It has been alleged that the United States
Central Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government.It is an independent agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior United States policymakers....
(CIA) is involved in
drug smuggling, specifically in at least three significant episodes. Congress has investigated some allegations and found that CIA assets were involved in trafficking cocaine, though the question of whether or not they specifically aided is unlikely to be proved conclusive, due to an unwillingness to cooperate by the CIA. The issue of the CIA being involved with alleged malfeasance and corruption remains controversial.
Vietnam Era
It was widely alleged among various veterans that the
Central Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government.It is an independent agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior United States policymakers....
was involved in smuggling opium produced in Western
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
and Eastern
CambodiaThe Kingdom of Cambodia , formerly known as Kampuchea , is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 14 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh...
to
heroinHeroin, or diacetylmorphine , also known as diamorphine , is a semi-synthetic opioid drug synthesized from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. It is the 3,6-diacetyl ester of morphine...
producers in the United States at considerable profit. In the book
The Politics of Heroin in Southeast AsiaThe Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia is a major, nonfiction book on heroin trafficking—specifically in Southeast Asia from before World War II up to the Vietnam War. Published in 1972, the book was the product of eighteen months of research and at least one trip to Laos by Alfred W...
,
Alfred W. McCoyAlfred W. McCoy is a historian and a Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He earned his B.A. from Columbia College, and his Ph.D in Southeastern Asian history from Yale University.-McCoy's thesis:...
, a professor at the
University of Wisconsin–MadisonThe University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, provides evidence of the use of opium by agents of the U.S. Government to fund covert operations in Vietnam. McCoy discusses the use of opium to fund covert operations done by the CIA in Vietnam and provides prolific testimony from interviews with many of the principals involved. According to Dr. McCoy, the agency intimidated his sources and tried to keep the book from being published.
There is also an article in Peace Magazine containing similar allegations.
Soviet Afghanistan
It was alleged by the Soviets on multiple occasions that American CIA agents were helping smuggle opium out of
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
, either into the West, in order to raise money for the Afghan resistance or into the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
in order to weaken it through drug addiction.
According to historian
Alfred W. McCoyAlfred W. McCoy is a historian and a Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He earned his B.A. from Columbia College, and his Ph.D in Southeastern Asian history from Yale University.-McCoy's thesis:...
, the CIA supported various Afghan drug lords, for instance
Gulbuddin HekmatyarGulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
. In particular, McCoy stated that:
Iran Contra Affair
Released on April 13, 1989, the
Kerry Committee reportThe Kerry Committee report were hearings chaired by Senator John Kerry which found the United States Department of State had paid drug traffickers. Some of these payments were after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges or while traffickers were...
concluded that members of the U.S. State Department "who provided support for the Contras were involved in drug trafficking...and elements of the Contras themselves knowingly received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers."
In 1996
Gary WebbGary Webb was a prize-winning American investigative journalist.Webb was best known for his 1996 "Dark Alliance" series of articles written for the San Jose Mercury News and later published as a book. In the three-part series, Webb investigated Nicaraguans linked to the CIA-backed Contras who had...
wrote a series of articles published in the
San Jose Mercury NewsThe San Jose Mercury News is the major daily newspaper in San Jose, California and Silicon Valley. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group. Its headquarters and printing plant are located in North San Jose next to the Nimitz Freeway ....
, which investigated Nicaraguans linked to the CIA-backed Contras who had allegedly smuggled cocaine into the U.S. which was then distributed as crack cocaine into Los Angeles and funneled profits to the Contras. According to Webb, the CIA was aware of the cocaine transactions and the large shipments of drugs into the U.S. by the Contra personnel and directly aided drug dealers to raise money for the Contras. On December 10 2004, he was found dead from two gunshot wounds to the head. Sacramento County
coronerA coroner or forensics examiner is an official chiefly responsible for investigating deaths, particularly some of those happening under unusual circumstances, and determining the cause of death. Depending on the jurisdiction, the coroner may adjudge the cause himself, or act as the presiding...
Robert Lyons determined that it was
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
.
In 1996 CIA Director
John M. DeutchJohn Mark Deutch is an American chemist and civil servant. He was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1994 to 1995 and Director of Central Intelligence from May 10, 1995 until December 14, 1996...
went to Los Angeles to refute the allegations raised by the
Gary WebbGary Webb was a prize-winning American investigative journalist.Webb was best known for his 1996 "Dark Alliance" series of articles written for the San Jose Mercury News and later published as a book. In the three-part series, Webb investigated Nicaraguans linked to the CIA-backed Contras who had...
articles, and was famously confronted by former
LAPDThe Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With nearly 9,900 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 3.8 million people, it is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United...
officer Michael Ruppert, who testified that he witnessed it occurring.
Venezuelan National Guard Affair
In November 1993, Judge
Robert C. BonnerRobert C. Bonner is an former American prosecutor, former federal judge, former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and former Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection...
, the former head of the
DEAThe Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the U.S...
, appeared on
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life,...
and alleged that the CIA had permitted a ton of cocaine to enter the United States.
The
New York Times reported:
In November 1996 a Miami jury indicted former Venezuelan anti-narcotics chief and CIA asset, General Ramon Guillen Davila, who "led a CIA counter-narcotics program that put a ton of cocaine on U.S. streets in 1990."
See also
- Allegations of state terrorism by United States of America
- CIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the US
- Gary Webb
Gary Webb was a prize-winning American investigative journalist.Webb was best known for his 1996 "Dark Alliance" series of articles written for the San Jose Mercury News and later published as a book. In the three-part series, Webb investigated Nicaraguans linked to the CIA-backed Contras who had...
- United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
The 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is one of three major drug control treaties currently in force. It provides additional legal mechanisms for enforcing the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1971 Convention on...
- War on Drugs
The War on Drugs refers to the controversial prohibition campaign undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade. This initiative includes a set of laws and policies that are intended to...
External links