Drugging America
A Trojan Horse
By Rodney Stich
2
CIA’s Arkansas Drug Activities
For years, a selected number of newspapers and magazines carried stories
of the CIA arms and drug trafficking at the Mena Airport in Arkansas.
Prosecution had been repeatedly blocked by Arkansas and federal officials. A May 21, 1992, Arkansas Times article carried a front page story of the
drug trafficking, including three pictures of CIA contract agent and drug pilot
Barry Seal, drug trafficker Jorge Luis Ochoa, and George Bush. Below their
picture was the title, “BAD COMPANY.” A subheading read, “Arkansas’s most
notorious drug smuggler testified about his links to Colombia. His ties to Washington have yet to be explained.” The article brought together the CIA’s Mena
operations, the drug smuggling, the shooting down of a CIA C-123 over Nicaragua, Lt. Col. Oliver North‘s arms shipments to Central America, and drug
shipments back to the United States.
Drug Cover-Ups by Governor Bill Clinton
The criminal activities surrounding the CIA arms and drug trafficking at
Mena Airport were well known to local residents, the local police, the Arkansas
State Police, and the media. The local Arkansas Gazette published numerous
investigative articles describing the criminal activities and the cover-up by the
State Attorney General and Governor Bill Clinton.
Charles Black, assistant deputy prosecutor for Polk County, told Governor
Clinton in 1988 about the drug trafficking, and asked that Clinton provide a
million dollars to coordinate the evidence and prosecute. Clinton said he would
get back to Black, and then never did. In 1991, the Arkansas Citizens Committee demonstrated in Little Rock, complaining about Clinton’s refusal to investigate and prosecute the complaints concerning massive drug trafficking in Arkansas.
During a White House press conference, senior White House correspondent
Sarah McClendon asked President Clinton about his knowledge of the drug
trafficking at Mena Airport. Clinton replied that this was a federal problem. Responsibilities under law for these criminal activities involve state as well as
federal authorities. As governor of Arkansas, Clinton had a legal responsibility
to have the charges investigated. Instead, he obstructed justice by keeping Arkansas law enforcement personnel from meeting its investigative responsibilities.
Testimony Showing CIA Drug Trafficking and Joint
Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering with Organized Crime
Much testimony has been given by hundreds of insiders to congressional
committees over the years depicting the involvement of U.S. government personnel in drug trafficking, drug-money laundering, and joint operations with
organized crime. An example of this is found in several congressional transcripts marked Confidential, consisting of depositions taken in June 1991. One
of the witnesses was a long-time CIA operative, Richard Brenneke, who testified in closed-door hearings conducted by members of the United States Congress and the Arkansas State Attorney General’s office.24 Brenneke’s testimony
described the CIA drug trafficking, CIA ties to organized crime, and CIA
money laundering. The transcript stated that the testimony would be made
available to the Special Prosecutor (Lawrence Walsh ) in the Iran-Contra case,
and for other purposes.
24 Investigators conducting the questioning included Congressman William Alexander ; Winston Bryant, Attorney General, State of Arkansas; Chad Farris, Chief Attorney General, State of Arkansas; Lawrence Graves, attorney in the office of Attorney General, State of Arkansas.
Joint Money Laundering for CIA and Mafia
In the transcript of that testimony, Brenneke described his activities on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, about his expertise in handling financial transfers worldwide, including money transfers for the Central Intelligence
Agency, commencing in 1968 and continuing until 1985. Brenneke testified to
“handling money for them and handling East Bloc weapons purchases primarily made in Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.” He described flying as pilot
for the CIA, including C-130 aircraft from Mena, Arkansas, to various airports
in Panama, including Tucuman Airport at Panama City, and into Colon. Brenneke produced pilot logbooks showing the flights that he made for the CIA into
Mena and other locations.
Brenneke testified that the weapon shipments were met by “members of the
Panamanian Defense Forces” and “by Michael Harari.” He identified Harari in
congressional testimony as a Mossad agent and “Manuel Noriega‘s partner in a
number of business deals in Panama. I know that first hand because I had to
deal with him.”
He described carrying weapons and military personnel trained in Arkansas
from Mena to Panama. He testified that the weapons frequently came either
from government stores or through the Tamiami Gun Shop in Miami, Florida,
and that his co-pilot on many of these flights was another CIA operative, Harry
Rupp.
Brenneke described drug-trafficking flights from Medellin to Mena and to
Iron Mountain Ranch in Texas. He identified Rich Mountain Aviation at Mena
Airport (Inter-Mountain Regional Airport) and Fred Hampton as owning and
operating the CIA-front operation.
CIA Cocaine Trafficking With Panamanians
When asked by congressional investigators about the nature of the cargo
flown back to the United States, including into Mena, Brenneke testified, “I
found the cargo to be cocaine; in some cases marijuana.” He testified that on each return flight he carried 400 to 500 pounds of cocaine, which was loaded
by Panamanian Defense Force soldiers onto the CIA aircraft.
Sale of Drugs by CIA to
Gotti‘s Organized Crime Family
When asked about the disposition of the drugs, Brenneke testified that upon
landing at Mena Airport the drugs would be either off-loaded onto other aircraft, or stored in Rich Mountain Aviation’s hangar. Brenneke testified that in
some instances the drugs were received by Freddie Hampton of Rich Mountain
Aviation, and in some cases “members of John Gotti’ s family in New York.
One of them was an individual known to me by the name of Salvatore Reale. ”
Brenneke testified:
Reale was Director of Security for Kennedy International Airport in New
York City... Mr. Reale was one of Mr. Gotti’ s lieutenants. I watched the two
of them interact. Mr. Gotti would provide directions; Mr. Reale would carry
them out. It was his job to make sure that cargo being shipped through
Kennedy was not lost, but properly located, and in some cases avoiding
Customs.
This testimony linking organized crime with the CIA in drug trafficking caused
the Congressional investigators to ask, “Are you saying that you saw Mr. John
Gotti, the famous head of the organized crime syndicate, in New York, together
with Mr. Reale?” Brenneke replied, “Yes, sir, I did.”
CIA Laundering Mafia‘s Drug
Money to Overseas Accounts
In response to another question as to whether Mr. Gotti and Mr. Reale were
connected with the Central Intelligence Agency, Brenneke replied:
Yes. As far back as 1968 and early 1969, we [CIA] had begun to launder
money from organized crime families in New York. At that time, Mr. Gotti
was an up and coming member of one of the families. I got to know them at
that time. We used to wash their money overseas and put it in Switzerland
in nice, safe places for them.
“So you worked for Mr. Gotti as well as for the CIA?”
Actually the CIA told me to do that on his behalf.
“So the CIA was in partnership or association with Mr. Gotti ?”
Yes, sir, I would say a partnership.
“Can you describe the nature of the partnership?”
Sure. The organized crime members had a need for two things: they needed
drugs brought into the country on a reliable, safe basis; and they needed
people taken out of the country or people brought into the country without
alerting Customs or INS to the fact that they were being brought into the
country. They also needed their money taken offshore so that it would not
be subject to United States tax where they might have to declare its source.
And so we [CIA] performed these kinds of functions for them.
CIA in Business of Drugging
America for Decades
“Mr. Brenneke, are you saying that the CIA was in the business of bringing
drugs into the United States?”
Yes sir. That’s exactly what I’m saying.
“And that they were in partnership with John Gotti in this operation?”
I would say that they worked with Mr. Gotti and his organization very
closely. Whether it was a formal partnership, I don’t know. But there certainly was a close alliance between the two.
Brenneke testified that the Gotti people told him the drugs would be taken to
“the New York City area, specifically Kennedy International Airport.” He testified that the CIA handler he was working for was Robert Kerritt, and that Kerritt paid the various CIA assets in the Mena area. Brenneke continued:
Mr. Kerritt is a full-time employee of the Central Intelligence Agency...I
and the CIA have dealt with the Gotti mob since 1968.
Organized Crime Family Paying
CIA $50 Million for Drugs
“Did the Gotti organization, through Reale, pay money to the CIA for the
drugs?”
Yes, they did, somewhere in the $50,000,000 bracket.
“How do you know how much money?”
Because I banked that money for them in Panama City, and ultimately
transferred it to other locations in Europe.
“What would be the procedure for you to receive the payment from the Gotti
organization for the drugs?”
Generally the money was given to us in cash.
“Us, you mean the CIA?”
Us, meaning the people I worked with, who were also associated with the
Central Intelligence Agency. We would transfer the money to banks in Central and South America. And from there transfer it via accounts that I had
established back in 1970.
Describing In Detail CIA-Organized
Crime Drug Money Laundering
Brenneke was asked: “Let’s take a payment from Mr. Reale in cash, and
follow the procedure step-by-step as you know it for the transmittal of that
money from the Gotti organization to the Central Intelligence Agency.”
Okay. That money was delivered to us in cash. There were occasions where
there were wire transfers, but the generally followed method was cash.
That would be stored in the aircraft on its return trip to Panama. Once it
reached Panama, we would put it into a bank account, which at that time
was in the Banquo de Panama. And the account name was the initials,
IFMA, which was a company that I set up in Panama City in 1970. The
money would be subsequently and almost immediately transferred to Spain
or Liechtenstein. From there it went to Monte Carlo, and the ultimate destination was Zurich or Geneva. But in any case, Switzerland.
“The money was given to you by the agent for the Gotti Organization?”
Yes sir. And there were other people besides the man that I’ve named.
Providing Detailed Records
Brenneke supplied the investigators with telephone records of that and
other calls, providing further credibility to his statements. He identified the
names of the CIA accounts that he had set up, offering the incorporation papers
that were filed “in the late sixties and early seventies.” Brenneke testified that
he personally transferred money out of one account and into others. He testified
that he discussed the money transfers with CIA employees Robert Kerritt and
Robert Ellis.
Returning to questions about how the drug money from the Gotti crime
family went into the CIA accounts, Brenneke explained:
I set up, in 1969 or 1970, a number of corporations in Panama City. Those
corporations in turn opened bank accounts. Those bank accounts were accounts that I would normally use in the course of my business with the CIA
to transfer money into the accounts, and from there to transfer them into
specific accounts in Spain or, as I say, in some cases other countries in
Europe. The ultimate destination was Switzerland, where those funds were.
I knew where they went, because I’m the person who went in and gave the
order to the banker to move them.
Secret CIA Bank Accounts Overseas
“And you had an arrangement with the CIA to organize those banks for the
CIA, to open the account?”
That's what I specialized in doing. I laundered money there. When I was
first recruited by the CIA, which was in 1968, 1969, all we were doing was
selling mutual fund stock offshore.
“Name the banks in which accounts were opened for the CIA.”
Panama City, Banquo DeMexico. At one point we were using a Citibank
correspondent down there whose name escapes me. We had a man on-site
who worked for us, as well as worked for Ron Martin, a man named
Johnny Mollina. John would spend a lot of his time in Panama City and
worked in one of the banks that we used. I set up more than one account in
Madrid that was used. I set up an account in Brussels at Bank Lambert that
was regularly used. I set up accounts at Credit Suisse, a Swiss bank. And
Bank of Credit & Commerce, commonly referred to as BCCI. Also, a bank
that no longer exists called Bank Hoffman. I set up a bank in Panama City
on behalf of the mutual fund company I worked for so that I could ultimately control how the transfers were handled.
“And you organized a bank in Panama for the CIA?”
I organized it for the company I worked for. It was subsequently used by
the CIA, and it was used by members of the organized crime families. The
bank was called U.S. Investment Bank. It really existed in Panama City.
You could actually go in and open a check account there.
Crime Family Money
Laundered by CIA Operative
“And the money that you got from the Gotti organization that you put on
the airplane in Arkansas and returned to Panama on the next trip, you personally took to a bank in Panama City?”
Yes, I did. Let’s take Banquo DePanama, the Panamanian National Bank
down there, as an example. I would go in and meet with, for instance,
Johnny Mollina. John worked for one of the banks down there. I think it
was Citibank that he worked for at one time. In any case, I would go in. I
knew the bank officers by name. And I would provide them with directions
as to how the money was to be transferred and where to transfer. That is, it
was to be transferred by cashier’s check and courier to Madrid in a specific account there, or it was just wire transferred to Madrid as a transfer
of funds from IFMA, a Panamanian corporation, to IFMA’s affiliates in
Madrid or Brussels at Bank Lambert. They needed to know that. And then I
would have to tell them at the other bank that money was coming into that
account.
