation.
Reagan Administration - Rebel Support
In 1979, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, aka Sandinistas, overthrew Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Debayle (1925-1980).
Fearing the creation of a Communist state allied with Cuba and the Soviet Union, the U.S government under Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), began funding and arming groups of rebels opposed to the Sandinistas known as the Counterrevolutionaries, or Contras.
This is all easily obtainable information.
‘Dark Alliance - The CIA, The Contras, And The Crack Cocaine Explosion’
Gary Webb’s Dark Allianceseries appeared in the Mercury News in 1996.
The series examined the origins of the crack cocaine trade in Los Angeles and claimed that members of the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua had played a major role in creating the trade, using cocaine profits to support their struggle.
It also suggested that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the CIA.
Webb was following the trial of a Contra leader named Oscar Danilo Blandon Reyes, who testified as to the CIA’s involvement in cocaine trafficking into Inner city Los Angeles in the 1980’s.
The lead of the first article set out the series’ basic claims:
“For the better part of a decade, a San Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.”
This drug ring “opened the first pipeline between Colombia’s cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles” and, as a result, “the cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America.”
In the beginning, Central Intelligence Agency arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrestle control of labor unions from the Communist Party.
The Corsicans gained political influence and control over the docks - ideal conditions for cementing a long-term partnership with mafia drug distributors, which turned Marseille into the postwar heroin capital of the Western world.
Marseille’s first heroin laboratories were opened in 1951, only months after the Corsicans took over the waterfront.
‘Dark Alliance’ Series - First Article
After introducing the three, the first article discussed primarily Blandon and Meneses, and their relationship with the Contras and the CIA.
Much of the article highlighted the failure of law enforcement agencies to successfully prosecute them and suggested that this was largely due to their Contra and CIA connections.
‘Dark Alliance’ Series - Second Article
The second article described Blandon’s background and how he began smuggling cocaine to support the Contras. Meneses, an established smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Blandon how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine.
When Ross discovered the market for crack in Los Angeles, he began buying cocaine from Blandon.
Blandon and Meneses’ high-volume supply of low-priced cocaine “allowed Ross to sew up the Los Angeles market and move on. In city after city, local dealers either bought from Ross or got left behind.”
‘Dark Alliance’ Series - Third Article
The third article discussed the social effects of the crack trade, noting that it had a disparate effect on African-Americans.
Asking why crack became so prevalent in the black community of Los Angeles, the article credited Blandon, referring to him as “the Johnny Appleseed of crack in California.”
It also found disparities in the treatment of black and white traffickers in the justice system, contrasting the treatment of Blandon and Ross after their arrests for drug trafficking.
Because Blandon cooperated with the DEA:
- he spent only 28 months in prison
- became a paid government informer
- received permanent resident status
Ross was also released early after cooperating in an investigation of police corruption, but was rearrested a few months later in a sting operation arranged with the help of Blandon.
The article suggested this was in retribution for Ross’ testimony in the corruption case.
Mena - The Acronym, The City, The Movie
The acronym MENA stands for the “Middle East and North Africa.”
There’s a movie coming out this year starring Tom Cruise called Mena, about an American pilot named Adler Berriman “Barry” Seal (1939-1986), who was a known DEA informant responsible for flying TONS of coke into the U.S.
Seal also worked with:
- the Sandinistas (Sandinista National Liberation Front)
- Medellin cartel from Colombia
- the Ochoa brothers (Jorge, Fabio, and Juan David)
- Pablo Escobar, etc.
This rabbit hole can lead you all the way to George H.W. Bush, who oversaw the Federal Drug Task Force commissioned by Reagan to Bill Clinton.
At that time, Clinton was the governor of Arkansas, where the city of Mena (population roughly 5,000 people) is located in a quiet, mountainous region of western Arkansas.
Clinton brought in CIA-front companies by awarding them state-backed low interest loans to relocate to Arkansas.
One of the businesses that relocated there was Rich Mountain Aviation, Inc. that did illegal modifications to the planes, which allowed Seal to fly weapons to Nicaragua and transport cocaine back into the United States.
Barry Seal was indicted several times in three different states - but protected from prosecution by the U.S Attorney General’s office and the DEA. He was murdered in 1986 after he started openly bragging about being a CIA operative.
1980s To Early 1990s - Afghanistan
CIA-supported mujahideen rebels engaged heavily in drug trafficking while fighting against the Soviet-supported government and its plans to reform the very backward Afghan society.
