As with burma, laos and afghanistan before it where the u. Although the game is set in nicaragua and portrays the somoza vs. Gary webb interview on the contras and ronald reagan 1996 duration. Trafficker gives insiders look at nicaragua drug trade. A colombian cartel operativewho established central americas remote and lawless miskito coast as a major cocaine transfer point, building a mini. Nicaragua stands out in war on drugs in central america.
A threepage report from the administration said wednesday that the contra connections to the drug traffickers occurred in 1984 and 1985, when the rebels were particularly hard pressed for. Department of justice to enforce the neutrality act, which prevented the u. The cold war was in full flood in the mideighties, and the then. Excerpts and analysis of senate hearing on possible cia. May 04, 2020 backpacking nicaragua was without a doubt my favorite adventure in central america. Parallels unlike its central american neighbors, nicaragua hasnt waged a. Crack cocaine, contras and the cia december 15, 2018 by 21wire leave a comment in 1996, investigative journalist gary webb discovered links between nicaraguas contra rebels and the cias cocaine drugrunning operation in the 1980s. The us air force recently airlifted nearly 24 tons of cocaine from costa rica to miami, the cocaine capital of the world, in a program described as being. The nicaraguan civil war is more commonly known as the nicaraguan revolution.
Americas crack plague has roots in nicaragua war gary. Honduras is now preparing to acquire three israeli radars to detect aircraft flights carrying cocaine through their territory from south america. Sandinista revolution in nicaragua linkedin slideshare. The involvement of the united states central intelligence agency cia in cocaine trafficking in central america during the reagan administration as part of the contra war in nicaragua has been the subject of several official and journalistic investigations since the mid1980s. From this bank the monies are filtered to the contra rebels to buy arms in the war in nicaragua. The nicaraguan revolution 19811990 in central america became an important front in the cold war proxy struggles in the late 1970s, and was one of several areas in the. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. The monies gained from the sales of cocaine are transported to florida and laundered through orlando murillo, who is a highranking officer of a chain of banks in florida named government securities corporation. The center trains law enforcement officers from all latin american countries affected by the cocaine trade, ivanov noted. Backpacking nicaragua was without a doubt my favorite adventure in central america. Meanwhile, the contras had a neat idea of their own. The cia, and under reagan, us army high officials collaborated and committed conspiracy to sell arms to iran, give arms to the contras and saturate us markets with gigantic quantities of imported cocaine sic.
Nicaragua, like most other central american countries, lies directly on the route of scores of tons of colombian cocaine making its way to north america and europe. Cocaine base is then processed into finished powder cocaine. The contras, cocaine, and covert operations 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. Nicaraguas terrorist connection the heritage foundation. Big medias contracocaine coverup common dreams views. Revolucion nicaraguense or revolucion popular sandinista encompassed the rising opposition to the somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the violent campaign led by the sandinista national liberation front fsln to oust the dictatorship in 197879, the subsequent efforts of the fsln to govern nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, and the contra war, which. S and to the growth of democracy and economic development in latin america and the caribbean. The story of the reagan administrations secret war in nicaragua, the illegal arms pipeline, and the contra drug connection cockburn, leslie on. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s. The contras also contributed to drug dealing in the us and brought a lot of crack cocaine.
Crack cocaine that is consumed in the united states is generally made from cocaine that has been imported into the united states. Nicaraguan civil war sandinista national liberation front. Political kidnappings carried out by progovernment paramilitary groups are going unreported by officials in nicaragua, underscoring yet another way that president daniel ortega is working to mask growing insecurity and clamp down on the. An idealistic fbi agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the u. From beginning to end the armed struggle and the strategy that may have cost the lives of more than 6,000 contra fighters and a total of some 15,000 antisandinista supporters and family. 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 nicaragua s sandinista government during the 1980s. This paper focuses on the impact of drug trafficking on colombian democracy.
The perceived urgency of these concerns are illustrated in a department of defense memo in may of 1961, which warned of an ineffective strategy and insufficient capability to guard against the most likely threatthe threat to internal security. Although the contras camps received increasing attention in the press in 1981 and the nicaraguans spoke openly of their goal of overthrowing the sandinistas, no action was ever taken by the u. Initially the contras were a group of republican guard members from the old somoza regime ousted by the sandinistas after the revolutionary conflict. Russia to arm nicaraguas war on drugs 1 oct, 2012 14.