“So you would notify the CIA bank, or the bank having the CIA account in
Spain or in Switzerland?”
Yes, that the deposit had been made in Panama.
“How would you notify them?”
Generally by telephone. And they would be told that...there were a variety
of codes that were used, but the message was very simple. You’re going to
receive money in this account. The money will probably stay in the account
anywhere from 24 to 72 hours, at which time it will be transferred out of
that account.
Bearer Bonds to Launder Drug Money
“Did you ever utilize bearer bonds for the purpose of laundering money?”
Sure. It was handled in two ways. When U.S. Investment Bank was active in
Panama it would issue bonds, no names on them, which was common. It’s
common in Europe. It’s common in Central and South America. And those
bonds actually belong to the individual that is carrying them, as, for instance, the stock in IFMA belongs only to the person who happens to have
it in his hand at that moment. You lose it, you lose your money.
“And what would you do with the bearer bonds?”
The bearer bonds would be taken generally by courier, in some cases to
Banquo DeMexico in Mexico City and transferred from there or sent from
there by their couriers. By 1986, it was getting uncomfortable in Panama,
and so some of the Venezuelan banks in Caracas were used. The same procedure was followed, though. The money would be deposited into an account; you would walk into the bank, for example, and sit down with the
Vice President or Managing Director of the bank. You were clearly a large
depositor and a large customer of that bank. And you just simply explained
that you wanted to deposit the money in this bag, and he would just kindly
go ahead and do so for you.
Drug Trafficking Controlled from Washington
“Mr. Brenneke, under whose direction were you working in order to carry out
the function of depositing the money from the sale of the drugs to the New
York crime family?”
“Bob Kerritt, an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington,
D.C.”
Protesting the CIA Drug Involvement
Brenneke described his adverse reaction to discovering the CIA involvement in drug smuggling into the United States and the CIA’s involvement with
drug money laundering. In answer to a question, Brenneke testified:
When I found that we were bringing drugs into the United States, and that
we were receiving money which was being put into accounts which I knew
to belong to the United States government, as I’d set them up specifically
for that purpose, I called Mr. Don Gregg, who was a CIA officer with
whom I was acquainted, and complained about the nature of what we were
doing.
Office of Vice President and President,
and CIA,
In Drug Trafficking
and Drug-Money Laundering
Donald Gregg worked closely with George Bush when Bush was director of the CIA, and became his national security advisor when Bush was vice
president of the United States. Bush later nominated Gregg to be Ambassador
to South Korea. When asked about Gregg’s response to Brenneke‘s concern
about the drug trafficking, Brenneke testified:
I was told that it was not my business what I was flying in and out of the
country. That I was hired to do specific things, and if I would do those
things and not pay any attention to anything else, we would all be very,
very happy. I didn’t like that. He said shut up and do your job. I subsequently talked to Mr. Gregg on a number of occasions as well as to other
people in the vice-president’s office to voice my concern over the use of
drugs, importing drugs into the United States.
CIA Role in Looting Banks
Brenneke testified about the criminal charges made against Heinrich Rupp
concerning looting the Aurora Bank in the Denver area, saying “that was common in our line of work with the CIA.”
When asked if Brenneke ever complained to CIA director William Casey
about these activities, Brenneke replied:
Yes, I did on a number of occasions. And Mr. Casey‘s telephone logs would
reflect phone calls to me, made to me in Lake Oswego, which was at that
time the location of my office.
Testifying About Israel‘s
Role in Drugging America
Brenneke testified about Israel’s involvement in the drug smuggling operations, and that he had gone to Israel “because I tried everybody in the U.S.
Government first, and they sure as hell weren’t going to help” shut down the
operations.
“Do you have any knowledge of the money coming from the Gotti organization being used for any other purposes, other than depositing in the bank accounts for the CIA?”
Sure. We had to run the operations at Nella, for instance. The training facilities at Nella had to be paid for. Nella was a training base for military
and paramilitary folks from south of the border; Mexico, Panama.25 The
base was operated by the Central Intelligence Agency.
25 Nella consisted of a small airstrip north of Mena that was used by the CIA for paramilitary and military training of personnel from Mexico and Central America, and used for training Contra pilots.
Brenneke identified CIA agent Terry Reed as one of the flight instructors at
Nella. Reed co-authored the book Compromised with John Cummings, describing the drug trafficking and money laundering in Arkansas and Mexico, and involving Arkansas personnel, including Governor Bill Clinton and some of his
staff.
Moving CIA and Organized Crime
Drug
Money Back into the United States
“Did you establish an account in the United States to get that money back into
this country?”
Yes, I did. I established an account at Brown Brothers Harriman in New
York City around 1980. That’s a bank in New York City.
“How do you know that the money you picked up and that you received in Mena from the Gotti organization, and took to Panama, wired to bank accounts
in Europe, came back to the United States?”
I ordered the transfer of funds.
“And to whom did you report these actions?”
I reported them to Don Gregg, Bob Kerritt, Bob Ellis and from time-to-time
other people. I not only have notes, I have letters that I wrote to some of
these people. Copies of these letters were submitted to congressional
investigators.
Arkansas Attorney General’s
Attempt to Discredit Evidence
Chad Farris, Chief Deputy attorney General for the State of Arkansas, tried
to discredit Brenneke :
Why would you care about the use of drugs as part of this CIA plan? If you were so concerned about the use of drugs in the operation because of the reasons you’ve described, why did you continue to take part in the operation; what do you hope to achieve by testifying here today; what’s the purpose of your testimony, to you personally?
These were rather stupid questions. Brenneke had repeatedly objected to the
CIA drug trafficking and working with organized crime. Quitting an undercover
operation of this nature gets people killed! Brenneke was testifying because he
was asked to testify, something that other members of Congress had avoided
doing earlier.
Bank Records and Documentation
Corroborating His Testimony
Brenneke clearly testified, without hesitation, times, dates, places, and either telephone logs or notes that he made of conversations with his CIA handlers in Washington. Brenneke testified to, and provided the Congressional investigators with writings that he sent to his CIA bosses in Washington complaining about the CIA role in drug trafficking and drug-money laundering and
its operation with major crime families in the United States. He provided the
investigators with copies of bank records, corporation papers, and detailed testimony, wherein there could be little doubt that his testimony was true.
No Perjury Charges Filed
Against Brenneke by DOJ
No perjury charges were ever filed against Brenneke for this testimony
about the CIA drug crimes. If his testimony was perjured, Justice Department
prosecutors would have immediately filed criminal perjury charges against
him, as they did once before when DOJ employees tried to cover up for George
Bush’ s involvement in the scheme known as October Surprise. It would have
also been a responsibility for congressional questioners to charge him with perjury if they felt his testimony was not true.
DOJ’s Prior Sham Perjury Charges
to Discredit October Surprise
Brenneke testified about the Justice Department’s sham perjury charges
against him for testifying in a 1988 federal court trial in Denver concerning
CIA operative Heinrich Rupp. Brenneke testified that he saw George Bush and
Donald Gregg in Paris during the period of October 18, 19, and 20, 1980,
which was a key point in the “October Surprise ” operation (which is detailed
in Defrauding America).
Brenneke stated that in the Denver proceedings Justice Department attorneys offered him a plea agreement; plead guilty to perjury charges concerning his testimony about seeing Bush and Gregg in Paris and he would not receive
any prison time or fine. Brenneke refused to commit perjury for DOJ personnel
and refused to cover up for Bush’s role in October Surprise. Brenneke went to
trial and fortunately for him, the jury was smart enough to recognize the sham
charges by the DOJ prosecutor. The jury found Brenneke not guilty.
Brenneke was involved in many other CIA activities. Tape recordings made
of telephone conversations between Brenneke and Russbacher, in my possession, described their role in other CIA operations, including Operation Gladio,
which sought to destabilize the Italian government in the 1950s.
Brenneke had given a speech at the University of Arkansas in 1991, which
was videotaped, further describing the involvement of government personnel in
drug smuggling into the United States.
Testimony by IRS Investigator Bill Duncan
William Duncan was an investigator for the Internal Revenue Service and
spent several years investigating drug-related activities in Arkansas and the role
played in these activities by Governor Bill Clinton, the Arkansas Development
Finance Authority, Dan Lasater‘s brokerage business, and the Stephens’ financial powerhouse. Duncan had functioned in the capacity of congressional investigator for the Subcommittee on Crime, and discovered the involvement of Arkansas officials and the CIA in drug trafficking and drug-money laundering.
Duncan was a criminal investigator for the U.S. Treasury Department from
1973 through 1989.
In addition to what Duncan stated to me, I received a transcript of his congressional testimony, marked Confidential, given to a Joint Investigation by the
United States Congress and the Arkansas State Attorney General’s Office in
June 1991. Duncan testified that one of his assignments was to “investigate allegations of money laundering in connection with the Barry Seal organization,
which was based at the Mena, Arkansas airport.” Duncan testified in detail
about the drug-money laundering he uncovered, involving the CIA, and how
attorneys with the Department of Justice repeatedly blocked investigations and
prosecutions.
Pattern of Justice Department
Obstruction of Justice
Duncan found, as I had in the past, that Justice Department attorneys routinely covered up for major corruption involving high-level government personnel. Duncan testified about the tactics used by Justice Department employees to protect the CIA and the people working with the CIA in drug trafficking
and drug-money laundering.
DOJ Blocking Testimony About
CIA Drug Smuggling in Arkansas
Duncan testified that important witnesses were not called by the U.S. Attorney to testify before the Grand Jury; that important witnesses with valuable
information were not allowed to present it, being limited literally to giving their
name, address, phone number, and type of employment. Duncan testified that
the vice-president of Union Bank in Mena, Gary Gardner, wanted to testify
about the CIA money laundering and how Justice Department prosecutors
blocked his testimony.
Duncan testified that he gave U.S. Attorney Asa Hutchinson in Fort Smith,
Arkansas, the names of 20 witnesses for the grand jury investigation, all of whom had direct knowledge and evidence of drug-money laundering. Of the
three witnesses called by the U.S. Attorney, Duncan testified that two of them
were angry because the U.S. Attorney refused to allow them to give meaningful
evidence to the grand jury.
Circumventing the DOJ Block
by Going Direct to Grand Jury
I encountered DOJ cover-ups while I was a federal investigator for the
Federal Aviation Administration and sought to report a pattern of criminal activities that I and other federal inspectors discovered as part of our official duties that were directly involved in a series of fatal airline crashes. I circumvented the DOJ blocking actions by sending a letter directly to a federal grand
jury at Denver. As an FAA inspector-investigator, I appeared before a grand
jury in the mid-1960s to give testimony as a federal investigator about the corruption at United Airlines and within the Federal Aviation Administration relating to a series of air disasters.
Back to Mena ; one of the witnesses not allowed to present any of her
meaningful testimony was Kathy Corrigan Gann. Duncan testified:
She was the secretary for Rich Mountain Aviation, who participated in the
money laundering operation upon the instructions of Hampton and Evans.
She basically said that she was allowed to give her name, address, position, and not much else. I talked to another witness. His name was Jim Nugent, a vice-president at Union Bank of Mena, who had conducted a search
of their records and provided a significant amount of evidence relating to
the money laundering transaction. He was also furious that he was not allowed to provide the evidence that he wanted to provide to the grand jury.
Duncan continued:
At a later date, I came in contact with the deputy foreman of the grand jury,
who had previously given testimony to an investigator for the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, concerning her frustrations as the deputy
foreman of the grand jury. Her name was P.J. Pitts. She was perpetually
involved in the grand jury as it heard evidence concerning the Barry Seal
matter, and she related to me the frustrations of herself and the entire
grand jury because they were not allowed to hear of money laundering.
[The primary purpose of the grand jury was to obtain evidence about
money laundering.]
