Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading dark alliance. Drug trafficking was a much less convoluted method of skirting the congressional ban on funding the contras, and the cias inspector general found that in the early years after congress cut off contra funding, the cia had alerted congress about the allegations of drug trafficking. How john kerry exposed the contra cocaine scandal derided by the mainstream press and taking on reagan at the height of his popularity, the. Gates, president bushs nominee to replace donald rumsfeld as secretary of defense see below and the documents in this compilation for more on gates role. Why do people say reagan put crack cocaine in the hood. A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yesand the charge. When you hear of the iran contra scandal you mostly think of the hostage crisis that happened in tehran, iran which was seen as another case of blowback by many. Reagan gives cia authority to establish the contras history. How john kerry exposed the irancontra scandal and showed.
When the iran contra scandal story broke in november 1986, he ordered hall to destroy so many documents that the shredder malfunctioned. Oliver north shred documents having to do with the affair, in which senior reagan administration officials facilitated arm sales to iran in order to fund the nicaraguan contras. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack by william blum volume 1, number 11 november 1996. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion audible audiobook. The cia, the contras, and the cocaine explosion kindle edition by webb, gary, waters, maxine. On august 18, 1996, the san jose mercury news published the first installment of a threepart series of articles concerning crack cocaine, the central intelligence agency cia, and the nicaraguan contra. For nearly a decade the cia spread crack cocaine in black neighborhoods to fund their proxi nicaraguan contra army. After the iran contra affair where he agreed to illegally sell weapons to iran and divert funds from the sale to the contras, hoping to secure. In it, he claimed the contra rebels in nicaragua were shipping cocaine into the us. The enterprises efforts culminated in the irancontra affair of 19861987, which facilitated contra funding through the proceeds of arms sales to iran.
An august, 1996, series in the san jose mercury news by reporter gary webb linked the origins of crack cocaine in california to the contras, a guerrilla force backed by the reagan administration that attacked nicaraguas sandinista government during the 1980s. This gave rise to gangs, tore black neighborhoods apart, and contributed to the massive international drug mafia we have today. Webbs series connected the contras drugrunning directly to the growth of crack in the u. Oliver north worked with cocaine traffickers to arm.
The cocaine abuse forum is an excellent place for users and treatment professionals to discuss the use and abuse of addictive substances. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was. In several cases, drug smugglers were hired by contra organizations to move contra. Theres another piece to the portrait, the drug running and the turned, and sometimes supportive head of the cia, dea, and reagan administration to fund the contras, a rightwing. In 1996 the agency was accused of being a crack dealer.
The cia, the contras and crack cocaine albion monitor. Caso iran contra, popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the iran contra scandal, or simply iran contra, was a political scandal in the united states that occurred during the second term of the reagan administration. Titled dark alliance, the series linked drug smuggling by ciatrained contras to the crack epidemic that has ravaged america. Walsh, did not formally investigate allegations that the contras had been involved in drug trafficking. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb. The reagan administration and the cia also collaborated with nicaraguan cocaine traffickers to support the contras led to the crack epidemic of the 1980s. Iran contra also echoes in the reemergence of several prominent public figures who played a part in, or were touched by, the scandal. Along with a leading role in the iran contra scandal in which north helped sell arms to iran to fund the contra war north is also. The key to understanding the crack cocaine epidemic, which exploded on our streets in 1984, lies in understanding the effect of.
On june 8, 1987 hall testified in the iran contra hearings to helping her boss lt. The report noted that contra funding was largely accounted for by contributions from countries other than the united states. These men were involved in a secret and illegal covert military operation, whereby weapons were being sold to an enemy state, iran, and the profits from those sales were going to illegally fund an army. That fbi report, part of the files of former iran contra special prosecutor lawrence walsh, was made public only last year, when it was released by the national archives at the san jose mercury news request. Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia. The office of independent counsel for iran contra matters oic, headed by lawrence e. Along with a leading role in the iran contra scandal in which north helped sell arms to iran to fund the contra war north is also said to have employed air and sea transport companies. Reagan gives cia authority to establish the contras.
The cia, the contras and crack cocaine by dennis bernstein and robert knight the cia planes brought guns, washing machines, gourmet food, and fancy furniture intto colombia and took drugs back to. The grand irony of the iran contra scandal is that reagan won the presidency by marketing himself as tougher on iran than jimmy carter was during the iranian hostage crisis. The contras have been associated with intrigue since the iran contra affair rocked the reagan administration in late 1986 with the news. Cia involvement in trafficking is usually alleged to be connected to the contra war in nicaragua and the iran contra affair during the reagan administration. The war in central america contributed to weakening an already inadequate law enforcement capability which was exploited easily by a variety of mercenaries, pilots and cartel members involved in drug smuggling.
Did the cia play a role in launching the crack cocaine epidemic. It was later discovered that they had another source of funding for the contras. Investigative reporter gary webb linked the cia to americas introduction to crack cocaine. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. George bush, jeb bush, bill, hillary clinton is the mafia. Cia involvement in trafficking is usually alleged to be connected to the contra war in nicaragua and the irancontra affair during the reagan. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack based on a yearlong investigation, reporter gary webb wrote that during the 1980s the cia helped finance its covert war against nicaraguas leftist government through sales of cutrate cocaine to south central l.
The irancontra affair may be only part of a broader and previously undisclosed pattern of illegal activities by intelligence agencies during the tenure of ronald. In 1986 its spokesman acknowledged that funds from sales of cocaine smuggled into the us had helped fund the contra rebels, but said that the smuggling was not authorized by the us. While blandon may have been operating on behalf of the contras early in his career, they charged, he later broke off on his own. Cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking wikipedia. Late journalist gary webb, actor jeremy renner in kill the messenger. Not recommended unless youre really into iran contra. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come. I found it difficult to get through with too many players. Twentythree years ago today, fawn hall became the most famous secretary in america. These actions resulted in what came to be known as the iran contra scandal of 1986. How john kerry exposed the irancontra scandal and showed the cracks in the war on drugs 011420 06.
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