The Agency’s principal client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the leading drug lords and leading heroin refiner.
CIA supplied trucks and mules, which had carried arms into Afghanistan, were used to transport opium to laboratories along the Afghan Pakistan border.
The output provided up to one half of the heroin used annually in the U.S. and three-quarters of that used in Western Europe.
U.S. officials admitted in 1990 that they had failed to investigate or take action against the drug operation because of a desire not to offend their Pakistani and Afghan allies.
In 1993, an official of the DEA called Afghanistan the new Colombia of the drug world.
Mid-1980s To Early 1990s - Haiti
While working to keep key Haitian military and political leaders in power, the CIA turned a blind eye to their clients’ drug trafficking.
In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN).
SIN was purportedly created to fight the cocaine trade, though SIN officers themselves engaged in the trafficking, a trade aided and abetted by some of the Haitian military and political leaders.
Cocaine And Heroin Epidemic In The U.S.
The heroin epidemic resembles the days when “crack cocaine” became the major drug that destroyed communities across the United States and other parts of the world, including the Caribbean that began in the early 1980’s.
The Crack epidemic coincidently began around the same time when the Iran-Contra Scandal was being exposed.
U.S. cities experienced a rise in crime and disease, such as:
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York City
The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported back in 2015 that “heroin use in the United States increased 63% from 2002 through 2013.” Fast forward to 2016, heroin is sweeping across the United States at unprecedented levels.
An NBC affiliate reported that state officials were set to declare a “public health emergency” in New Haven, Connecticut, over the rise of heroin use, which has resulted in two deaths:
“Officials in New Haven on Friday were set to address a public health emergency declaration brought on by a rash of heroin overdoses in the city beginning Thursday.
New Haven police said emergency responders saw at least 15 overdoses since Thursday afternoon, and possibly up to 22.
At least two people have died.
The city is warning residents that there is a batch of tainted, life-threatening heroin on the streets.”
In the suburbs of Long Island, New York, heroin use is an increasing problem.
According to SuburbanHeroin.com, a website devoted to the heroin epidemic on Long Island states, from 2012 to 2013, more than 242 people died from heroin use.
Long Island is home to some of the wealthiest communities in New York State, which goes to show that heroin is affecting all neighborhoods, rich and poor.
The NBC news report said that CDC admitted that heroin has become an epidemic since 2002:
“„The CDC reports that between 2002 and 2014 the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths more than quadrupled and more than 10,500 died nationwide in 2014.- NBC
Now the question is: “Why has heroin use dramatically increased since 2002?”
Maybe the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 after the September 11th attacks under the Bush regime had something to do with it?
The mainstream media (MSM) establishment mouthpiece The Washington Post admitted in 2006 that heroin production in Afghanistan “broke all records” while under U.S. occupation:
“„Opium production in Afghanistan, which provides more than 90 percent of the world’s heroin, broke all records in 2006, reaching a historic high despite ongoing U.S.-sponsored eradication efforts, the Bush administration reported yesterday.- The Washington Post
The Washington Post added:
“„In addition to a 26 percent production increase over the past year - for a total of 5,644 metric tons - the amount of land under cultivation in opium poppies grew by 61 percent.- The Washington Post
It also pointed out:
“„Cultivation in the two main production provinces, Helmand in the southwest and Oruzgan in central Afghanistan, was up by 132 percent.- The Washington Post
Based on a 2014 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Washington claims that Mexico is the source of the heroin that is flooding U.S. streets:
- “with 10,500 hectares under poppy cultivation in 2012”
- while Afghanistan had “224,000 hectares”
However, the numbers tell a different story.
Mexico’s heroin trade is small in comparison although it has been increasing its production capabilities.
However, not only heroin from Afghanistan is the major source for U.S. citizens, the so-called “Big Pharma” - or the “corporate drug dealers,” who sell “legal drugs” - also has a hand in the epidemic because they produce and sell “opioids,” such as Oxycodone (brand name: OxyContin) and Percocet, which is similar to heroin.
Opioid medications are normally used as painkillers for broken bones, lacerations, or post-surgery pain. However, abusing Opioids can also lead to heroin use.
Online news source The Huffington Post published an article titled Ron Paul Had Accurate ConspiracyTheory: CIA Was Tied To Drug Traffickers.