She stated to me that they specifically asked to hear the money laundering evidence, specifically asked that I be subpoenaed, and they were not
allowed to have me subpoenaed. She said the whole grand jury was frustrated. She indicated that Mr. Fitzhugh, who at that time was the U.S. Attorney, explained to them that I was in Washington at the time and unavailable as a witness, which was not the truth.
When asked how Duncan’s superiors responded to the cover-up, Duncan testified that he complained to his superior, Paul Whitmore, Chief of Criminal Investigation, and to the group managers, Tim Lee, Charles Huckaby and Max
Gray:
They were very frustrated. Mr. Whitmore made several trips to Fort Smith,
Arkansas to complain to the U.S. Attorney’s office. He related to me on
several occasions that the U.S. Attorney wrote him a letter telling him not to come to his office anymore complaining, that was unprofessional behavior. Mr. Whitmore felt there was a cover-up.
“Do you agree with Mr. Whitmore’s conclusion?”
Absolutely. We experienced a variety of frustrations from 1985 on, not being able to obtain subpoenas for witnesses we felt were necessary. I had
some direct interference by Mr. Fitzhugh in the investigative process. Specifically he would call me and interrupt interviews, tell me not to interview
people that he had previously told me were necessary to be interviewed.
IRS Covering Up for CIA Drug Trafficking
“Did you have any interference or interruptions from anyone within the U.S.
Treasury Department?” Duncan was asked.
They interfered with my testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. The Internal Revenue Service assigned to me disclosure
litigation attorneys who gave me instructions, which would have caused me
to withhold information from Congress during my testimony, and to also
perjure myself.
Drug-Money Bribe to U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese
“How did you respond to the Treasury Department?”
I told them that I was going to tell the truth in my testimony. And the perjury, subornation of perjury resulted because of an allegation that I had received, that Attorney General Edwin Meese received a several hundred
thousand dollar bribe from Barry Seal directly. I received that information
from Russell Welch, the [Arkansas] State Police investigator. And they told
me to tell the Subcommittee on Crime that I had no information about that.
Duncan testified about other aspects of upper management acting to prevent exposure of the drug trafficking and drug-money laundering:
I received a subpoena from Deputy Prosecutor Chuck Black from Mt. Ida,
to present evidence to the grand jury for the purposes of seeking indictments against the individuals at Mena. The Internal Revenue Service told
me I would have to go back and deal with the same disclosure litigation attorneys who attempted to get me to withhold information from Congress
and perjure myself, and I refused to do that. They withdrew support for the
operations and basically kept me in the regional office in Atlanta and did
not allow me to fulfill my responsibilities. This ultimately resulted in my
resignation in June of 1989.
DOJ Prosecutor Covering Up
for CIA Drug Trafficking
Addressing questions concerning the obstruction of justice, Duncan testified:
My superiors and I had continuing discussions because none of us, my
managers nor myself, had ever experienced anything remotely akin to this
type of interference. We couldn’t understand why there was this different attitude. I had found Asa Hutchinson to be a very aggressive U.S. Attorney in
connection with my cases. Then all of a sudden, with respect to Mena, it
was just like the information was going in but nothing was happening over
a long period of time. As soon as Mr. Fitzhugh got involved, he was more
aggressive in not allowing the subpoenas and in interfering in the investigative process. He was reluctant to have the State Police around, even though they were an integral part of the investigation.
For instance, when the money-laundering specialist was up from Miami, Mr. Fitzhugh left Mr. Welch in the hall all day until late in the afternoon and refused to allow him to come in. We were astonished that we
couldn’t get subpoenas. We were astonished that Barry Seal was never
brought to the grand jury because he was on the subpoena list for a long
time. And there were a lot of investigative developments that made no sense
to us.
More IRS Requests for Perjured Testimony
Duncan testified that the IRS briefing attorney from Washington wanted
him to cover up during the grand jury testimony (i.e., commit perjury). “Did
you get the impression that she was ordering you to cover up the investigation?”
Absolutely. I would have thought a complete disclosure to Congress about
the problems that we encountered was in order, but quite the opposite was
true. They obviously did not want any negative testimony coming from me
concerning the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Attorney Bryan Sloan, a personal assistant to the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue, Larry Gibbs, said, “Bill [Duncan ] is just going to have to get the big
picture.”
Conspicuously Absent from
Drug Investigations: DEA, FBI, Customs
Duncan testified that even though “allegations of narcotics smuggling,
massive amounts of drug-money laundering” were involved, “conspicuously
absent during most of that time were the DEA, FBI, and Customs.” Among the
state agencies not appearing, who had hard evidence of the CIA drug trafficking, were the Arkansas State Police, Polk County Sheriff’s office, and the Louisiana State Police. Duncan testified that none of the law-enforcement personnel, who had knowledge and evidence of the drug trafficking and drug-money
laundering, were called by the Justice Department to present their overwhelming evidence to the grand jury.
Miami U.S. Attorney Ordered
Shutdown of All Mena Investigations
Duncan testified that the U.S. Attorney’s Office at Fort Smith received instructions from the Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office to “shut down the Mena Investigations at a point in time when they were ready to indict and present information to a grand jury.” During another congressional deposition on July 24,
1994, Duncan testified:
By the end of 1987...thousands of law enforcement man-hours and an
enormous amount of evidence of drug smuggling, aiding and abetting drug
smugglers, conspiracy, perjury, money laundering...had gone to waste. Not
only were no indictments ever returned on any of the individuals under investigation for their role in the Mena Operation, there was a complete
breakdown in the judicial system. The United States Attorney, Western Judicial District of Arkansas... refused to issue subpoenas for critical witnesses, interfered in the investigations, misled grand juries about evidence
and availability of witnesses, refused to allow investigators to present evidence to the grand jury, and in general made a mockery of the entire investigative and judicial process.
Actions of IRS officials were purely and simply designed to impede the
Congress of the United States in their investigation of issues which impact
on the very heart of our judicial system, and ultimately the security of this
country. Evidence...indicates that...the Mena, Arkansas Airport was an important hub-waypoint for transshipment of drugs, weapons. The evidence
details a bizarre mixture of drug smuggling, gun running, money laundering and covert operations by Barry Seal, his associates, and both employees and contract operatives of the United States Intelligence Services. The
testimony reveals a scheme whereby massive amounts of cocaine were
smuggled into the State of Arkansas. Two witnesses testified that one of the
Western District of Arkansas Assistant U.S. Attorneys told them that the
U.S. Attorney’s Office received a call to shut down the investigations involving the drug operation.
Similar Testimony by Arkansas
State Investigator Welch
Another transcript sent to me, marked Confidential, was the testimony
given by Russell Welch to the congressional committee in June 1991. Welch
was an investigator for the Arkansas State Police for sixteen years. His testimony corroborated that of IRS investigator William Duncan. Welch added that
U.S. Attorney Michael Fitzhugh of Miami blocked an investigation into the
CIA drug trafficking and money laundering as Asa Hutchinson had done.
Welch testified to the refusal by the Justice Department to issue subpoenas for
those who had knowledge of the drug-related crimes. Welch testified that despite the fact that he had considerable evidence of the drug crimes, Justice Department personnel blocked his appearance before the grand jury.
Welch testified that one of the lady members of the grand jury had seen
him in the hall outside the jury room and demanded of Fitzhugh to have Welch
testify. Angrily, Fitzhugh told Welch the grand jury wanted to hear from him,
but Fitzhugh refused to allow this.
Cover-Up by DEA
Asked how other federal agencies blocked investigation and prosecution of
the drug trafficking and drug-money laundering, Welch testified that the cooperation from “the Drug Enforcement Administration in Florida was absolutely
zero. Also, we didn’t get any support from the Arkansas Drug Enforcement
Administration.”
Famous Drug Trafficker Working for CIA
Referring to drug trafficker Barry Seal, Welch testified, “There was obvious government involvement protection with him.” Seal was heavily involved
in drug trafficking and drug-money laundering with the CIA and also with Arkansas officials and power brokers, including members of Governor Bill Clinton‘s administration.
Welch described, as did others, the practice of aircraft flying into Arkansas
from Central America and airdropping drugs at selected sites in Western Arkansas, which was often followed by helicopters picking up the drugs. He described Barry Seal smuggling “billions of dollars of cocaine and drugs into Arkansas over an eight to ten year period of time.” Welch testified about the feelings of the grand jury and particularly the deputy foreman, Patty Pitts:
She expressed concern that they weren’t being allowed to investigate the Mena Airport; that Mike Fitzhugh wasn’t giving them the evidence that
they needed to have; and wasn’t giving them the witnesses they needed to
have. She felt like they were being hindered.
Judicial Assistance in Obstructing Justice
Referring to the practice of certain federal judges aiding DOJ cover-up of
government-related drug offenses, he said U.S. Attorney Fitzhugh told him that
“A federal judge would never let it get to court, and we would be wasting our
time.”
Attempt to Physically Disable
Welch—Or Kill Him
Welch told me that while he was presenting evidence of the drug trafficking to Arkansas officials in Little Rock, he suddenly became deathly sick and
was rushed to the hospital. Fortunately for him, the doctors discovered the
problem. They told Welch that he had been sprayed with military-grade Anthrax (similar to what Saddam Hussein had threatened to use in the Persian
Gulf War).
Obstruction of Justice by
National Security Council
The General Accounting Office started a probe of the Arkansas drug operation in 1988, but was shut down within four months by the National Security
Council.26 Several Congressional committees started similar investigations and
then shut down. Pressure and cover-up tactics came from President George
Bush’s administration at the federal level and from Governor Bill Clinton’s
administration at the state level.
26 Wall Street Journal June 29, 1994.
DOJ Obstruction of Justice
Relating to Major Drug Crimes
In a prepared statement to a Mena Star reporter in 1988, Polk County
Prosecutor Joe Hardegree said that the prosecution of drug-related crimes had
come to a grinding halt because of links between drug traffickers and the White
House.27 Hardegree added, “I have good reason to believe that all federal law
enforcement agencies from the Justice Department down through the FBI to the
Drug Enforcement Administration received encouragement to downplay and
de-emphasize any investigation or prosecution that might expose Seal’s activities and the National Security Council’s involvement in them.”
27 Freedom, May June 1989.
Volumes of Evidence, Followed by Cover-Up
By 1983, the Arkansas State Police had almost three dozen volumes, including several thousand pages of reports that provided overwhelming evidence
of CIA drug smuggling activities and massive cover-ups by state and federal
personnel and agencies. Since 1983, the drug trafficking and money laundering
in Arkansas were investigated by and known to exist by virtually every federal
and Arkansas agency responsible for bringing these crimes to justice.
Despite massive evidence of the criminal activities, officials in the U.S.
Department of Justice and Arkansas police blocked prosecutions. Every attempt
by individual investigators to appear before a grand jury to present evidence
was blocked by Arkansas and federal officials.
DOJ Prosecuting Americans for
Peanut-Quantities of Drugs While
Protecting Tons of CIA Drug Loads
While DOJ and other government agents were using government agencies
to obstruct justice relating to CIA drug trafficking, they were relentlessly
prosecuting Americans with peanut-size quantities of drugs in their possession
and prosecuting Americans for being present while someone was talking about
drugs. Thousands of men and women are spending decades in prison because
of “no-dope” conspiracy convictions, which are convictions where no drugs
were ever involved; just talk about drugs.
The May and June 1989 edition of Freedom magazine said, “Two congressional subcommittees and the U.S. Customs Service are investigating secret activities around the quiet mountain town of Mena, Arkansas, including alleged
drug running and arms smuggling.” But these were only two out of many “investigations” by members of Congress into CIA drug smuggling, many of
which received testimony from CIA insiders. Each of these investigations was
followed by a cover-up.
Mainstream Media Cover-Ups
of Major CIA Drug Crimes
The February-March 1992 issue of Unclassified described the large amount
of evidence proving the existence of drug trafficking and drug-money laundering at Mena Airport, and the cover-up by the media. It stated in part:
“UNCLASSIFIED is genuinely puzzled about the absence of major media attention to Mena, especially given Clinton’s prominence in the presidential
race.”
