NICARAGUA REBELS LINKED TO DRUG TRAFFICKING
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5
Release Decision:
RIPPUB
Original Classification:
K
Document Page Count:
5
Document Creation Date:
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date:
May 4, 2012
Sequence Number:
50
Case Number:
Publication Date:
December 27, 1985
Content Type:
OPEN SOURCE
File:
Attachment | Size |
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CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5.pdf | 338.31 KB |
Body:
S TAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5
is
WASHINGTON POST
27 December 1985
Nicaragua Rebels Linked to Drug Trafficking
U.S. Investigators Say Contras Help Transport Cocaine in Costa Rica
By Brian Barger and Robert Parry
A.s date, Pre,,s
Nicaraguan rebels operating in northern
Costa Rica have engaged in cocaine traffick-
ing, in part to help finance their war against
Nicaragua's leftist government, according
to U.S. investigators and American volun-
teers who work with the rebels.
The smuggling operations included re-
fueling planes at clandestine airstrips and
helping transport cocaine to other Costa
Rican points for shipment to the United
States, U.S. law enforcement officials and
the volunteers said.
These sources, who refused to he iden-
tified by name, said the smuggling involves
individuals from the largest of the U.S.-
backed counterrevolutionary, or contra,
groups, the Nicaraguan Democratic Force
(FDN) and the Revolutionary Democratic
Alliance (ARDE), as well as a splinter group
known as M3.
An M3 leader, Sebastian Gonzalez Men-
diola, was indicted in Costa Rica for cocaine
trafficking a year ago. No other contra lead-
ers have been charged.
A new national intelligence estimate, a
secret Central me igence Agency-pre-
pared analysis on narcotics trafficking. al-
leges that one of ARDE's top commanders
loyal to ARDE leader Eden Pastora used
cocaine profits this year to buy a $250 000
arms shipment and a helicopter, according
to a , government official in Washington.
Bosco. Matamoros, the FDN spokesman
here, and Levy Sanchez, a Miami-based
spokesman for Pastora, denied that their
groups participated in drug smuggling.
[Matamoros said the charges were a
"dirty and repulsive insinuation against our
movement that impugns our integrity and
our morality."]
Cornelius J. Dougherty, spokesman for
the Drug Enforcement Administration, said
the DEA is aware that drug traffickers use
airstrips in northern Costa Rica to transship
cocaine, but has not examined the political
affiliations of those involved. Dougherty
said the DEA focuses its Latin American
enforcement efforts on the cocaine-produc-
ing nations of South America, rather than
on countries, such as Costa Rica, that are
used in shipping the drugs to the United
States.
Earlier this year, President Reagan ac-
cused the leftist government of Nicaragua
of "exporting drugs to poison our youth"
after a Nicaraguan government employe,
Federico Vaughan, was indicted by a federal
grand jury in Miami.
But Dougherty said DEA investigators
are not sure whether Sandinista leaders
were involved.
Rep. Samuel Gejdenson (D-Conn.), a
member of the House Foreign Affairs Com-
mittee, called on the administration last
week to investigate the allegations "with
the same vigor that they would devote to
charges of left-wing drug trafficking.
"After all, the victims of narcotics smug-
gling are not able to differentiate between
left-wing and right-wing cocaine," he said.
State Department deputy spokesman
Charles E. Redman said the United States
"actively opposes drug trafficking" and that
the DEA is not conducting any investigation
of the charges.
"We are not aware of any evidence to
support those charges," Redman added.
The U.S.-backed rebels, fighting to over-
throw the Nicaraguan government, operate
from base camps in Honduras to Nicara-
gua's north and from Costa Rica, to its
south.
Contra leaders claim a combined force of
20,000 men, although some U.S. officials
say the actual number is much lower. The
Costa Rica-based rebel groups are smaller
and more poorly financed than those in
Honduras.
Associated Press reporters inte iviewed
officials from the DEA, the Custon is Ser-
vice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and
Costa Rica's Public Security Ministry, as
well as rebels and Americans who work
with them. The sources, inside government
and out, spoke on condition that they not be
identified by name.
Five American rebel supporters said they
were willing to talk about the drug smug-
gling because they feared the trafficking
would discredit the war effort.
The five-including four who trained
rebels in Costa Rican base camps-said
they discovered the contra smuggling in-
volvement early this year, after Cuban
" ... The victims of
narcotics smuggling are
not able to differentiate
between left-wing and
right-wing cocaine."
Americans were recruited to help the Hon-
duran-based FDN open a Costa Rican front.