It highlights what the former Libertarian Presidential nominee Dr. Ron Paul said on the involvement of the CIA in the drug trade, which was not a “conspiracy theory” but a fact when taking into consideration the Iran-Contra Scandal.
Dr. Paul said, as quoted by The Huffington Post, described drug trafficking as:
“„A gold mine for people who want to raise money in the underground government in order to financeprojects that they can’t get legitimately. It is very clear that the CIA has been very much involved with drug dealings.- Dr. Ron Paul
He continued:
“„The CIA was very much involved in the Iran-Contra scandals. I’m not making up the stories; we saw it on television. They were hauling down weapons and drugs back.- Dr. Ron Paul
He concluded:
“„And the CIA and government officials were closing their eyes, fighting a war that was technically illegal.- Dr. Ron Paul
The Taliban banned the production of opium in 2000.
The war in Afghanistan was mainly about producing opium, which did end up in the streets of:
- Iran
- Russia
- China
According to a Pravda report in 2015 by William Edstrom titled Heroin Dealer in Chief, Afghanistan is the source of 90% of the world’s heroin.
The report stated the impact of Afghanistan’s opium production on neighboring countries:
“Afghanistan, source of 90% of earth’s heroin, ended 90% of earth’s heroin problems when the Taliban outlawed opium in 2000.
The reason for war in Afghanistan was because the Taliban outlawed opium growing, which ended economic wars (opium wars) against Iran, Russia, and China.”
The heroin epidemic is now affecting cities and towns across the U.S.
Edstrom estimates that 165,000 Americans will die from the heroin epidemic in the next 10 years:
“„The war in Afghanistan began as an opium war against Iran, Russia, and China, the tables are turning into an opium war against Americans on track to kill 165,000 Americans (2016-2026).- William Edstrom
He added:
“„Americans, 5% of earth’s population, take 60% of painkillers on earth.- William Edstrom
The death rate could go much higher considering the increasing level of poverty in the U.S., especially in the inner cities, where the highest unemployment rate is among the 18-34 year olds.
Many young adults will unfortunately turn to the drug trade, whether they sell or use it, as hope fades for the lack of jobs or opportunities.
Fox news had a segment with Geraldo Rivera that shows how the U.S. government (in this case, the U.S. Marines) is involved in Afghanistan’s heroin production, with Washington’s approval of course.
The Sought-After Heroin
Heroin is a valuable commodity as long as the War on Drugs remains in effect, that’s why Barack Obama extended the Afghan mission until 2017, for the next U.S. elected president to occupy the White House.
President Donald Trump has given no indication that he intends to bring the troops stationed there home any time soon.
On July 7, 2015, NBC reported on Afghanistan’s opium production and where they stand in terms of world supply:
“„According to the United Nations, the war-torn nation provides 90 percent of the world’s supply of opium poppy, the bright, flowery crop that transforms into one of the most addictive drugs in existence.- NBC
NBC also quoted John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), who did say that:
“„Afghanistan has roughly 500,000 acres, or about 780 square miles, devoted to growing opium poppy. That’s equivalent to more than 400,000 U.S. football fields - including the end zones.- John F. Sopko
That’s a large amount of land devoted to opium production, which provides an opportunity for the CIA to cash in on the illegal drug trade for their secret covert operations (which avoids public scrutiny) and re-establish a drug trade route to target the populations of China, Iran, and Russia.
America’s Heroin Crisis
The heroin crisis then and now is a direct consequence of the Military-Industrial Complex.
During the 1970’s, around the same time during the Vietnam War, heroin made its way to the United States from the Golden Triangle, which became an epidemic.
It was estimated that more than 200,000 people in New York City alone were using heroin.
At one point in time, you were able to find used syringes on public playgrounds.
Now, heroin from Afghanistan has made its way back to the U.S.
Heroin is profitable as much as it is strategic; it is also used as a weapon against Chinese, Iranian, and Russian populations, which has led to:
- addiction
- crime
It also helped spread diseases, such as AIDS.
Heroin is now affecting the United States, the CIA’s very own territory.
Not that the CIA really cares who it affects.
You will know it when you closely examine their history of drug trafficking with the Iran-Contra Scandal or the Golden Triangle during the Vietnam War.