Arkansas Citizens Committee
A group of concerned citizens, known as the Arkansas Committee, had accumulated large quantities of evidence showing the CIA drug trafficking at
Mena. Key people in this group were Charles Reed, 28 Mark Swaney, and Tom
Brown of Springdale, Arkansas. In 1989, the group sent a petition to Governor
Bill Clinton asking that the state exercise its responsibilities to convene a grand
jury to receive their evidence relating to the CIA drug trafficking. Clinton sidestepped that request, stating it was a federal matter. (Before the head of that
committee died of cancer, he turned over the group’s records to me.)
28 Charles Reed furnished me with considerable data concerning the drug activities going on in Arkansas, expecting me to use it to help awaken the American public. He was a crusader seeking to make the public aware of the government corruption. He died on November 15, 1995, in his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, shortly after sending me his total accumulation of data on government-associated drug trafficking in Arkansas.
Get-Out-Of-Jail Passes for
CIA Drug Traffickers
The group discovered the drug trafficking activities involving the CIA,
DEA, and Barry Seal. Seal was considered to be the biggest known drug trafficker at that time, working closely with the CIA and DEA. Every time Seal
was accidentally arrested by law enforcement officers, he was subsequently released after intervention by CIA or Justice Department people. This get-out-of jail pass was typical for many deep-cover operatives. In 1972, for instance, Seal
was arrested in New Orleans with 14,000 pounds of explosives intended for
Cubans working with the CIA, and promptly released.
Governor Bill Clinton Cover-up
of Major Drug Trafficking
Governor Bill Clinton was advised of the drug activities and it was requested that he order state law enforcement personnel to investigate. (As governor of Arkansas, he had a duty to investigate without being prodded by a citizen group.) Despite the gravity of the reported drug activities, Clinton and the
U.S. Attorney 29 refused to conduct an investigation. At best, this was dereliction of duty; and more to the point, criminal obstruction of justice.
29 Asa Hutchinson and later Michael Fitzhugh.
Separate Drug Laws for the
Public and Government Personnel
Tom Brown, the pastor of a small church in Arkansas, helped expose the
CIA and DEA arms and drug trafficking in Arkansas. To silence and discredit
him, the same Justice Department personnel retaliated against Brown by filing
drug charges against him. The church grew and used peyote and pot in their
services as part of their religious beliefs. No payment was received with this
practice. Justice Department prosecutors charged Brown with a criminal offense and U.S. District Judge H. Franklin Waters of Fayetteville, Arkansas, sentenced him to ten years in prison. One less troublemaker for the CIA and Justice Department!
Drug Trafficking and DOJ
Cover-Up at Angel Fire Resort
Several of my CIA sources described the CIA-related drug trafficking and
drug-money laundering at Angel Fire, New Mexico, including that occurring at
Angel Fire Ski Resort which was owned and operated by Bill Clinton’s friend,
Dan Lasater. An investigation into Angel Fire Resort was triggered in 1985
when former Angel Fire employees reported drug trafficking and drug-money
laundering. This resulted in investigations by local and federal law enforcement
officials.30 Lasater owned Angle Fire Resort from 1984 to 1987, and sold it after he was sentenced in 1986 to two and a half years in prison for distributing
drugs in Arkansas. (Governor Clinton pardoned him within six months.)
30 Sunday Journal, New Mexico, May 8, 1994; Albuquerque Journal, May 8, 1994.
Cover-Up by DEA of Angel Fire
Drug Trafficking and Ties
to Key People in Arkansas
A sequestered U.S. Customs report included a January 1991 memo written
by Customs Air Interdiction Officer Lawrence E. Frost, which referred to the
drug trafficking at Angel Fire and said in part:
During 1988, significant information was developed by Special Agent
Norm Scott of the FBI and I regarding a large controlled substance smuggling operation, as well as a large-scale money laundering activity being
carried out in the Angel Fire, New Mexico area.
The memo described how Frost and Scott requested information about Lasater
from the Drug Enforcement Administration, which was in the DEA‘s possession because of charges against Lasater in Arkansas:
At no time did I ever receive any information from...DEA regarding any of
the alleged conspirators in this case, although I knew that DEA had previously arrested and convicted the primary target of the investigation, Dan
Lasater.
If the DEA had cooperated and furnished information, it is possible that Frost and Scott would have discovered Lasater‘s links to Governor Bill Clinton, the
CIA’s drug trafficking and money laundering.
CIA Asset Terry Reed Blows the
Whistle on CIA Drug Trafficking
Terry Reed, a former CIA asset, and co-author John Cummings, authored a
1994 book describing what Reed discovered as a CIA asset in Arkansas: Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the CIA.
31 Reed, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, was recruited by the CIA to train Contra pilots in Arkansas and
later to start up a CIA proprietary in Guadalajara, Mexico. Reed’s activities in
the Mena, Arkansas area brought him into contact with the CIA and National
Security Council’s arms and drug trafficking, and the cover-up by Governor
Bill Clinton and members of his staff.
31 Authored by Terry Reed and John Cummings.
Reed’s first employment with the CIA was as a flight instructor for Contra
pilots at Arkansas’ Mena and Nella airports. He worked with Barry Seal who
told Reed about the involvement of Arkansas government officials in CIA drug
trafficking and drug-money laundering. Reed was in frequent contact with people who later became front-page news.
Seal told Reed that millions of dollars of drug money was being laundered
through the Arkansas Development Finance Authority and through Dan Lasater‘ brokerage company, and involved people close to Governor Bill Clinton.
Seal told Reed that bags containing large amounts of drug-money were dropped
into remote locations near Nella, and then picked up by helicopters or surface
vehicles.
Reed wrote that the Federal Reserve reported that cash deposits in Arkansas banks tripled while Clinton was governor, suggesting huge amounts of drug
money being moved.
After Seal was killed, Lasater‘s bond business suddenly dropped, suggesting that Seal was indeed laundering money through Lasater’s business.
Air Dropping Drugs Onto Arkansas Clearings
Seal told Reed about dropping bags of money from aircraft into isolated
clearings in Arkansas, including on property owned by Little Rock industrialist
Seth Ward, upon which resided Ward’s son-in-law, Fins Shellnut. Shellnut
worked for bond broker Dan Lasater. Reed described how the bags of money,
sometimes millions of dollars at a time, were dropped onto Ward’s property,
picked up by Shellnut, and then laundered through Lasater’s bond brokerage
business.
Lasater’ s bond brokerage business reportedly handled much of the drug
money laundering in Arkansas until Dan Lasater was convicted of drug
trafficking and sent to prison. Testifying against Lasater was Bill Clinton‘s
brother, Roger, who was also charged with drug trafficking but given a reduced
sentence in exchange for his testimony.
Secret Drug Meeting with Key
People from Both Political Parties
Reed described a late-night meeting that he attended in a World War II
ammunition bunker outside of Little Rock, Arkansas, during which the siphoning of drug money was brought up. Reed stated that the people at the meeting
included Governor Bill Clinton; Clinton’s Chief of Security, Arkansas State Police Lieutenant Raymond Young; Clinton’s aide in charge of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA), Bob Nash ; Attorney Robert Johnson of
the CIA proprietary, Southern Air Transport ; Reed’s handler, John Cathey, and
Max Gomez (alias for Felix Rodriguez, with close working relationship to
Vice-President and then President George Bush ).
Clinton’s chief of security, Lieutenant Raymond Young, waited outside the bunker while the meeting was in progress. (Young was the same Arkansas State Police officer who filed and carried out fraudulent criminal charges against Reed at a later date.)
For three years the Reeds had to fight Arkansas State Police agencies, which included Governor Bill Clinton‘s chief of security, Raymond Young. Reed reported that Young forged documents, used perjured testimony, and falsified evidence, seeking to put Reed and his wife in prison.
Reed describes how U.S. District Judge Frank Theis blocked their defenses, and dismissed evidence showing the sham nature of the charges, claiming the evidence was irrelevant.
Time falsely stated that Reed had no connections to the CIA or Barry Seal, despite considerable proof given to Time reporter Richard Behar. The article stated, “The only trouble with Reed’s sensational tale is that, not a word of it is true.”
Time had repeatedly, over the years, engaged in attacks on people exposing government corruption and CIA drug trafficking. Throughout this and my other books are examples of this cover-up, disinformation, and ridiculing of those who courageously expose the criminal and subversive acts of high government personnel. Time magazine was one of the publications that I repeatedly notified of the criminal activities, beginning while I was a federal investigator. Never once did the magazine report the evidence I offered.
Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders repeated calls for drug legalization...government-led domestic marijuana eradication has been substantially curtailed...The president has ordered a massive reduction in Defense Department support for drug interdiction...proposed that Congress cut $100 million in drug-treatment funding and $130 million in drug prevention education... For 1995, the president wants to cut 625 positions from federal drug enforcement agencies, the DEA, FBI, Border Patrol, U.S. Customs Service and others, and reduce federal drug-prosecution personnel by more than 100 positions.
In 1998, after revealing many secrets relating to CIA and military drug trafficking, he was forced to go underground, reportedly under threats from the Department of Justice.
Tatum said his Pegasus missions were secretly embedded in an Army medical unit (3/498th Medical Company from Fort Riley, Kansas) and that CIA agent Henry Hyde was responsible for the finances of the unit, including arranging lines of credit. While under orders of the National Security Council (NSC) and the CIA, and working under cover as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Tatum was instructed to infiltrate the 3/498th Medical Company and pose as a Med-vac pilot. In this capacity he flew wounded personnel to medical stations. But priority was given to CIA and NSC assignments over the carrying of wounded personnel.
On one flight out of Palmerola (MCHG), he carried the pilots of the C-123 that was later shot down in Nicaragua, Bill Cooper and Buzz Sawyer. This was the incident that forced media exposure of the CIA and White House’s role in Nicaragua. The plane had been hit by a surface to air missile. The only survivor of that flight, Eugene Hasenfus, was the person responsible for kicking military cargo out of the back of the aircraft. He survived because he carried a parachute, and jumped out of the aircraft before it crashed. His subsequent capture and interrogation precipitated the exposure of the Iran-Contra affair.
In the past, Tatum reached Barr by phone at the CIA’s Southern Air Transport in Miami, and under the name, Robert Johnson.
Barr told Bush that he and Fernandez were staying in Costa Rica until the following day after first visiting John Hull‘s ranch. Barr then handed the phone to Tatum, who was instructed by Bush to be sure that Noriega and Harari boarded Seal’s plane and departed, and for Tatum to get the tail number of Seal’s plane.
Tatum said that Barr then dialed another number, immediately reaching then governor Bill Clinton. Barr explained the missing money problem to Clinton, explaining that over $100 million of the “Enterprise” monies had disappeared along the Panama to Arkansas connection. Barr suggested that Clinton investigate at the Arkansas end of the Panama to Arkansas route, and that he and Oliver North would continue investigating the Panama end of the connection, warning that the matter must be resolved or it could lead to “big problems.”
(This description of missing drug money provided further support to a subsequent meeting in Little Rock, described earlier by Terry Reed, during which William Barr accused Clinton of siphoning drug money.)
Meeting with Gen Noriega/SATCOM with North and Gov of AK concerning missing monies. Dropped off Noriega at airport in S.D. Met Barry Seal in 13SN. Seal took Gen Noriega & Harari.
Several days later, Tatum flew from Tela, Honduras to La Cieba, picking up Oliver North, Felix Rodriguez, General Alverez of Honduras, and Amiram Nir. They then flew into several villages on the Nicaragua -Honduras border to determine their suitability for cargo drops by CH-47s the following month.
Tatum then flew back to La Cieba and then to Tela, returning the following day to home base at Palmarola, where Tatum put a few notes on the back of the flight plan filed with base operations:
ROM ACM/Rodriguez for night. USN to WASPAM/Santa Anna/LemezCNo problems recon successful CRodriguez, North, Nir, Dr. Gus. Others (4).
Another military flight plan showed Tatum making a flight on April 9, 1985, into a small village forty kilometers east north east of Ocotal in Nicaragua. Tatum met Felix Rodriguez and Contra leader Enrique Bermudez, and the three of them inspected a cocaine processing facility located in a large tent, containing all American equipment. Inside were several women packaging cocaine.
