CIA, Contras and Drug Traffic

The Contras were the creation of the CIA. They were organized, paid, fed, uniformed, armed and trained to kill and torture. The State Department, Ollie North and the Pentagon were all part of the deal. President Reagan called the Contras “the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers.” The DEA submitted reports to all top-level authorities, including President Bush, who was made aware of Contra drug activity.

Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) committee had testimony confirming drugs were coming up from Ilopongo Airport to various air bases in Florida, Texas and Louisiana. The planes carrying the drugs were designated “Contra Craft,” not to be challenged.

I spent many months filming in Honduras and Nicaragua. Big Pine II was a massive military maneuver held in Honduras on the Nicaraguan border. The Pentagon dispatched tons of expensive military hardware. A quiet directive gave Big Pine troops permission to “lose” weapons and ammunition.

Millions of dollars of U.S. munitions were sold by our CIA-Contras as well as the cocaine shipments. The amount of $50,000 quoted in The Times (Oct. 21) as the small value of the CIA-Contra drug shipments is ludicrous. Even accepting the low figure, it is no less a crime that our government sanctioned, organized or turned a blind eye to importing drugs to Los Angeles.

HASKELL WEXLER

Santa Monica