As author and activist William Blum (1933-2018) noted in his book Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower (2000):
“„The CIA flew the drugs all over Southeast Asia, to sites where the opium was processed into heroin, and to trans-shipment points on the route to western customers.- William Henry Blum (1933-2018)
As long as the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan continues under the guise of establishing a democratic government, the flow of heroin will continue unabated.
Final Words
One question we should ask is:
“„Who owns the planes and the ships that transport 90% percent of the world’s heroin from Afghanistan to the rest of the world in the first place?- the public
This is how the “War on Drugs” began.
All under the watchful eye of your benevolent government that has simultaneously been running a judicial racket to incarcerate low-level distributors, which in turn has created the world’s largest for-profit prison population.
So, who’s bringing all the heroin into the U.S?
The Mexicans? The Muslims?
Wake up and smell the poppy plants in Afghanistan, and start piecing together the puzzle of WHY we need troops in a dirt-poor country that happens to be the source of 90% of the world’s heroin production.
The CIA involvement in drug trafficking has been happening for decades now.
In the beginning, Central Intelligence Agency arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrestle control of labor unions from the Communist Party.
The Corsicans gained political influence and control over the docks - ideal conditions for cementing a long-term partnership with mafia drug distributors, which turned Marseille into the postwar heroin capital of the Western world.
Marseille’s first heroin laboratories were opened in 1951, only months after the Corsicans took over the waterfront.
Early 1950s - Southeast Asia
The Nationalist Chinese army, organized by the CIA, aka the Agency, to wage war against Communist China, became the opium barons of The Golden Triangle (parts of Burma, Thailand, and Laos), the world’s largest source of opium and heroin.
Air America, the CIA’s principal airline proprietary, flew the drugs all over Southeast Asia.
1950s To Early 1970s - Indochina
During the U.S. military involvement in Laos and other parts of Indochina, Air America flew opium and heroin throughout the area.
Many GIs in Vietnam became addicts.
A laboratory built at the CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin.
After a decade of American military intervention, Southeast Asia had become the source of 70 percent of the world’s illicit opium and the major supplier of raw materials for America’s booming heroin market.
1973 To 1980 - Australia
The Nugan Hand Bank of Sydney (1973-1980) was a CIA bank in all but name.
Among its officers were a network of U.S. generals, admirals and CIA men, including former CIA Director William Colby (1920-1996), who was also one of its lawyers.
With branches in Saudi Arabia, Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, and the U.S., Nugan Hand Bank financed drug trafficking, money laundering, and international arms dealings.
In 1980, amidst several mysterious deaths, the bank collapsed, with $50 million in debt.
1970s And 1980s - Panama
For more than a decade, Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega was a highly paid CIA asset and collaborator, despite knowledge by U.S. drug authorities as early as 1971 that the general was heavily involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.
Noriega facilitated “guns-for-drugs” flights for the Contras, providing protection and pilots, as well as safe havens for drug cartel officials, and discreet banking facilities.
U.S. officials, including then-CIA Director William Webster and several U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers, sent Noriega letters of praise for efforts to thwart drug trafficking (albeit only against competitors of his Medellin Cartel patrons).
The U.S. government only turned against Noriega, invading Panama in December 1989 and kidnapping the general once they discovered he was providing intelligence and services to the Cubans and Sandinistas.
Ironically, drug trafficking through Panama increased after the U.S. invasion.
1980s - Central America
The San Jose Mercury News series, written by American journalist Gary Webb (1955-2004), documents just one thread of the interwoven operations linking the CIA, the Contras, and the cocaine cartels.
Obsessed with overthrowing the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua, Reagan administration (1981-1989) officials tolerated drug trafficking as long as the traffickers gave support to the Contras.
In 1989, the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations, aka the Kerry Committee, concluded a three-year investigation by stating:
“„There was substantial evidence of drug smuggling through the war zones on the part of individual Contras, Contra suppliers, Contra pilots mercenaries who worked with the Contras, and Contra supporters throughout the region.- the Kerry Committee
It added:
“„U.S. officials involved in Central America failed to address the drug issue for fear of jeopardizing the war efforts against Nicaragua…. In each case, one or another agency of the U.S. government had information regarding the involvement either while it was occurring, or immediately thereafter.- the Kerry Committee
It concluded:
“„Senior U.S. policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras’ funding problems.- the Kerry Committee
Operations In Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, which served as the “Southern Front” for the Contras (Honduras being the Northern Front), there were several different CIA-contra networks involved in drug trafficking.