Nicaragua follows its own path in dealing with drug traffickers. Spanishnat crack cocaine use has become an epidemic in the remote eastern shores of nicaragua. Hutchinson talked about the proposed fiscal year 2003 budget for dea and its role in the war on. At one time the granadinos had nearly got to a charge against the leoneses, and one or two of the latter actually received bayonet thrusts from the former. War in nicaragua, the illegal arms pipeline, and the contra drug connection cockburn. It is true that people on both sides of the equation in the nicaraguan war were drug traffickers, and a couple of them were pretty signficant. Drug trafficking associated with revolution in nicaragua began during the late 1970s with the sandinistas attempt to overthrow the regime of anastasio somoza debayle. Textiles and agriculture combined account for nearly 50% of nicaragua s exports. This study was undertaken by the research and analysis section of the united nations office on drugs and crime. Russia to arm nicaraguas war on drugs rt russia news. Us concedes contras linked to drugs, but denies leadership. While nicaragua seizes impressive amounts of cocaine, most of these seizures are made. After the war, the civil war veteran started using morphine to kill the pain caused by his injuries and became. Interviews fernando arenas drug wars frontline pbs.
These claims have led to investigations by the united states government, including hearings and reports by the united states house of representatives, senate, department of justice, and the cias office of the inspector general. A threepage report from the administration said wednesday that the contra connections to the drug traffickers occurred in 1984 and 1985, when the rebels were. Drug trafficking and democracy in colombia in the 1980s. The monies gained through the sales of cocaine are transported to florida and laundered through orlando murillo who is a highranking officer in a chain of banks in florida. The cocaine that we had there was divided into two parts. Cocaine stock photos download 4,658 royalty free photos. The united states and nicaragua have had a long shared history and collaboration in the war on illegal drugs. Archived document, may contain errors 495 march 14, 1986 nicaragua s terrorist connecilon introduction international terrorists have established a base in central america.
Nicaragua, the poorest country in central america and the second poorest in the western hemisphere, has widespread underemployment and poverty. Gangs in nicaragua and south africa steffen jensen and dennis rodgers i mages of urban gangs as the embodiment of a modernday barbarism are commonplace, particularly in policymaking circles,1 among law enforcement officials,2 as well as large swathes of the general population. Second, we launched the contra war along with an illegal economic war to terminate what oxfam rightly called the threat of a good example. Costa rica will stop sending tons of cocaine to miami for. Pdf drug trafficking is taking a toll on central americas biodiverse forests. Leslie cockburn provides an elaborately documented account of what happened in us sponsoring and arming the contras in nicaragua. Reports link nicaraguan rebels to cocaine trafficking. Oct 18, 2016 latin america chile, cuba grenada operation urgent fury was a 1983 united statesled invasion of grenada, a caribbean island nation with a population of about 91,000 located 100 miles 160 km north of venezuela, that resulted in a u. The story of the reagan administrations secret war in nicaragua. Oct 01, 2012 cooperation with the central american country comes down to the question of weapons, uniforms and police equipment,viktor ivanov, head of the federal drug control service, told reporters following negotiations with nicaraguan police chief aminta granera in moscow.
Managua, sep 15 2012 ips with strict security measures and the deployment of special heavilyarmed troops, nicaragua is waging a successful war in the courts, by sea, and on land against drug traffickers shipping drugs through central america to the united states. Epic backpacking nicaragua 2020 budget travel guide. Nicaraguan civil war sandinista national liberation. The united states established the dea office in managua back in october 1997, and it is considered by many experts to be the most successful one in central america. Americans may have one john styth pemberton to blame for its cocaine addiction. April 4, 2007 nprs series on the drug war began in a tiny miskito indian fishing village, on nicaraguas caribbean coast, that relies on cocaine for its. Nicaragua in the 1990s proved largely circumstantial, as was highlighted dramatically when gang dynamics changed radically between the mid1990s and the early 2000s. Mar 21, 2015 dark alliance was a series written by californiabased reporter webb and published in the san jose mercury news in 1996.
Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. Cocaine from south america to the united states united nations. Webbs reward for reviving that important scandal in 1996 and. Download 4,658 cocaine stock photos for free or amazingly low rates. The most populous city in nicaragua is the capital city, managua, with a population of 1. Sep 25, 2014 carrying the full title dark alliance. The area on a major route for the colombian drug traffickers is isolated and there police are. In it, he claimed the contra rebels in nicaragua were shipping cocaine into. But activists say some tactics used by the police in the fight against internal drug smuggling and. Nicaragua is the central american country par excellence for stealing drug shipments. Nicaragua nabs cocaine lord off miskito coast high times. The war they provoked caused tens of thousands of deaths and devastating damage to nicaragua.
Cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking wikipedia. Granera said nicaragua was grateful for the pledge of specialized equipment from russia, which will strengthen the ability of nicaraguan. Cia turned a deliberate blind eye to contras drug smuggling. One was supposed to be carried by our plane, and the other one was for barry seals plane. Nicaragua origins and effects of the contra war the contra war took place in the central american nation of nicaragua and lasted approximately from 1981 to 1988. There were encompasses these events that made up the revolution. Download file to see previous pages the sandinistas aligned nicaragua with cuba and the soviet bloc, a stark contrast from the former regimes relations with the united states. Nicaragua follows its own path in dealing with drug.
The contra war in nicaragua noam chomskys account of the usbacked contra counterinsurgency in nicaragua against the leftwing government brought to power on the back of a popular mass movement from below. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb. This article is also covered on my radical travel podcast. Oct 26, 2014 on the surface, it seems like the nicaraguan government is doing quite a bit to fight the drug war and that bluefields is a place of perdition. Mondays announcement signals the next chapter in russiannicaraguan drugfighting efforts. Although the war in nicaragua disappeared from the headlines of international newspapers when the u. How not to get robbed in nicaragua where you can hear me tell the story and hear tips from a travel safety expert.
Honduras to shoot down planes suspected of drug trafficking. Download citation street gangs of nicaragua the presence of gangs in nicaragua is not a new or unique phenomenon. With chilled surfing beaches, heady party towns, towering volcanoes and stunning landscapes, backpacking across nicaragua is an experience unlike any other and there really is something for everybody. How the cia watched over the destruction of gary webb. Aug 22, 2017 as us foreign policy expert stokes argues, the latter was quickly overshadowed by the former due to concerns about internal security. But if we were at war, you know, youd see a bit of the real narco from rivas. On the atlantic, local speedboats set out from isolated communities, close to the border with honduras, and intercept entire shipments in order to resell them. I walked down the main road, along the beach in san juan del sur, nicaragua past the closed beachfront restaurants and the small party still going on at iguanas. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was. Much of this cocaine travels overland through at least part of central america, though some may be repackaged for sea or air shipment at any point along the line. Contra conflicts, it does not attempt to simulate those events in minute detail.
Cocaine, contras and the cia november 20, 2014 alan maass recounts the background to a movie about reporter gary webb and the slander campaign against him for exposing the 1980s contracocaine. The story behind the crack explosion, webbs series reported that in addition to waging a proxy war for the u. Reports link nicaraguan rebels to cocaine trafficking ap news. Central america nicaragua the world factbook central. Gary webb was a journalist for the san jose mercury news in 1996 when he wrote a series of articles about the cias role in the cocaine trade during the uss proxy war against nicaragua in the 1980s detailing how the contra terrorists backed by the us were funded in part by drug running. The war began as a series of rebellions against the sandinista government of nicaragua that that overthrown the somoza dictatorship in 1979. The contras vicious terrorist attacks against soft targets under us orders did help, along with the boycott, to end any hope of economic development and social reform. A conservative judge is appointed by the president to spearhead americas escalating war against drugs, only. Cordoba currency nicaraguan democratic block bdn, sandinista renovation movement mrs. A simulation of the guerrilla warfare that has been a way of life in central america for years. Webbs series, the dark alliance, has been the subject of. A reporter for the san jose mercury news proved the connection between the crack epidemic and the contras.
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