News that central intelligence agency operatives were tied to the crack cocaine epidemic has prompted calls that the oliver northrun irancontra scandal be reopened to discover. When the story first appeared in 1996 on the website of the san jose mercury news, it became an unprecedented internet sensation, receiving up to 1. Crack in the system tells the story of broken dreams, drug dealers, dirty cops, and government complicitymore compelling than fiction, its the real story behind. Ive not seen one cabletv guest from reagans irancontra scandal during the current crisis, even though what happened then a halfgeneration after watergate, as americas great political divide was starting to harden like wet sidewalk cement probably better explains the looming national crackup over trump. Ciara sarao born in february 6, 1911 in tampico, illinois. 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.
Until last week the iran contra scandal seemed ready to fade from the courts, the news and the mind. First, it provides both an index and catalog to the enormous paper record of the most significant foreign policy scandal of our time. Iran contra trafficker freeway rick ross headed for tv. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was.
Despite stated and repeated denials to congress and to the public, reagan administration officials. Jose bueso rosa reagan administration officials interceded on behalf of jose bueso rosa, a honduran general who was heavily involved with the cias contra operations and faced trial for his role in a massive drug shipment to the united states. Cia involvement in trafficking is usually alleged to be connected to the contra war in nicaragua and the irancontra affair during the reagan. Second, this is the first substantive document collection ever produced of a compartmentalized, highlevel series of u. The scandal involved the united states government selling weapons to iran in exchange for hostages and to fund the nicaraguan contras. Welcome to understanding the irancontra affairs, the only comprehensive website on the famous reaganera government scandal, which stemmed from the u. Cia involvement in trafficking is usually alleged to be connected to the contra war in nicaragua and the iran contra affair during 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. In crucial ways, watergate, the signature scandal of the 1970s, and irancontra, the signature scandal of the 1980s, were opposites. 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 contras have been associated with intrigue since the iran contra affair rocked the reagan administration in late 1986 with the news that weapons were sold to iran to help free hostages from.
Ciacontracrack cocaine controversy department of justice. 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. Iran contra scandal 10 cia drug trafficking 9 clandestine 9 clandestine operation 9. 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. Ross would go on to be californias public enemy number one, and was a major part of the irancontra scandal that rocked the nation with allegations the government was complicit in the. The irancontra affair american experience official.
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. The irancontra affair american experience official site. The irancontra affair was a scandal that happened from august 1985 to march 1987. Mar 21, 2015 the cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb in 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between nicaraguas drugrunning contra rebels and the cia. May 12, 2018 when the iran contra scandal story broke in november 1986, he ordered hall to destroy so many documents that the shredder malfunctioned, and she had to ask white house maintenance to come and fix. 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. Born in buenos aires, argentina, oppenheimer who is syndicated by tribune media services was a member of the miami heralds team that earned a 1987 pulitzer prize for its coverage of the irancontra scandal. John kerry being nominated to secretary of the state brings his ever looming presence within the iran contra scandal full circle. Ronald reagans efforts to eradicate communism spanned the globe, but the insurgent contras cause in nicaragua was. Oct 25, 2004 his contra cocaine witnesses were depicted as simply convicts trying to get lighter prison sentences by embroidering false allegations onto the iran contra scandal. Walsh, did not formally investigate allegations that the contras had been involved in drug trafficking. Hall was detached from the navy to work at the national security council on february 26, 1983, to work for oliver north. Irancontra scandal legal definition of irancontra scandal. The irancontra affair, also known as the irancontra scandal and irangate, may not have happened were it not for the political climate in the early 1980s.
Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. Then the scandal roared back to life with a series of. Along with a leading role in the irancontra scandal in which north helped sell arms to iran to fund the contra war north is also. This sordid tale became part of what was dubbed the iran contra scandal and resulted in hearings held by the us congress that were supposed to get.
North accuses unnamed members of congress of being untrustworthy by leaking the military details of the hijackers. In this episode, chris calton explains how the potent mix of politicans and fake news created the myth of the crack baby. Irancontra also echoes in the reemergence of several prominent public figures who played a part in, or were touched by, the scandal. It happened under president ronald reagans government. Reagans forgotten irancontra escape may reveal more. The iran contra affair was a scandal that happened from august 1985 to march 1987. Irancontra scandal article about irancontra scandal by. While the iran contra affair is obviously a massive chapter in modern us history, the contra cocaine connection has stunning implications for 1980s uscentral america relations. 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. Watergate showed how the constitutional institutions of american democracy the congress, the courts and the press could check a gross abuse of power by the executive.
While the irancontra affair is obviously a massive chapter in modern us history, the contracocaine connection has stunning implications for 1980s uscentral america relations. Walsh, did not formally investigate allegations that the contras had been involved in. Understanding the irancontra affairs brown university. Irancontra affair simple english wikipedia, the free. How john kerry exposed the irancontra scandal and showed the. Understanding the irancontra affairs provides information about the rise of the contra rebels in nicaragua and about the iranian revolution, as well as the u. The first shipment through the second channel is sent to iran. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s. Most popular iran contra affair movies and tv shows imdb. The report noted that contra funding was largely accounted for by contributions from countries other than the united states. The irancontra affair involved a secret foreign policy operation directed by white house officials in the national security council nsc under president ronald reagan. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb telegraph.
During the 1980s, the war on drugs became defined by cocaine and crack. North, oliver oliver north testifying at the irancontra. Webb came late to the irancontra scandal, long after most of the mainstream media had moved on. Iran contra also echoes in the reemergence of several prominent public figures who played a part in, or were touched by, the scandal. Previous investigations concerning allegations of contra drug trafficking.