In addition to those servicing the Meneses-Blandon operation detailed by the Mercury News and Noriega’s operation, there was CIA operative John Floyd Hull, whose farms along Costa Rica’s border with Nicaragua were the main staging area for the Contras.
Hull and other CIA-connected contra supporters and pilots teamed up with George Morales, a major Miami-based Colombian drug trafficker, who later admitted to giving $3 million in cash and several planes to Contra leaders.
In 1989, after the Costa Rica government indicted Hull for drug trafficking, a DEA-hired plane clandestinely and illegally flew the CIA operative to Miami via Haiti.
The U.S. repeatedly thwarted Costa Rican efforts to extradite Hull back to Costa Rica to stand trial. Another Costa Rican-based drug ring involved a group of Cuban Americans whom the CIA had hired as military trainers for the Contras.
Many had long been involved with the CIA and drug trafficking.
They used contra planes and a Costa Rican-based shrimp company, which laundered money for the CIA, to move cocaine to the U.S.
Costa Rica was not the only route.
Guatemala, whose military intelligence service - closely associated with the CIA - harbored many drug traffickers, according to the DEA, was another way station along the cocaine highway.
Cocaine In American Soil
Additionally, the Medellin Cartel’s Miami accountant, Ramon Milian Rodriguez, testified that he funneled nearly $10 million to Nicaraguan Contras through long-time CIA operative Felix Rodriguez, who was based at Ilopango Air Force Base in El Salvador.
The Contras provided both protection and infrastructure (planes, pilots, airstrips, warehouses, front companies, and banks) to these CIA-linked drug networks.
At least four transport companies under investigation for drug trafficking received U.S. government contracts to carry non-lethal supplies to the Contras.
Southern Air Transport, “formerly” CIA-owned, and later under Pentagon contract, was involved in the drug running as well.
Cocaine-laden planes flew to Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and other locations, including several military bases Designated as “Contra Craft,” these shipments were not to be inspected.
When some authority wasn’t clued in and made an arrest, powerful strings were pulled on behalf of dropping the case, acquittal, reduced sentence, or deportation.
Reagan Administration - Rebel Support
In 1979, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, aka Sandinistas, overthrew Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Debayle (1925-1980).
Fearing the creation of a Communist state allied with Cuba and the Soviet Union, the U.S government under Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), began funding and arming groups of rebels opposed to the Sandinistas known as the Counterrevolutionaries, or Contras.
This is all easily obtainable information.
‘Dark Alliance - The CIA, The Contras, And The Crack Cocaine Explosion’
Gary Webb’s Dark Allianceseries appeared in the Mercury News in 1996.
The series examined the origins of the crack cocaine trade in Los Angeles and claimed that members of the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua had played a major role in creating the trade, using cocaine profits to support their struggle.
It also suggested that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the CIA.
Webb was following the trial of a Contra leader named Oscar Danilo Blandon Reyes, who testified as to the CIA’s involvement in cocaine trafficking into Inner city Los Angeles in the 1980’s.
The lead of the first article set out the series’ basic claims:
“For the better part of a decade, a San Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.”
This drug ring “opened the first pipeline between Colombia’s cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles” and, as a result, “the cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America.”
In the beginning, Central Intelligence Agency arms, money, and disinformation enabled Corsican criminal syndicates in Marseille to wrestle control of labor unions from the Communist Party.
The Corsicans gained political influence and control over the docks - ideal conditions for cementing a long-term partnership with mafia drug distributors, which turned Marseille into the postwar heroin capital of the Western world.
Marseille’s first heroin laboratories were opened in 1951, only months after the Corsicans took over the waterfront.
‘Dark Alliance’ Series - First Article
After introducing the three, the first article discussed primarily Blandon and Meneses, and their relationship with the Contras and the CIA.
Much of the article highlighted the failure of law enforcement agencies to successfully prosecute them and suggested that this was largely due to their Contra and CIA connections.
‘Dark Alliance’ Series - Second Article
The second article described Blandon’s background and how he began smuggling cocaine to support the Contras. Meneses, an established smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Blandon how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine.
When Ross discovered the market for crack in Los Angeles, he began buying cocaine from Blandon.
Blandon and Meneses’ high-volume supply of low-priced cocaine “allowed Ross to sew up the Los Angeles market and move on. In city after city, local dealers either bought from Ross or got left behind.”
