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In October 1996, Arlen Specter opened hearings that investigated the claims that the CIA was contributing to drug trafficking to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. Eden Pastora the Sandinista rebel leader turned Contra and eventual politician, claimed that he received payments from Oscar Danilo Blandón, who was a drug dealer in Southern California ...
United States Knowledge of Drug Trafficking and the Contras. An April 1, 1985 memo from Robert Owen (code-name: "T.C." for "The Courier") to Oliver North (code-name: "The Hammer") reveals an in-depth knowledge of the United States about drug trafficking and the activities of the Contra in the Southern Front of Nicaragua.
In 2010 Nicaragua was a transit country for migrants from Africa and East Asia en route to the United States; some may have fallen victim to human trafficking. [2] In 2010, the Government of Nicaragua did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it made significant efforts to do so.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of involvement in the trafficking of illicit drugs.Books and journalistic investigations on the subject that have received general notice include works by the historian Alfred McCoy, professor and diplomat Peter Dale Scott, journalists Gary Webb and Alexander Cockburn, and writer Larry Collins.
Oscar Danilo Blandón Reyes (born July 29, 1951 [1]) is a Nicaraguan born drug trafficker who is best known as one of the main subjects of the 1996 newspaper series "Dark Alliance" by reporter Gary Webb. Blandón was originally a director of agricultural markets in Nicaragua during the government of Anastasio Somoza.
The contras were funded by drug trafficking, of which the United States was aware. [74] Senator John Kerry's 1988 Committee on Foreign Relations report on Contra drug links concluded that "senior U.S. policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras' funding problems". [75]
After the Nicaraguan Revolution, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, led by Daniel Ortega, took the national government of Nicaragua from the Somoza dynasty. In 1980s, the Sandinista government was accused of helping Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel by giving him access to a drug trafficking corridor within Nicaragua.
The report of CIA Inspector General Frederick Hitz and Hitz's testimony showed that the "CIA did not 'expeditiously' cut off relations with alleged drug traffickers" and "the CIA was aware of allegations that 'dozens of people and a number of companies connected in some fashion to the contra program' were involved in drug trafficking" [8] [10 ...