. These American rebel backers said two
Cuban Americans used armed rebel troops
to guard cocaine at clandestine airfields in
northern Costa Rica.
They identified the Cuban Americans as
members of the 2506 Brigade, an anti-Cas-
tro group that participated in the 1961 Bay
of Pigs attack on Cuba. Several also said
they supplied information about the smug-
gling to U.S. investigators.
One American rebel backer with close
ties to the Cuban-American smugglers said
that in one ongoing operation the cocaine is
unloaded from planes at rebel airstrips and
taken to an Atlantic Coast port where it is
concealed on shrimp boats that are later
unloaded in the Miami area.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5
Three U.S. officials who monitor drug
traffic from Colombia through Central
America to the United States said they be-
gan receiving reports about contra involve-
ment in cocaine shipments in 1984, about
the time Congress cut off CIA funding to
the rebels. Each official said he considered
the reports "reliable."
Earlier this year, a Nicaraguan rebel
leader in Costa Rica told U.S. authorities
that his group was being paid $50,000 by
Colombian traffickers for help with a 100-
kilo cocaine shipment and that the money
would go "for the cause",of fighting the Ni-
caraguan government, one U.S. law en-
forcement official said.
The plan called for the rebels to guard a
clandestine airstrip where a cocaine-laden
plane from Colombia would land. The rebels
would then take the drugs "to a stash house
in San Jose," where they were to guard it
for three days until it was picked up, the
investigator said.
The rebel leader asked for $50,000 from
the U.S. Embassy in exchange for turning in
the Colombian smugglers. The deal was
rejected, the investigator said, adding that
the smuggling arrangement was later com-
pleted without arrests.
M3 leader Gonzalez, known as
"Guachan," was charged with cocaine traf-
ficking on Nov. 26, 1984, by Costa Rican
authorities in the northern town of Liberia.
The indictment describes Gonzalez as "el
maximo dirigente"-or top leader-of M3,
part of the ARDE political coalition. Instead
of facing the charge, Gonzalez fled to Pan-
ama.
A U.S. investigator said Dr. Hugo
Spadafora, a former Panamanian deputy
health minister who fought with the Ni-
caraguan rebels, met secretly with a senior
American law enforcement official in early
September and outlined allegations linking
contra drug trafficking and Gonzalez to a
prominent Panamanian official.
After announcing plans to publicize those
charges, Spadafora was seized on Sept. 13
by Panamanian soldiers as he crossed the
border by bus from Costa Rica, according to
eyewitnesses.
Spadafora's headless body was found in-
side Costa Rica in a mail bag a day later.
al.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5
5 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5
REPORTS LINK NICARAGUAN-REBELS TO COCAINE TRAFFICING
BY BRIAN BARGER & ROBERT PARRY
WASHINGTON
Nicaraguan rebels operating in northern Costa Rica have engaged in cocaine
trafficking, in part to help finance their war against Nicaragua's leftist
government, according to U.S. investigators and American volunteers who work
with the rebels.
The smuggling operations included refueling planes at clandestine airstrips
and helping transport cocaine to other Costa Rican points for shipment to the
United States, said U.S. law enforcement officials and the volunteers.
These sources, who refused to be identified by name, said the smuggling
involves individuals from the largest of the U.S.-backed Contra groups _ the
Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN) and the Revolutionary Democratic Alliance
(ARDE) - as well as a splinter group known as M-3.
A leader of M-3, Sebastian Gonzalez Mendiola, was indicted in Costa Rica for
cocaine trafficking a year ago. No other Contra leaders have been charged.
A new National Intelligence Estimate, a secret CIA -prepared analysis on
narcotics trafficking, alleges that one of AKUL'S commanders loyal to ARDE
leader Eden Pastora used cocaine profits this year to.buy a $250,000 arms
s)iipment and a helicopter, according to a U.S. government official in
Washington.
FUN spokesman Bosco Matamoros and Levy Sanchez, a Miami-based spokesman for
Pastora, denied that their groups participated in drug smuggling.
Cornelius J. Dougherty, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration,
said DEA headquarters in Washington is aware that drug traffickers use airstrips
in northern Costa Rica to transship cocaine, but has not examined the political
affiliations of those involved.
Dougherty said the DEA focuses its Latin American enforcement efforts on the
cocaine-producing nations of South America, rather than on countries, such as
Costa Rica, that are used in shipping the drugs to the United States.