‘Dark Alliance’ Series - Third Article
The third article discussed the social effects of the crack trade, noting that it had a disparate effect on African-Americans.
Asking why crack became so prevalent in the black community of Los Angeles, the article credited Blandon, referring to him as “the Johnny Appleseed of crack in California.”
It also found disparities in the treatment of black and white traffickers in the justice system, contrasting the treatment of Blandon and Ross after their arrests for drug trafficking.
Because Blandon cooperated with the DEA:
- he spent only 28 months in prison
- became a paid government informer
- received permanent resident status
Ross was also released early after cooperating in an investigation of police corruption, but was rearrested a few months later in a sting operation arranged with the help of Blandon.
The article suggested this was in retribution for Ross’ testimony in the corruption case.
Mena - The Acronym, The City, The Movie
The acronym MENA stands for the “Middle East and North Africa.”
There’s a movie coming out this year starring Tom Cruise called Mena, about an American pilot named Adler Berriman “Barry” Seal (1939-1986), who was a known DEA informant responsible for flying TONS of coke into the U.S.
Seal also worked with:
- the Sandinistas (Sandinista National Liberation Front)
- Medellin cartel from Colombia
- the Ochoa brothers (Jorge, Fabio, and Juan David)
- Pablo Escobar, etc.
This rabbit hole can lead you all the way to George H.W. Bush, who oversaw the Federal Drug Task Force commissioned by Reagan to Bill Clinton.
At that time, Clinton was the governor of Arkansas, where the city of Mena (population roughly 5,000 people) is located in a quiet, mountainous region of western Arkansas.
Clinton brought in CIA-front companies by awarding them state-backed low interest loans to relocate to Arkansas.
One of the businesses that relocated there was Rich Mountain Aviation, Inc. that did illegal modifications to the planes, which allowed Seal to fly weapons to Nicaragua and transport cocaine back into the United States.
Barry Seal was indicted several times in three different states - but protected from prosecution by the U.S Attorney General’s office and the DEA. He was murdered in 1986 after he started openly bragging about being a CIA operative.
1980s To Early 1990s - Afghanistan
CIA-supported mujahideen rebels engaged heavily in drug trafficking while fighting against the Soviet-supported government and its plans to reform the very backward Afghan society.
The Agency’s principal client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the leading drug lords and leading heroin refiner.
CIA supplied trucks and mules, which had carried arms into Afghanistan, were used to transport opium to laboratories along the Afghan Pakistan border.
The output provided up to one half of the heroin used annually in the U.S. and three-quarters of that used in Western Europe.
U.S. officials admitted in 1990 that they had failed to investigate or take action against the drug operation because of a desire not to offend their Pakistani and Afghan allies.
In 1993, an official of the DEA called Afghanistan the new Colombia of the drug world.
Mid-1980s To Early 1990s - Haiti
While working to keep key Haitian military and political leaders in power, the CIA turned a blind eye to their clients’ drug trafficking.
In 1986, the Agency added some more names to its payroll by creating a new Haitian organization, the National Intelligence Service (SIN).
SIN was purportedly created to fight the cocaine trade, though SIN officers themselves engaged in the trafficking, a trade aided and abetted by some of the Haitian military and political leaders.
Cocaine And Heroin Epidemic In The U.S.
The heroin epidemic resembles the days when “crack cocaine” became the major drug that destroyed communities across the United States and other parts of the world, including the Caribbean that began in the early 1980’s.
The Crack epidemic coincidently began around the same time when the Iran-Contra Scandal was being exposed.
U.S. cities experienced a rise in crime and disease, such as:
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York City
The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported back in 2015 that “heroin use in the United States increased 63% from 2002 through 2013.” Fast forward to 2016, heroin is sweeping across the United States at unprecedented levels.
An NBC affiliate reported that state officials were set to declare a “public health emergency” in New Haven, Connecticut, over the rise of heroin use, which has resulted in two deaths:
“Officials in New Haven on Friday were set to address a public health emergency declaration brought on by a rash of heroin overdoses in the city beginning Thursday.
New Haven police said emergency responders saw at least 15 overdoses since Thursday afternoon, and possibly up to 22.
At least two people have died.
The city is warning residents that there is a batch of tainted, life-threatening heroin on the streets.”
In the suburbs of Long Island, New York, heroin use is an increasing problem.