Four 110-quart white coolers, marked “medical supplies,” were then put on Tatum‘s helicopter for delivery to a C-123 aircraft at San Lorenzo. Tatum then flew back to his home base, at which time he wrote on the back of the flight plan that he filed with military base operations the details of the cocaine lab inspection.
One of the many military flight plans filed by Tatum, dated March 1, 1985 described delivering two white coolers marked “medical supplies” to Dustoff (MEDEVAC) Operations. Felix Rodriguez than ordered Tatum to deliver the coolers to him at Tela, Honduras (LYA). Tatum checked the contents, and found them filled with about 100 kilos of cocaine. As ordered, he delivered the coolers to Rodriguez, who was waiting in front of an old DC-3. Tatum then returned to his home base at Palmerola, and made the following notation on the back of the military flight plan that he had filed with base operations:
Q/U Two coolers “med supplies” Checked contents—white powder—appr 100 sacks each.
Tatum then went to Base Operations and noted this information on the back of the on-file flight plan and the mission-briefing sheet. Copies of some of these forms are on following pages. On this particular flight Tatum wrote:
North arranged for water contamination at TAC site CI flew Medevac to site and while medic attended CI collected TAC FQCYS for North. Upon departure forced to auto-rotate. Declared emergency-bad torque and cracked tail boom.
One of many military flight plans filed by Tatum was a March 5, 1985, flight that carried CIA and Mossad asset and agent, Amiram Nir ; General Gustavo Alvarez, a Honduran Army Chief of Staff who often used the alias, Dr. Gus, and a Honduran Colonel who was the General’s aide. On this mission, Tatum flew into six villages listed on the flight plan, picked up soldiers, and took them to El Paraiso, Honduras.
At El Paraiso, as they prepared to leave, four large white coolers were put on board the helicopter. Pointing to the coolers, Tatum asked Rodriguez, “Evidence?” Rodriguez responded by patting the cooler with his hands, saying, “You catch on fast.” Tatum landed at San Lorenzo (SNL), Honduras, dropping off Rodriguez and the coolers. Upon return to home base at Palmerola. Tatum wrote on the back of the operation’s flight plan, “4 coolers similar to cocaine cooler.”
The following morning, Young and Harari flew back to Palmerola with Tatum. Because of the high noise level in the helicopter, the passengers, Young and Harari, wore headsets and spoke over the aircraft intercom system to each other, possibly unaware that Tatum could hear their conversation. Tatum was copying this conversation on his knee pad until he ran out of paper. Tatum recorded the conversation:
Young: Arkansas has the capability to manufacture anything in the area of weapons, and if we don’t have it, we’ll get it.
Harari : How about the government controls?
Young: The governor’s on top of it. And if the feds get nosey, we hear about it and make a call. Then they’re called off. [As he looked down at the countryside] Why the hell would anyone want to fight for a shit-hole like this?
Harari : [Shaking his head] What we do has nothing to do with preserving a country’s integrity. It’s just business, and Third World countries see their destiny as defeating borders and expanding. The more of this mentality we can produce, the greater our wealth. We train and we arm; that’s our job. And in return, we get a product far more valuable than the money for a gun. We’re paid with product. And we credit top dollar for product. [i.e. drugs]
Young: [Still looking confused.]
Harari: Look, one gun and 3,000 rounds of ammo is $1,200. A kilo of product [cocaine] is about $1,000. We credit the Contras $1,500 for every kilo. That’s top dollar for a kilo of cocaine. It’s equivalent to the America KMart special; buy four, get one free. On our side, we spend $1,200 for a kilo and sell it for $12,000 to $15,000. Now, that’s a profit center. And the market is much greater for the product [cocaine] than for weapons. It’s just good business sense. Understand?
Young: Damn! So you guys promote wars and revolutions to provide weapons for drugs. We provide the non-numbered parts to change out and we all win. Damn, that’s good!
Harari : It’s good when it works. But someone is, how do you say, has his hand in the coffer.
Young: Well, we get our ten percent right off the top and that’s plenty. Gofus can make it go a long way.
Harari : Who is Gofus?
Young: Governor Clinton. That’s our pet word for him. You know they call the President “Potus” for president of the United States. Well, we call Clinton “Gofus” for governor of the United States. He thinks he is anyhow.
Harari : That’s your problem in America. You have no respect for your elected officials. They are more powerful than you think, and have ears everywhere. You should heed my words and be loyal to your leaders. Especially when speaking to persons like me. Your remarks indicate a weakness, something our intelligence analysts look for.
Young: Oh hell, Mike. Everybody knows the Clintons want the White House and will do anything to get it. We know about the cocaine. Hell, we’ve picked it up before with Lasater when he was worried about going on Little Rock Air Base to get it.
Harari : [Changing the topic, Harari questioned Young about his knowledge of who the players were.]
Young: Clinton thinks he’s in charge, but he’ll only go as far as Casey [CIA director] allows. Me and my staff, we keep the lid on things, you know: complaints about night flying, Arkansas people are private folks, they don’t like a lot of commotion, and Mena just isn’t the right place for the operation. It keeps us busy at the shredder, if you know what I mean. Dan’s the man [Lasater ]. He does magic with the money. Between him and Jack Stevens we don’t have to worry a bit. Then we got Parks. If there’s a problem, he’s the man. We call him the Archer. That’s the code name that Casey and Colby told us to assign to that position. Finis oversees our drop zone. Nash, he’s just the boss’ yes man. Personally, I think he’s a mistake. Seal and his guys, I like his attitude “and leave the driving to us.”
Harari : You like Seal?
Young: Hell, he’s the only one I trust; respect is the word.
Harari : Do you see him much?
Young: Hell, yes. We test drive Clinton’s rides [cocaine] before we send’em on, you know. [Laughing and grinding his hips.] Say, how much coke can you can make in a week?
Harari : One camp can produce 400 keys [kilos] a week. The others are about half that. But that’s just our operation here. We have other sources in various parts of the world. Why do you ask?
Young: The Governor wanted to know our capacity.
Harari : Who else is on the team?
Young: Well, hell, I forgot who I told you about.
Harari : [Harari repeated the list from memory.]
Young: OK, there’s the manufacturers; hell, these two. [At this point Tatum ran out of paper on his knee board, and didn’t recognize the names; but they sounded like Johnson and Johnson.]
Upon landing at his base, Tatum made a notation on the back of the previously filed flight plan:
This was a mission to Tegucigalpa. Bush visit/met with Barr & had dinner at German restaurant.
Arrived at SLNC Arrival at the helipad the emergency vehicles were not waiting. There was no answer on Medevac FQCY FM 45.10 or on..... 49.10. Confusion on ground causing ground time delay of 15 min. Medics’ duties were compounded when Mr. North fainted.
As I looked over the many copies of flight plans that Tatum gave me, they provided still more evidence of the following:
• Mossad agent Michael Harari was on many of the flights associated with the CIA and military drug shipments, providing still further indication that Israel‘s Mossad is helping the CIA inflict drugs upon the United States.
• William Barr, who Bush appointed to be the top law enforcement officer in the United States, U.S. Attorney General, played a key role in the smuggling of drugs into the United States. Tatum‘s statements about reaching Barr at Southern Air Transport in Miami through the name of Robert Johnson confirmed what Terry Reed, author of the book Compromise, had told me and had written. Nothing like having members of felony drug operations hold the position of U.S. Attorney General, in control of the United States Department of Justice, and a vice president of the United States. With this type of influence no one needs fear being arrested. And don’t forget the Mafia groups working with the CIA who also receive Justice Department protection that is not available to U.S. citizens.
• The drugging of America involved the CIA, the military, National Security Council, the White House, George Bush, and Governor Bill Clinton, among many others.
• That Mena, Arkansas was a key CIA transshipment point for cocaine coming into the United States on return flights from Central America.
• The existence of a two-tier code of criminal justice, in which people holding key positions of trust in the U.S. government go unpunished for their role in moving tens of thousands of pounds of hard-drugs into the United States, while the average “Joe” or “Jane” is given years in prison for possession of drugs the size of an M&M. That even beats Mexican “justice!”
4. POC at SCSG Maj Ledford (A) 282-5803. Tatum provided me with a declaration relating to the drug smuggling that is recopied here for easier readability:
From 1986 to 1992, I was an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency, operating under a deep-cover assignment.
During this time I witnessed activities involving high-level U.S. personnel that I felt were unlawful, and I reported these activities to my superiors in the U.S. Army and to my handlers in the Central Intelligence Agency, to the National Security Council, and to various individuals, including William Barr, Oliver North, George Bush.
Among these activities were rampant drug smuggling into the United States involving people in control of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration,, the armed forces of the United States, among others.
I have documented some of these activities on military flight plans, showing as passengers on certain flights, the following: William Barr; Buddy Young; Felix Rodriguez; Oliver North; Joe Fernandez; Manuel Noriega, and Mike Harari.
I have visited cocaine laboratories with the above people, who were inspecting the drug smuggling operations in Central America.
I have documented on some of these military flight plans the nature of the cargo being carried in white coolers that were fraudulently marked as “medical supplies,” which I accidentally discovered to be cocaine.
During one flight and related meeting, I was present while there were discussions as to where drug money was being siphoned on the Panama to Arkansas run.
Present at this meeting was Manuel Noriega; William Barr (associated with CIA proprietary Southern Air Transport and later attorney general of the United States); Joe Fernandez; Mike Harari; General Gustavo Alverez.
Participating in this meeting via satellite telephone was Vice President George Bush, Oliver North, and William Jefferson Clinton, then governor of Arkansas.
I have reported these illegal operations to my superiors, including William Barr; Oliver North; George Bush; Felix Rodriguez; Joe Fernandez; Don Gregg; Dewey Clarridge.
After I refused to perform a mission that I felt was beyond my willingness to execute, I notified my handlers that I wanted out of the operation, which at that time was known as Operation Pegasus.
Their response was to warn me that no one leaves the operation.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the above facts are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Executed this 15th day of August 1996 in the County of Hillsborough, State of Florida.
He delivered drugs to airfields throughout the Southwest, including Borrego Desert airstrips, one near Humboldt Mountain in Arizona where drugs would be pushed out of the aircraft, an airstrip near Buckskin Mountain close to the Colorado River, and at abandoned mine sites between Parker and Havasu City, Arizona.
Code 6” referred to the flyway through Central Mexico and crossing the U.S. border at Piedres Negras, and then into the Big Bend region of Texas. “Code 7” referred to the air route along the Baja Peninsula, through San Felipe and Mexicali, to drop points in the Anza-Borrego Desert, Twenty Nine Palms, or the former Patton bombing range east of the Salton Sea.
Plumlee sent me a map containing data on a major drug trafficker at the Delgado Ranch near San Felipe: Luis Carlos Quintero Cruz. Plumlee was part of a major drug deal in 1986 involving Quintero that involved the Contras.
Some of the data Plumlee conveyed to me corroborated what several of my other sources that flew the drugs told me.
Plumlee provided me with various documents relating to the drug trafficking by U.S. forces, one of which was marked Secret, dated February 13, 1990, which stated in part:
Apparently one month ago (January 1990), and AVINA-Batiz were engaged in conversation when AVINA-Batiz told that the flow of drugs into the United States is the best solution to Latin America’s problems. The poisoning of American youth is the best answer to the down-trodden Latin American masses in retaliation against the imperialistic actions of the United States.... has learned that the reporter from Vera Cruz (FNU) Valasco, before his death (1985) was allegedly developing information that, using the DFS as cover, the CIA established and maintained clandestine airfields to refuel aircraft loaded with weapons which were destined for Honduras and Nicaragua.
Pilots of these aircraft would load up with cocaine in Barranquilla, Colombia and enroute to Miami, Florida, refuel in Mexico at narcotic trafficker-operated and CIA-maintained airstrips.... Cubans were working a similar type of refuel operations, picking up cocaine in Medellin, Colombia and flying it thru Cuba into Miami.