Earlier this year, President Reagan accused the leftist government of
Nicaragua of "exporting drugs to poison our youth" after a Nicaraguan government
employee, Federico Vaughan, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami. But
Dougherty said DEA investigators are still not sure if Sandinista leaders were
involved.
Rep. Sam Gejdenson, D-Conn.,.a House Foreign Affairs Committee member, called
on the administration Friday to investigate the Contra allegations "with the
same vigor that they would devote to charges of left-wing drug trafficking.
"After all, the victims of narcotics smuggling are not able to differentiate
between left-wing and right-wing cocaine," the congressman said.
Responding to the AP report, State Department deputy spokesman Charles Redman
said the United States "actively opposes drug trafficking" and that the DEA is
not conducting any investigation of the charges.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5 ,~ .
"We are not aware of any evidence to support those charges," Redman added.
The U.S.-backed rebels, fighting to overthrow the Nicaraguan government,
operate from basecamps in Honduras to Nicaragua's north and from Costa Rica, to
its south. Contra leaders claim a combined force of 20,000 men, although some
U.S. officials say the real number is much lower. The Costa Rica-based rebel
groups are smaller and more poorly financed than those in Honduras.
Associated Press reporters interviewed officials from the DEA, Customs
Service, FBI and Costa Rica's Public Security Ministry, as well as rebels and
Americans who work with them. The sources., both inside government and out, spoke
only on condition that they not be identified by name.
Five American rebel supporters said they were willing to talk about the drug
-smuggling because they feared the trafficking would ultimately discredit the war
effort.
The five - including four who trained rebels in Costa Rican base camps - said
they discovered the Contra smuggling involvement early this year, after
-Cuban-Americans were recruited to help the Honduran-based FDN open a Costa Rican
front.
These American rebel backers said two Cuban-Americans used armed rebel troops
to guard cocaine at clandestine airfields in northern Costa Rica. They
identified the Cuban-Americans as members of the 2506 Brigade, an anti-Castro
group that participated in the 1961 .Bay of Pigs attack on Cuba. Several also
said they supplied information about the smuggling to U.S. investigators.
One American rebel backer with close ties to the Cuban-American smugglers
said that in one ongoing operation, the cocaine is unloaded from planes at rebel
airstrips and taken to an Atlantic coast port where it is concealed on shrimp
boats that are later unloaded in the Miami area.
Three U.S. officials who monitor drug traffic from Colombia through Central
America to the United States said they began receiving reports about Contra
involvement in cocaine shipments in 1984, about the time Congress cut off CIA
funding to the rebels. Each official said he considered the reports "reliable."
Earlier this year, a Nicaraguan rebel leader in. Costa Rica told U.S.
authorities that his group was being paid $50,000 by Colombian traffickers for
help with a 100-kilo cocaine shipment and that'the money would go "for the
cause" of fighting the Nicaraguan government, one U.S. law enforcement official
said.
The plan called for the rebels to guard a clandestine. airstrip where a
cocaine-laden plane from Colombia would land. The rebels would then take the
drugs "to a stash house in. San Jose," where they were to guard it for three days
until it was picked up, said the investigator.
The rebel leader asked for $50,000 from the U.S. Embassy in exchange for
turning in the Colombian smugglers. The deal was rejected, said the
investigator, who added that the smuggling arrangement was later completed
without any arrests.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5
t .~
Dec-lassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5
~ 3.
M-3 leader Gonzalez, known as Guachan,. was charged with cocaine trafficking
on Nov. 26, 1984, by Costa Rican authorities in the northern town of Liberia.
The indictment describes Gonzalez as "el maximo dirigente" or top leader - of
M-3, part of the. ARDE political coalition. Instead of facing the charge,
,Gonzalez fled to Panama.
A U.S. investigator said Dr. Hugo Spadafora, a former Panamanian deputy
health minister who fought with the Nicaraguan rebels, met secretly with a
senior American law enforcement official in early September and outlined
allegations linking Contra drug trafficking and Gonzalez to a prominent
Panamanian official.
After announcing plans to publicize those charges, Spadafora was seized on
Sept. 13 by Panamanian soldiers as he crossed the border by bus from Costa Rica,
according to eyewitnesses. Spadafora's headless body was found a day later,
dumped inside. Costa Rica in a mail bag.
EDITOR'S NOTE - Robert Parry won the Polk Award and two other awards last
year for his coverage of U.S. activities in Central America. Brian Barger
covered Latin America as a free-lance reporter for nine years before joining The
Associated Press in 1985.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605040050-5