According to SuburbanHeroin.com, a website devoted to the heroin epidemic on Long Island states, from 2012 to 2013, more than 242 people died from heroin use.
Long Island is home to some of the wealthiest communities in New York State, which goes to show that heroin is affecting all neighborhoods, rich and poor.
The NBC news report said that CDC admitted that heroin has become an epidemic since 2002:
“„The CDC reports that between 2002 and 2014 the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths more than quadrupled and more than 10,500 died nationwide in 2014.- NBC
Now the question is: “Why has heroin use dramatically increased since 2002?”
Maybe the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 after the September 11th attacks under the Bush regime had something to do with it?
The mainstream media (MSM) establishment mouthpiece The Washington Post admitted in 2006 that heroin production in Afghanistan “broke all records” while under U.S. occupation:
“„Opium production in Afghanistan, which provides more than 90 percent of the world’s heroin, broke all records in 2006, reaching a historic high despite ongoing U.S.-sponsored eradication efforts, the Bush administration reported yesterday.- The Washington Post
The Washington Post added:
“„In addition to a 26 percent production increase over the past year - for a total of 5,644 metric tons - the amount of land under cultivation in opium poppies grew by 61 percent.- The Washington Post
It also pointed out:
“„Cultivation in the two main production provinces, Helmand in the southwest and Oruzgan in central Afghanistan, was up by 132 percent.- The Washington Post
Based on a 2014 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Washington claims that Mexico is the source of the heroin that is flooding U.S. streets:
- “with 10,500 hectares under poppy cultivation in 2012”
- while Afghanistan had “224,000 hectares”
However, the numbers tell a different story.
Mexico’s heroin trade is small in comparison although it has been increasing its production capabilities.
However, not only heroin from Afghanistan is the major source for U.S. citizens, the so-called “Big Pharma” - or the “corporate drug dealers,” who sell “legal drugs” - also has a hand in the epidemic because they produce and sell “opioids,” such as Oxycodone (brand name: OxyContin) and Percocet, which is similar to heroin.
Opioid medications are normally used as painkillers for broken bones, lacerations, or post-surgery pain. However, abusing Opioids can also lead to heroin use.
Online news source The Huffington Post published an article titled Ron Paul Had Accurate Conspiracy Theory: CIA Was Tied To Drug Traffickers.
It highlights what the former Libertarian Presidential nominee Dr. Ron Paul said on the involvement of the CIA in the drug trade, which was not a “conspiracy theory” but a fact when taking into consideration the Iran-Contra Scandal.
Dr. Paul said, as quoted by The Huffington Post, described drug trafficking as:
“„A gold mine for people who want to raise money in the underground government in order to finance projects that they can’t get legitimately. It is very clear that the CIA has been very much involved with drug dealings.- Dr. Ron Paul
He continued:
“„The CIA was very much involved in the Iran-Contra scandals. I’m not making up the stories; we saw it on television. They were hauling down weapons and drugs back.- Dr. Ron Paul
He concluded:
“„And the CIA and government officials were closing their eyes, fighting a war that was technically illegal.- Dr. Ron Paul
The Taliban banned the production of opium in 2000.
The war in Afghanistan was mainly about producing opium, which did end up in the streets of:
- Iran
- Russia
- China
According to a Pravda report in 2015 by William Edstrom titled Heroin Dealer in Chief, Afghanistan is the source of 90% of the world’s heroin.
The report stated the impact of Afghanistan’s opium production on neighboring countries:
“Afghanistan, source of 90% of earth’s heroin, ended 90% of earth’s heroin problems when the Taliban outlawed opium in 2000.
The reason for war in Afghanistan was because the Taliban outlawed opium growing, which ended economic wars (opium wars) against Iran, Russia, and China.”
The heroin epidemic is now affecting cities and towns across the U.S.
Edstrom estimates that 165,000 Americans will die from the heroin epidemic in the next 10 years:
“„The war in Afghanistan began as an opium war against Iran, Russia, and China, the tables are turning into an opium war against Americans on track to kill 165,000 Americans (2016-2026).- William Edstrom
He added:
“„Americans, 5% of earth’s population, take 60% of painkillers on earth.- William Edstrom
The death rate could go much higher considering the increasing level of poverty in the U.S., especially in the inner cities, where the highest unemployment rate is among the 18-34 year olds.
Many young adults will unfortunately turn to the drug trade, whether they sell or use it, as hope fades for the lack of jobs or opportunities.