His contracocaine witnesses were depicted as simply convicts trying to get lighter prison sentences by embroidering false allegations onto the irancontra scandal. 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. News that central intelligence agency operatives were tied to the crack cocaine epidemic has prompted calls that the oliver northrun iran contra scandal be reopened to discover. 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 army. Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia in. 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 of rebels the cia was building in central america. Oliver north worked with cocaine traffickers to arm. In crucial ways, watergate, the signature scandal of the 1970s, and iran contra, the signature scandal of the 1980s, were opposites. Oct, 2003 journalists joe and susan trento will comment. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb. Gates, president bushs nominee to replace donald rumsfeld as secretary of defense see below and. Oct 07, 2014 parry broke the contracocaine scandal while at the associated press in 1985 work that webb later built upon.
Reference to the iran contra scandal 7 1980s 6 clandestine 6 clandestine operation 6. This sordid tale became part of what was dubbed the iran contra scandal and resulted in hearings held by. These plans were apparently aborted when the irancontra scandal broke in. When 1,500 missiles were shipped three hostages were released but those three hostages were soon replaced with three. Iran contra trafficker freeway rick ross headed for tv emmett. These plans were apparently aborted when the irancontra scandal broke in november 1986. Jan 28, 2015 when a nicaraguan soldier downed an american plane carrying arms to contra guerrillas on october 5, 1986, a tightly held u. 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. This electronic briefing book is compiled from declassified documents obtained by the national security archive, including the notebooks kept by nsc aide and iran contra figure oliver north, electronic mail messages written by highranking reagan administration. Jun 24, 2001 until last week the iran contra scandal seemed ready to fade from the courts, the news and the mind. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come.
The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy studies. The conspiracy blog conspiracy theories and alternative. Moreover, the website details the medias discovery and later press coverage of the affairs, and the subsequent televised congressional hearings. The office of independent counsel for iran contra matters oic, headed by lawrence e. In 1996 the agency was accused of being a crack dealer. Until last week the irancontra scandal seemed ready to fade from the courts, the news and the mind.
He has won the inter american press association award twice 1989 and 1994. Ciacontra connection recent central american history. Oct 18, 2017 during the 1980s, the war on drugs became defined by cocaine and crack. When you hear of the irancontra scandal you mostly think of the hostage crisis that happened in tehran, iran which was seen as another case of blowback by many. Key figures in cia crack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. When a nicaraguan soldier downed an american plane carrying arms to contra guerrillas on october 5, 1986, a tightly held u. Irancontra affair conspiracy theories and alternative news. The irancontra collection is unique for many reasons. North, oliver oliver north testifying at the iran contra. Oliver north was a national security council staff member during the irancontra affair and played a key role in the ensuing political scandal. These plans were apparently aborted when the iran contra scandal broke in november 1986.
The office of independent counsel for irancontra matters oic, headed by lawrence e. Most popular iran contra movies and tv shows refine see titles to watch instantly. Allegations of cocaine trafficking by contras also arose during the investigation conducted by independent counsel lawrence walsh into the irancontra affair. Jul 27, 2019 iran contra scandal unravels eugene hasenfus is captured by troops of the sandinista regime in nicaragua after the plane in which he is flying is shot down. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb in 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between nicaraguas drugrunning contra rebels and the cia. Caso irancontra, popularized in iran as the mcfarlane affair, the irancontra scandal, or simply irancontra, was a political scandal in the united states that occurred during the second term of the reagan administration.
The first part of the plan involved the secret sale of weapons to the. Fears that the irancontra scandal could lead to reagans impeachment made it even less likely that the justice department would pursue an investigation into drug ties implicating the contra. How john kerry exposed the irancontra scandal and showed. 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. Halls mother, wilma hall, was secretary to robert mcfarlane, reagans national security advisor, norths superior and a major player in the irancontra. When the irancontra scandal story broke in november 1986, he ordered hall to destroy so many documents that the shredder malfunctioned. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy. The contras have been associated with intrigue since the irancontra affair rocked the reagan administration in late 1986 with the news that weapons were sold to iran to help free hostages from. This eventually led to the full exposure of the operation and the irancontra affair. Congress or violated the stated public policy of the government. According to the stories, the cia and its operatives used crack cocainesold via. When 1,500 missiles were shipped three hostages were released but those.
Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia. The man responsible for uncovering a scandal that cocaine was being brought into the united states as part of a multicontinental black market with the knowledge of the cia and u. She worked for north until she was fired on november 25, 1986, at the height of the scandal. Ciacontracrack cocaine controversy inspector general.
Newsweek columnist jonathan alter listens with horrified fascination as oliver north testifies to the joint housesenate irancontra committee see july 710, 1987 about the 1985 apprehension of the arab terrorists who had hijacked the cruise ship achille lauro. An awardwinning investigative reporter, gary webb 19552004 is best known for his dark alliance series that linked a northern california drug ring with the cia and the united states burgeoning crack epidemic. Dec 18, 2012 the contras, crack and senator inouye. To avoid criticism that the united states was doing business with terrorists should the secret negotiations with iran irancontra, etc. Parry broke the contracocaine scandal while at the associated press in 1985 work that webb later built upon. The irancontra scandal involved a twopart plan by the reagan administration. 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. Along with a leading role in the irancontra scandal in which north helped.
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