Cocaine, Contras, and the CIA
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Cocaine, Contras, and the CIA
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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 mid-1980s.
In 1986, the Reagan Administration acknowledged that funds from cocaine smuggling helped fund the Contra rebels, but stated that it was not authorized by the US government or resistance leaders. The Kerry Committee found that Contra drug links included payments to known drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department to carry out humanitarian assistance to Contras. A CIA internal investigation found that agents had worked with drug traffickers to support the Contra program, but found no evidence of conspiracy by CIA or its employees to bring drugs into the United States.
In 1984, U.S. officials began receiving reports of Contra cocaine trafficking. Three officials told journalists that they considered these reports "reliable." Former Panamanian deputy health minister Dr. Hugo Spadafora, had fought with the Contra army, outlined charges of cocaine trafficking to a prominent Panamanian official and was later found murdered. The charges linked the Contra trafficking to Sebastián González Mendiola, who was charged with cocaine trafficking on November 26, 1984, in Costa Rica. On April 17, 1986, the Reagan Administration released a three-page report acknowledging that there were some Contra-cocaine connections in arguing that connections occurred at a time when the rebels were "particularly hard pressed for financial support" because U.S. aid had been cut off.
In 1986, the Reagan Administration acknowledged that funds from cocaine smuggling helped fund the Contra rebels, but stated that it was not authorized by the US government or resistance leaders. The Kerry Committee found that Contra drug links included payments to known drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department to carry out humanitarian assistance to Contras. A CIA internal investigation found that agents had worked with drug traffickers to support the Contra program, but found no evidence of conspiracy by CIA or its employees to bring drugs into the United States.
In 1984, U.S. officials began receiving reports of Contra cocaine trafficking. Three officials told journalists that they considered these reports "reliable." Former Panamanian deputy health minister Dr. Hugo Spadafora, had fought with the Contra army, outlined charges of cocaine trafficking to a prominent Panamanian official and was later found murdered. The charges linked the Contra trafficking to Sebastián González Mendiola, who was charged with cocaine trafficking on November 26, 1984, in Costa Rica. On April 17, 1986, the Reagan Administration released a three-page report acknowledging that there were some Contra-cocaine connections in arguing that connections occurred at a time when the rebels were "particularly hard pressed for financial support" because U.S. aid had been cut off.
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“Cocaine, Contras, and the CIA,” The Contra War, accessed May 5, 2024, https://contrawar.omeka.net/items/show/3.