The FBI report stated that “it was [Plumlee’s] desire to establish his credibility concerning his past activities [working for government agencies and] in establishing contact with the FBI in Arizona in the event he should ever become involved in border-line activities.” The report stated that Plumlee agreed to provide a written report to the Phoenix FBI office. The report stated that Plumlee was also flying for Regina Airlines and Riddle Airlines. Among the various CIA agents mentioned in the reports were Larry Allen, Johnny Smith, Frank Sutter, John Roselli, and John Martino. The FBI’s reports showed the Federal Bureau of Investigation knew of the various covert and surely illegal activities by the CIA and the military.
I asked Plumlee if he knew why the CIA and the White House’s position changed from supporting Castro into suddenly calling him an enemy of the United States. He said that President Ike Eisenhower was supportive of Castro but the moment that President Kennedy took office, the support reversed. Castro then sought help from Russia and suddenly became an “enemy” of the United States.
Plumlee provided me with a picture of him seated in the pilot’s seat of a C130, which was taken of him by pilot William Cooper who was shortly thereafter shot down over Nicaragua in a C-123, exposing the U.S.’s role in undermining the Nicaraguan government. As I looked at notations that Plumlee made on the back of the picture, I saw the name, Crittenden Air Transport, one of my sources who headed a CIA proprietary airline that I describe in great detail in Defrauding America. Plumlee explained that he personally delivered that C130 to Crittenden of Crittenden Air Transport, which provided still more support for Crittenden’s CIA connections.
Plumlee said that the DEA, CIA and FBI were spying on each other’s covert deals. He described landing a DC-3 loaded with over 1200 pounds of cocaine in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was to meet an FBI contact who failed to meet the plane. Plumlee then called the FBI, trying to contact the agent. Plumlee said, “The FBI thought I was some kind of nut.” That trip had started from an airfield called “The Farm,” near McAllen, Texas. His instructions were to deliver the arms to the Contras, and then return with a load of drugs.
He described how helicopters would pick up the drug drops in daylight, with one group authorized to pick up blue colored drug-laden bags, and another group authorized to pick up bags of another color. One of the helicopter companies that he mentioned was American Services.
At the request of his military handlers, in 1988, Plumlee started a pilot recruitment agency in Southern California called Pilot’s Aviation Network for the purpose of recruiting pilots to continue flying drugs for the various U.S. agencies.
Plumlee described an incident in Mexico where a prisoner, seeking to give him and his DEA agents information about the killing of an American pilot by a Mexican drug lord, was then killed by Mexican guards.
Plumlee described another procedure to avoid interdiction. At a certain geographical point upon entering U.S. airspace, the pilot would call a particular ground station from the air and say, for instance, “Bravo One, Bravo One,” after which the ground station would answer, “Okay Bravo One, we have a lock.” The pilot would then hit the “Ident” button on the transponder. If the code was correct, there would be no interdiction and Customs would not be waiting the plane’s arrival.
In Defrauding America, CIA operative Gunther Russbacher described the looting of U.S. arsenals in other covert operations. In one instance, the arms were taken out of National Guard armories and sent to Iran via Israel as part of the bribe used in the October Surprise operation to delay the release of the American hostages seized in Teheran (as described in Defrauding America).
We’ve lost a lot of people that’s been killed or assassinated or discredited because for whatever reasons, they were going to blow the whistle on current operations they were involved with. Elements within the agencies that are involved would definitely put hit men out, if it was going to jeopardize their on-going operation. Independent operatives within the agency sometimes take it upon themselves to protect the operation, and also to protect their profit margins.
He testified to the close cooperation between Mexican and U.S. officials in the drug smuggling operation. He described how witnesses who were suspected of exposing the U.S. involvement in drug smuggling were assassinated. As other insiders have discovered for many decades, the members of Congress covered up for the criminal activities that he—at great risk to himself— revealed.
Senator Hart conveyed the information to Senator John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Communications. Several of my other informants who were an active part of the arms and drug trafficking also contacted Senator Kerry. In a February 14, 1991, letter to Senator John Kerry, Senator Hart stated:
Mr. Plumlee raised several issues including that covert U.S. intelligence agencies were directly involved in the smuggling and distribution of drugs. He provided my staff with detailed maps and names of alleged covert landing strips in Mexico, Costa Rica, Louisiana, Arizona, Florida, and California where he alleged aircraft cargoes of drugs were off-loaded and replaced with Contra military supplies. He also stated that these operations were not CIA operations but rather under the direction of the White House, Pentagon and NSC personnel. My staff brought these allegations to the attention of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time, but no action was initiated by either committee.
In 1991, journalist Art Goodtimes of the Telluride Times-Journal wrote a letter (January 13, 1991) to Senator John Kerry offering to provide maps, data, and testimony of former CIA agent Tosh Plumlee. The letter advised that Plumlee was involved in flying in Central America and had evidence of the U.S. government’s involvement in illegal drug trafficking through Mexico, El Salvador and Panama. The letter stated in part:
Government’s involvement with illegal drug operations, infiltrated by military undercover operatives...Plumlee intent to get a federal investigation into the illegal covert activities instigated by various agencies of our government in Central America.
A DEA report dated February 13, 1990, marked SECRET, stated in part:
BUENDIA had allegedly gathered information on...the relationship the CIA had with known narcotic traffickers in Vera Cruz area....the CIA narcotic trafficker situation was very delicate (not to be spoken about)....information on CIA arms smuggling and the connection the CIA had to narcotic traffickers....Shortly thereafter, Eden Pastora, aka Commander ZERO, who had given BUENDIA information on CIA arms smuggling allegedly suffered a CIA sponsored bomb attack while traveling in Costa Rica....It was later learned that BUENIDA had allegedly obtained information that would expose high ranking members of the PRI political party who were assisting the CIA with arms smuggling and knew of the CIA link to narcotics traffickers. [Buenida, who was exposing drug trafficking by the CIA and high officials of Mexico’s PRI party, was killed by elements of the Mexican DFS security detail.]
Plumlee was only one of many people having direct knowledge of these criminal activities and who gave this information to members of Congress. The sheer number of insiders risking their lives by coming forward should have had some effect upon members of Congress. You guessed it: none.
Plumlee said the camera in the C-123 aircraft was rigged up by the CIA at Rickenboch Field and that he helped rig the switching arrangement. The idea was to fraudulently indicate to the American public that the Sandinistas were engaging in drug trafficking, when in fact, as Plumlee stated, it was the Contras —and U.S. agents—who were most active in drug trafficking. The American public was, again, duped by their own leaders.
The result of that testimony [to various congressional committees] was that the testimony was sealed. The committee censored it, calling it national security and top secret. A lot of the pilots that flew and testified to the committees had the same problem. Their testimony was not released. Pilots and other ground crew personnel, who made these allegations in 1982 and 1983, were systematically purged from those operations. There was systematic character assassinations of a lot of good people that had done a lot of black operations, one in particular was Barry Seal, who was a personal friend of mine.... They discredited people with fake documents.
Starting about 1981, the [CIA-DEA] drug smuggling problem was just really starting to escalate. It didn’t really start until the latter part of 1981 and 1982, about the same time that Reagan said we’re fighting a drug war, and a lot of money was appropriated for that....From the time that the money was appropriated to start [the drug war] we saw a 400 percent increase in the illegal drugs that were coming into this country.
What I’m saying is the cartel could have been shut down in 1981. The information was there from the informants that had infiltrated the cartel.
In response, I wrote a letter on November 22, 1996, to Bruce Rheins, CBS News producer in Los Angeles, complaining about that cover-up for the past 30 years. I advised him that I also had considerable evidence of covert agencies and the military smuggling drugs into the United States, and had over two dozen former agents of the FBI, CIA, DEA ready to testify to these activities.
Rheins responded on November 25, 1996: “Your name has surfaced quite frequently in my research surrounding the allegations of the CIA’s involvement with the distribution of crack cocaine in South Central Los Angeles.” He made no attempt to obtain any information from me. On the contrary, I was canceled from two subsequent CBS television productions.
Next
Secret CIA Financial Institutions
Clinton’s chief of security, Lieutenant Raymond Young, waited outside the bunker while the meeting was in progress. (Young was the same Arkansas State Police officer who filed and carried out fraudulent criminal charges against Reed at a later date.)
Attorney for Covert CIA Airline
and Later, U.S. Attorney General
Reed had been in frequent telephone contact with the man he knew as
Robert Johnson. Johnson directed the drug trafficking and drug-money laundering, the training in Arkansas of Contra pilots and fighters, and authorized Reed
to set up the CIA proprietary in Mexico. At a later date, Reed learned that
Robert Johnson was really William Barr, appointed by President George Bush
to be Attorney General of the United States, the nation’s top law-enforcement
position.
Damage Control
Reed’s CIA contact, William Barr, known at that time by his alias Robert
Johnson, told Reed that Attorney General Edwin Meese had appointed Michael
Fitzhugh to be U.S. Attorney in Western Arkansas, and that he would stonewall
any investigation into the Mena, Arkansas drug-related activities. This obstruction of justice by Justice Department officials did occur.
Federal Officials Protesting Siphoning
Off of Drug Money By Clinton’s Group
The purpose of this meeting was to protest Arkansas officials taking too
great a percentage of the drug money laundered by Missouri officials, and the
attention caused by the drug conviction of Bill Clinton‘s brother, Roger Clinton.
NSC Oliver North and Future
Attorney General into Drugs
Reed described how Oliver North and William Barr authorized him to start
a CIA proprietary in Mexico posing as a high technology trading and consulting firm. Reed moved his family to Mexico, thinking the operation was legitimate and of long duration. Reed worked closely with Oliver North, Felix Rodriguez, and Barry Seal. Before long, Reed discovered that the CIA front company he operated was being used by the CIA for gun-running and drug smuggling and this was confirmed in July 1987. He advised his CIA handler that he
wanted out of the operation, and under cover of darkness, Reed moved his family back to Arkansas where he went into hiding. He then became targeted for
retaliation by one of Arkansas’s state police officers who was on Governor Bill
Clinton‘s staff.
Attacking a Potential Whistleblower
With the knowledge that Reed acquired during his CIA connections in Arkansas, he posed a threat to the drug operations implicating CIA, DOJ, and Arkansas personnel—including Governor Bill Clinton. This danger was addressed
by Arkansas State Police fraudulently charging Reed and his wife with fraud,
conspiracy, and mail fraud relating to the theft several years earlier of Reed’s aircraft, and allegedly making a false claim to the insurance company. For three years the Reeds had to fight Arkansas State Police agencies, which included Governor Bill Clinton‘s chief of security, Raymond Young. Reed reported that Young forged documents, used perjured testimony, and falsified evidence, seeking to put Reed and his wife in prison.
Reed describes how U.S. District Judge Frank Theis blocked their defenses, and dismissed evidence showing the sham nature of the charges, claiming the evidence was irrelevant.
Time Magazine Cover-Up of CIA
and High-Level Corruption
During their attempts to defend themselves against the false charges Time
magazine sought to discredit the Reeds and what they were exposing. A Time
article (April 20, 1992) was entitled, “Anatomy of a Smear” with a subtitle,
“Terry Reed loves to tell reporters scandalous tales about Bill Clinton and the
Contras. The trouble is the stories are false.” Time falsely stated that Reed had no connections to the CIA or Barry Seal, despite considerable proof given to Time reporter Richard Behar. The article stated, “The only trouble with Reed’s sensational tale is that, not a word of it is true.”
Time had repeatedly, over the years, engaged in attacks on people exposing government corruption and CIA drug trafficking. Throughout this and my other books are examples of this cover-up, disinformation, and ridiculing of those who courageously expose the criminal and subversive acts of high government personnel. Time magazine was one of the publications that I repeatedly notified of the criminal activities, beginning while I was a federal investigator. Never once did the magazine report the evidence I offered.
Freedom Magazine Confirming
Reed’s CIA Connections
In response to the Time cover-up and discrediting article, Freedom magazine, which had been exposing the CIA drug trafficking in Arkansas, published
an article (May 1993) titled, The Drugging of America, expanding on the
criminal activities by exposing the Time cover-up. Freedom magazine wrote:
“According to knowledgeable sources interviewed by FREEDOM, Terry Reed
was one of the players in CIA covert operations based at Mena.”