Fox news had a segment with Geraldo Rivera that shows how the U.S. government (in this case, the U.S. Marines) is involved in Afghanistan’s heroin production, with Washington’s approval of course.
The Sought-After Heroin
Heroin is a valuable commodity as long as the War on Drugs remains in effect, that’s why Barack Obama extended the Afghan mission until 2017, for the next U.S. elected president to occupy the White House.
President Donald Trump has given no indication that he intends to bring the troops stationed there home any time soon.
On July 7, 2015, NBC reported on Afghanistan’s opium production and where they stand in terms of world supply:
“„According to the United Nations, the war-torn nation provides 90 percent of the world’s supply of opium poppy, the bright, flowery crop that transforms into one of the most addictive drugs in existence.- NBC
NBC also quoted John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), who did say that:
“„Afghanistan has roughly 500,000 acres, or about 780 square miles, devoted to growing opium poppy. That’s equivalent to more than 400,000 U.S. football fields - including the end zones.- John F. Sopko
That’s a large amount of land devoted to opium production, which provides an opportunity for the CIA to cash in on the illegal drug trade for their secret covert operations (which avoids public scrutiny) and re-establish a drug trade route to target the populations of China, Iran, and Russia.
America’s Heroin Crisis
The heroin crisis then and now is a direct consequence of the Military-Industrial Complex.
During the 1970’s, around the same time during the Vietnam War, heroin made its way to the United States from the Golden Triangle, which became an epidemic.
It was estimated that more than 200,000 people in New York City alone were using heroin.
At one point in time, you were able to find used syringes on public playgrounds.
Now, heroin from Afghanistan has made its way back to the U.S.
Heroin is profitable as much as it is strategic; it is also used as a weapon against Chinese, Iranian, and Russian populations, which has led to:
- addiction
- crime
It also helped spread diseases, such as AIDS.
Heroin is now affecting the United States, the CIA’s very own territory.
Not that the CIA really cares who it affects.
You will know it when you closely examine their history of drug trafficking with the Iran-Contra Scandal or the Golden Triangle during the Vietnam War.
As author and activist William Blum (1933-2018) noted in his book Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower (2000):
“„The CIA flew the drugs all over Southeast Asia, to sites where the opium was processed into heroin, and to trans-shipment points on the route to western customers.- William Henry Blum (1933-2018)
As long as the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan continues under the guise of establishing a democratic government, the flow of heroin will continue unabated.
Final Words
One question we should ask is:
“„Who owns the planes and the ships that transport 90% percent of the world’s heroin from Afghanistan to the rest of the world in the first place?- the public
This is how the “War on Drugs” began.
All under the watchful eye of your benevolent government that has simultaneously been running a judicial racket to incarcerate low-level distributors, which in turn has created the world’s largest for-profit prison population.
So, who’s bringing all the heroin into the U.S?
The Mexicans? The Muslims?
Wake up and smell the poppy plants in Afghanistan, and start piecing together the puzzle of WHY we need troops in a dirt-poor country that happens to be the source of 90% of the world’s heroin production.
The CIA involvement in drug trafficking has been happening for decades now.
Jump to
Early 1950s - Southeast Asia
1950s To Early 1970s - Indochina
1973 To 1980 - Australia
1970s And 1980s - Panama
1980s - Central America
Operations In Costa Rica
Cocaine In American Soil
Reagan Administration - Rebel Support
‘Dark Alliance - The CIA, The Contras, And The Crack Cocaine Explosion’
Mena - The Acronym, The City, The Movie
1980s To Early 1990s - Afghanistan
Mid-1980s To Early 1990s - Haiti
Cocaine And Heroin Epidemic In The U.S.
The Sought-After Heroin
America’s Heroin Crisis
Final Words
Early 1950s - Southeast Asia
1950s To Early 1970s - Indochina
1973 To 1980 - Australia
1970s And 1980s - Panama
1980s - Central America
Operations In Costa Rica
Cocaine In American Soil
Reagan Administration - Rebel Support
‘Dark Alliance - The CIA, The Contras, And The Crack Cocaine Explosion’
Mena - The Acronym, The City, The Movie
1980s To Early 1990s - Afghanistan
Mid-1980s To Early 1990s - Haiti
Cocaine And Heroin Epidemic In The U.S.
The Sought-After Heroin
America’s Heroin Crisis
Final Words
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