Clinton’s CIA Drug Smuggling
Cover-Up As Governor and President
Governor Bill Clinton‘s protection of CIA drug activities and DOJ cover-ups, while governor of Arkansas, could be expected to be followed with similar
actions after he became president of the United States. The California legal
newspaper, Daily Journal, wrote in its July 21, 1994 issue, “The Clinton administration has been undermining existing anti-drug efforts on all fronts.” The
article charged President Clinton with dismantling almost the entire White
House Office created to lead the fight: Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders repeated calls for drug legalization...government-led domestic marijuana eradication has been substantially curtailed...The president has ordered a massive reduction in Defense Department support for drug interdiction...proposed that Congress cut $100 million in drug-treatment funding and $130 million in drug prevention education... For 1995, the president wants to cut 625 positions from federal drug enforcement agencies, the DEA, FBI, Border Patrol, U.S. Customs Service and others, and reduce federal drug-prosecution personnel by more than 100 positions.
CIA-Military Deep
Cover Pilot Gene Tatum
Another one of my many deep-cover sources that was ordered to fly drugs
while he was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot was Gene “Chip” Tatum. He was ordered to fly drugs from Fort Campbell, Kentucky to the airport at Mena and
Little Rock in Arkansas. Tatum started providing me with information and
documentation that support his statements, including affidavits, letters, and
copies of military flight plans showing the names of well-known individuals
and records of drug shipments. In 1998, after revealing many secrets relating to CIA and military drug trafficking, he was forced to go underground, reportedly under threats from the Department of Justice.
Drugs, Vice President, Attorney
General, Noriega, and Mossad
Tatum joined the U.S. Army in 1971 and was initially assigned to Vietnam,
after which he was trained as a helicopter pilot. He also became commander of
a unit in the ultra-secret operation known as Pegasus. He was assigned to fly
helicopter flights in Honduras and Nicaragua, working CIA missions, and
working with the National Security Council’s Oliver North and CIA operations
with Amiram Nir and Felix Rodriguez. In carrying out these missions, he associated with such key people in government as William Barr, George Bush,
General Manuel Noriega, and Mossad agent Michael Harari. Tatum had frequent contact with Oliver North while North was assigned to the White
House’s National Security Council, and William Barr who later became attorney general of the United States. Tatum said his Pegasus missions were secretly embedded in an Army medical unit (3/498th Medical Company from Fort Riley, Kansas) and that CIA agent Henry Hyde was responsible for the finances of the unit, including arranging lines of credit. While under orders of the National Security Council (NSC) and the CIA, and working under cover as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Tatum was instructed to infiltrate the 3/498th Medical Company and pose as a Med-vac pilot. In this capacity he flew wounded personnel to medical stations. But priority was given to CIA and NSC assignments over the carrying of wounded personnel.
Operating Pegasus Missions
In the 1980's he flew helicopters in Central and South America, flying
“Med-vac” helicopters taking Contras and civilians to emergency care centers.
Tatum was command pilot of one of two helicopter flight crews from the
3/498th Medical Company based at Fort Stewart, Georgia that were sent in
1985 to Palmerola Air Base in Honduras. Each crew consisted of a pilot, copilot, medic, and the crew chief. Tatum was part of the Med-vac mission for Joint
Task Force Bravo. On one flight out of Palmerola (MCHG), he carried the pilots of the C-123 that was later shot down in Nicaragua, Bill Cooper and Buzz Sawyer. This was the incident that forced media exposure of the CIA and White House’s role in Nicaragua. The plane had been hit by a surface to air missile. The only survivor of that flight, Eugene Hasenfus, was the person responsible for kicking military cargo out of the back of the aircraft. He survived because he carried a parachute, and jumped out of the aircraft before it crashed. His subsequent capture and interrogation precipitated the exposure of the Iran-Contra affair.
Transporting “Medical Supplies”
from Remote Jungle Sites
While at Palmerola Air Base in Honduras, Tatum flew helicopter flights to
Ilopango, El Salvador, where Corporate Air Service, a CIA-owned aviation
company was based, and to various Contra camps in Honduras and Nicaragua.
Although the reason for his assignment to the Medevac unit was to move
wounded personnel to treatment centers, he discovered that he was frequently
ordered to transport large white coolers marked “Medical Supplies” and fly
them to landing strips for pickup by fixed-wing aircraft, usually C-123 and C130s. These aircraft were flown either by military or private pilots, who took
the “medical supplies” to Panama and then the United States.
Using U.S. Military to Fly
Drugs into the United States
Once, during a hard landing resulting from an engine failure, one of the
coolers broke open, and while taping the coolers shut he discovered that instead
of the contents being medical supplies they were filled with bags containing
cocaine. Tatum would discover many more flights carrying similar “medical
supplies.”
Describing One of His Flights
On one of his flights to El Ocotal in Costa Rica, Tatum carried Felix Rodriguez (also known as Max Gomes), a close associate of Vice President George
Bush, in the Contra operation; General Gustavo Alverez of Honduras, and Joseph Fernandez, another CIA agent. Upon landing at Ojo de Agua-El Tamborcita, they were joined by Michael Harari, a Mossad agent and security advisor
to General Manuel Noriega of Panama; by William Barr (attorney at the CIA’s
Southern Air Transport located at Miami at that time and before he became attorney general of the United States), and Barry Seal. Seal had flown Noriega
and Harari to the meeting in Seal’s Learjet aircraft (tail number N13SN). In the past, Tatum reached Barr by phone at the CIA’s Southern Air Transport in Miami, and under the name, Robert Johnson.
Purpose of Meeting: Discover where
Drug-Money is Being Stolen
The purpose of the meeting was to determine who was responsible for
stealing over $100 million in drug money on the three routes from Panama to
Colorado, Ohio, and Arkansas. This theft was financially draining the operation
known as the “Enterprise.” By comparing computerized records, Tatum said
that it was determined that the theft was occurring on the route from Panama to
Arkansas.
Seal, Clinton, or Noriega Stealing Drug
Money
From White House Drug Operation
Tatum said that at the end of the meeting he went with Fernandez to the
helicopter where a portable secure phone was set up to communicate with
Washington by satellite link. Fernandez made the first call to Oliver North, informing North that the theft was occurring on the Panama to Arkansas route,
and “that means either Seal, Clinton or Noriega.”
VP George Bush and William Barr
Discussing Drug Money Theft
Fifteen minutes later, the portable phone rang, and Vice President George Bush was on the line, talking to William Barr. Barr said at one point, referring
to the missing funds, “I would propose that no one source would be bold
enough to siphon out that much money, but it is more plausible that each are
siphoning a portion, causing a drastic loss.” Barr told Bush that he and Fernandez were staying in Costa Rica until the following day after first visiting John Hull‘s ranch. Barr then handed the phone to Tatum, who was instructed by Bush to be sure that Noriega and Harari boarded Seal’s plane and departed, and for Tatum to get the tail number of Seal’s plane.
Tatum said that Barr then dialed another number, immediately reaching then governor Bill Clinton. Barr explained the missing money problem to Clinton, explaining that over $100 million of the “Enterprise” monies had disappeared along the Panama to Arkansas connection. Barr suggested that Clinton investigate at the Arkansas end of the Panama to Arkansas route, and that he and Oliver North would continue investigating the Panama end of the connection, warning that the matter must be resolved or it could lead to “big problems.”
(This description of missing drug money provided further support to a subsequent meeting in Little Rock, described earlier by Terry Reed, during which William Barr accused Clinton of siphoning drug money.)
Missing-Money Notation
on Military Flight Plan
The SATCOM phone equipment was then stowed on the helicopter, and
Tatum waited for Noriega and Harari to leave in Seal’s Learjet. Tatum then
flew his passengers to Tegucigalpa, and turned into military operations a copy
of the flight plan (dated March 25, 1985). Tatum wrote on the back of the flight
plan: Meeting with Gen Noriega/SATCOM with North and Gov of AK concerning missing monies. Dropped off Noriega at airport in S.D. Met Barry Seal in 13SN. Seal took Gen Noriega & Harari.
Several days later, Tatum flew from Tela, Honduras to La Cieba, picking up Oliver North, Felix Rodriguez, General Alverez of Honduras, and Amiram Nir. They then flew into several villages on the Nicaragua -Honduras border to determine their suitability for cargo drops by CH-47s the following month.
“One More Year of This
and We Can All Retire”
Tatum then flew the group to Santa Anna, Honduras meeting with Enrique
Bermudez and other Contra leaders, and visited a cocaine processing facility.
Tatum described the strong smell of jet fuel and acetone, and the large fuel
pods that had the tops stripped off of them and in which were fuel and leaves.
Tatum repeated what North said: “One more year of this and we’ll all retire.”
adding, “If we can keep those Arkansas hicks in line, that is,” referring to Barry
Seal and Governor Clinton.
Vice President George Bush
Concerned About Drug Money Theft
While General Alvarez went with the Contra leader to discuss logistics,
North, Rodriguez, and Nir continued through the wooden building inspecting
the cocaine. Tatum repeated what North said: “Bush is very concerned about
those missing monies. I think he’s going to have Jeb arrange something out of
Colombia.” (Would “Jeb” be Jeb Bush ?)
“No One Big Enough To Stop It”
As Tatum listened to these conversations, he remembered the army officers’ remarks in Ojo de Agua when Tatum complained about transporting drugs
during military operations: “Tell no one. There’s no one big enough in your
chain of command to stop it.” Having heard North discuss the involvement of
Vice President Bush and Governor Clinton, Tatum understood that earlier statement. Tatum then flew back to La Cieba and then to Tela, returning the following day to home base at Palmarola, where Tatum put a few notes on the back of the flight plan filed with base operations:
ROM ACM/Rodriguez for night. USN to WASPAM/Santa Anna/LemezCNo problems recon successful CRodriguez, North, Nir, Dr. Gus. Others (4).
Recipient of Drugs: Mossad
Operative “Dr. Harari ”
During another trip, Tatum picked up at Dustoff Operations six coolers
mislabeled “medical supplies,” and flew them to an airstrip at Trijillo, where
they were given to a C-130 crew bound for Panama. Tatum asked the pilot,
“Who gets these?” The pilot looked at the manifest and said that a Dr. Harari
would be called on arrival. The alleged doctor was none other than Mossad operator Michael Harari, and the phony Doctor title went along with the phony
medical supply labels on the coolers. Another military flight plan showed Tatum making a flight on April 9, 1985, into a small village forty kilometers east north east of Ocotal in Nicaragua. Tatum met Felix Rodriguez and Contra leader Enrique Bermudez, and the three of them inspected a cocaine processing facility located in a large tent, containing all American equipment. Inside were several women packaging cocaine.
Four 110-quart white coolers, marked “medical supplies,” were then put on Tatum‘s helicopter for delivery to a C-123 aircraft at San Lorenzo. Tatum then flew back to his home base, at which time he wrote on the back of the flight plan that he filed with military base operations the details of the cocaine lab inspection.
White House and CIA Cocaine Operation
During a flight from Palmerola to El Paraiso, Honduras, his passengers told
Tatum they worked for Corporate Air Services out of Ilopango Air Base in El
Salvador and that they were meeting with Contra leaders to coordinate air
drops to various Contra camps. When the meeting was over, Tatum was given a
white cooler marked “vaccine” weighing over 200 pounds and instructed to deliver the cooler to a C-130 at Las Mesa airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
The cooler was dropped while being taken from the helicopter and split open,
revealing over 100 bags containing a white powdery substance: cocaine. The
resealed cooler containing the cocaine was then put on a C-130 that was departing for Panama.
Cocaine Bound for World Court
as Evidence—Said Oliver North
At one time, upon returning to Palmerola Air Base—thinking that Oliver
North did not know about the cocaine trafficking—Tatum called Washington
and advised North of the cocaine discovery. North told him a wild story: “The
Sandinistas are manufacturing cocaine and selling it to fund the military. It was bound for the world courts as evidence.” One of the many military flight plans filed by Tatum, dated March 1, 1985 described delivering two white coolers marked “medical supplies” to Dustoff (MEDEVAC) Operations. Felix Rodriguez than ordered Tatum to deliver the coolers to him at Tela, Honduras (LYA). Tatum checked the contents, and found them filled with about 100 kilos of cocaine. As ordered, he delivered the coolers to Rodriguez, who was waiting in front of an old DC-3. Tatum then returned to his home base at Palmerola, and made the following notation on the back of the military flight plan that he had filed with base operations:
Q/U Two coolers “med supplies” Checked contents—white powder—appr 100 sacks each.
Stealing Secret Frequencies from
U.S. Military Communications Site
Rodriguez instructed Tatum to obtain the secret frequencies used by the
military at a tactical communications site (TAC) called Skywatch, which was
the focal telemetry point of several military satellites in this hemisphere. The
military had refused to release this information to the CIA, causing the CIA to
carry out a plan to steal the secret codes. The Agency contaminated the water
supply with an unusually high concentration of chlorine, causing widespread
stomach cramps and diarrhea among the soldiers. This required calling for
medical personnel to fly to the site and treat the sickened personnel. While the
personnel were being treated, Tatum went into a communication van and copied the frequencies from the equipment in use.
Reports to Washington about
Military Drug Shipments
Upon his return to Palmerola that afternoon, Tatum called CIA agent Donald Gregg on a secure telephone line, passing along the frequencies that he had
copied. Gregg then instructed Tatum to pass the frequencies to CIA agent Clair
George at Langley. Before having the call transferred, Tatum told Gregg of his
discovery of cocaine in the coolers. Gregg repeated the false excuse that the
coolers were bound for the world courts as evidence against the Sandinistas.
Tatum was then transferred to Clair George, who took the information and was
advised that he would pass the information to Dewey “Duane” Clarridge of the
CIA. Tatum then went to Base Operations and noted this information on the back of the on-file flight plan and the mission-briefing sheet. Copies of some of these forms are on following pages. On this particular flight Tatum wrote:
North arranged for water contamination at TAC site CI flew Medevac to site and while medic attended CI collected TAC FQCYS for North. Upon departure forced to auto-rotate. Declared emergency-bad torque and cracked tail boom.
One of many military flight plans filed by Tatum was a March 5, 1985, flight that carried CIA and Mossad asset and agent, Amiram Nir ; General Gustavo Alvarez, a Honduran Army Chief of Staff who often used the alias, Dr. Gus, and a Honduran Colonel who was the General’s aide. On this mission, Tatum flew into six villages listed on the flight plan, picked up soldiers, and took them to El Paraiso, Honduras.
At El Paraiso, as they prepared to leave, four large white coolers were put on board the helicopter. Pointing to the coolers, Tatum asked Rodriguez, “Evidence?” Rodriguez responded by patting the cooler with his hands, saying, “You catch on fast.” Tatum landed at San Lorenzo (SNL), Honduras, dropping off Rodriguez and the coolers. Upon return to home base at Palmerola. Tatum wrote on the back of the operation’s flight plan, “4 coolers similar to cocaine cooler.”
Public Funded CIA-Military
Drug Deliveries to Arkansas
Tatum told about the flights in military helicopters carrying the white coolers to the Arkansas airports at Mena and Little Rock while he was assigned to
Special Operations at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky during 1983 and 1984. The
Medevac unit at Ft. Campbell, 324th Medical Battalion, was a supporting unit
for Task Force 160, a Special Operations Unit under CIA control. Flight crews
of the 324th Medical Battalion rotated in and out of Honduras on tours that
lasted four months.
Governor Bill Clinton‘s Associates
Received Cocaine Deliveries
Tatum described several of the people who met his helicopter’s arrival at
Mena and Little Rock: Governor Bill Clinton‘s friend, Dan Lasater, who was
usually accompanied by a plain-clothes policeman who produced a badge and
identification showing him to be Raymond “Buddy” Young. Tatum said that
Young showed up in Honduras posing as a member of the Arkansas National
Guard. Occasionally, Lasater was accompanied at the Mena Airport by Jerry
Parks, who helped in the off-loading of the coolers. Jerry Parks operated a security company that had close ties to the Clinton administration in Arkansas.
Danger to Threaten Exposing
Clinton and CIA Drug Ties
Some years later, Parks had a falling out with Clinton and had threatened to
expose information about Clinton and the drug activities. This caused him to be
added to the list of people in Arkansas who were either killed or died under
mysterious circumstances.
Drug Meeting with CIA’s William Barr,
Mossad‘ s Harari, Governor
Clinton’s Buddy Young
During one flight to Tegucigalpa on March 15, 1985, Tatum met with William Barr, Michael Harari, and Buddy Young (head of Governor Bill Clinton‘s
security detail). Barr represented himself as an emissary of Vice President
George Bush, who would be arriving soon. The purpose of the meeting was to
arrange for Vice President Bush’s arrival. The following morning, Young and Harari flew back to Palmerola with Tatum. Because of the high noise level in the helicopter, the passengers, Young and Harari, wore headsets and spoke over the aircraft intercom system to each other, possibly unaware that Tatum could hear their conversation. Tatum was copying this conversation on his knee pad until he ran out of paper. Tatum recorded the conversation:
Young: Arkansas has the capability to manufacture anything in the area of weapons, and if we don’t have it, we’ll get it.
Harari : How about the government controls?
Young: The governor’s on top of it. And if the feds get nosey, we hear about it and make a call. Then they’re called off. [As he looked down at the countryside] Why the hell would anyone want to fight for a shit-hole like this?
Harari : [Shaking his head] What we do has nothing to do with preserving a country’s integrity. It’s just business, and Third World countries see their destiny as defeating borders and expanding. The more of this mentality we can produce, the greater our wealth. We train and we arm; that’s our job. And in return, we get a product far more valuable than the money for a gun. We’re paid with product. And we credit top dollar for product. [i.e. drugs]
Young: [Still looking confused.]
Harari: Look, one gun and 3,000 rounds of ammo is $1,200. A kilo of product [cocaine] is about $1,000. We credit the Contras $1,500 for every kilo. That’s top dollar for a kilo of cocaine. It’s equivalent to the America KMart special; buy four, get one free. On our side, we spend $1,200 for a kilo and sell it for $12,000 to $15,000. Now, that’s a profit center. And the market is much greater for the product [cocaine] than for weapons. It’s just good business sense. Understand?
Young: Damn! So you guys promote wars and revolutions to provide weapons for drugs. We provide the non-numbered parts to change out and we all win. Damn, that’s good!
Harari : It’s good when it works. But someone is, how do you say, has his hand in the coffer.
Young: Well, we get our ten percent right off the top and that’s plenty. Gofus can make it go a long way.
Harari : Who is Gofus?
Young: Governor Clinton. That’s our pet word for him. You know they call the President “Potus” for president of the United States. Well, we call Clinton “Gofus” for governor of the United States. He thinks he is anyhow.
Harari : That’s your problem in America. You have no respect for your elected officials. They are more powerful than you think, and have ears everywhere. You should heed my words and be loyal to your leaders. Especially when speaking to persons like me. Your remarks indicate a weakness, something our intelligence analysts look for.
Young: Oh hell, Mike. Everybody knows the Clintons want the White House and will do anything to get it. We know about the cocaine. Hell, we’ve picked it up before with Lasater when he was worried about going on Little Rock Air Base to get it.
Harari : [Changing the topic, Harari questioned Young about his knowledge of who the players were.]
Young: Clinton thinks he’s in charge, but he’ll only go as far as Casey [CIA director] allows. Me and my staff, we keep the lid on things, you know: complaints about night flying, Arkansas people are private folks, they don’t like a lot of commotion, and Mena just isn’t the right place for the operation. It keeps us busy at the shredder, if you know what I mean. Dan’s the man [Lasater ]. He does magic with the money. Between him and Jack Stevens we don’t have to worry a bit. Then we got Parks. If there’s a problem, he’s the man. We call him the Archer. That’s the code name that Casey and Colby told us to assign to that position. Finis oversees our drop zone. Nash, he’s just the boss’ yes man. Personally, I think he’s a mistake. Seal and his guys, I like his attitude “and leave the driving to us.”
Harari : You like Seal?
Young: Hell, he’s the only one I trust; respect is the word.
Harari : Do you see him much?
Young: Hell, yes. We test drive Clinton’s rides [cocaine] before we send’em on, you know. [Laughing and grinding his hips.] Say, how much coke can you can make in a week?
Harari : One camp can produce 400 keys [kilos] a week. The others are about half that. But that’s just our operation here. We have other sources in various parts of the world. Why do you ask?
Young: The Governor wanted to know our capacity.
Harari : Who else is on the team?
Young: Well, hell, I forgot who I told you about.
Harari : [Harari repeated the list from memory.]
Young: OK, there’s the manufacturers; hell, these two. [At this point Tatum ran out of paper on his knee board, and didn’t recognize the names; but they sounded like Johnson and Johnson.]
Upon landing at his base, Tatum made a notation on the back of the previously filed flight plan:
This was a mission to Tegucigalpa. Bush visit/met with Barr & had dinner at German restaurant.
Oliver North Passing Out
On another day, Tatum was alerted for a flight at 5 a.m. to pick up three
wounded soldiers at a Contra camp near Choloteca, Nicaragua, and pick up two
observers on the way back from Choloteca: Oliver North and Lt. Col. Navarro.
As the casualties were loaded into the helicopter at the Contra camp, the medic
had to remove a piece of wood sticking out of a bad wound in the chest area.
As the medic cleaned the area a hole the size of a softball appeared. North saw
it and fainted. Tatum caught him and popped an ammonia capsule under his
nose to revive him. The flight then departed for San Lorenzo, Honduras, where
the casualties were unloaded. Back at the Palmerola base, Tatum completed the
Mission Brief Back report, writing in part: Arrived at SLNC Arrival at the helipad the emergency vehicles were not waiting. There was no answer on Medevac FQCY FM 45.10 or on..... 49.10. Confusion on ground causing ground time delay of 15 min. Medics’ duties were compounded when Mr. North fainted.
As I looked over the many copies of flight plans that Tatum gave me, they provided still more evidence of the following:
• Mossad agent Michael Harari was on many of the flights associated with the CIA and military drug shipments, providing still further indication that Israel‘s Mossad is helping the CIA inflict drugs upon the United States.
• William Barr, who Bush appointed to be the top law enforcement officer in the United States, U.S. Attorney General, played a key role in the smuggling of drugs into the United States. Tatum‘s statements about reaching Barr at Southern Air Transport in Miami through the name of Robert Johnson confirmed what Terry Reed, author of the book Compromise, had told me and had written. Nothing like having members of felony drug operations hold the position of U.S. Attorney General, in control of the United States Department of Justice, and a vice president of the United States. With this type of influence no one needs fear being arrested. And don’t forget the Mafia groups working with the CIA who also receive Justice Department protection that is not available to U.S. citizens.
• The drugging of America involved the CIA, the military, National Security Council, the White House, George Bush, and Governor Bill Clinton, among many others.
• That Mena, Arkansas was a key CIA transshipment point for cocaine coming into the United States on return flights from Central America.
• The existence of a two-tier code of criminal justice, in which people holding key positions of trust in the U.S. government go unpunished for their role in moving tens of thousands of pounds of hard-drugs into the United States, while the average “Joe” or “Jane” is given years in prison for possession of drugs the size of an M&M. That even beats Mexican “justice!”
Back of Travel Authorization
3. Due to these potentially life-threatening situations, and with the impending deployment of UT 85 medical assets into this theater [use of] all Medevac
A/C and crews deploying to Honduras in support of combined/joint training
exercises will be placed under thee [operational control of] JTF Bravo Medical
Element. This will ensure that the exercise is adequately covered and that air
crews in support of other than JFT Bravo Med element’s Medevac Section are
knowledgeable of the AOR. Host nation flights requirements and health facilities, and US medical capabilities/locations in-theater. 4. POC at SCSG Maj Ledford (A) 282-5803. Tatum provided me with a declaration relating to the drug smuggling that is recopied here for easier readability:
DECLARATION
I, Dois Gene Tatum, declare:
I was a helicopter pilot for the United States Army from 1982 to 1986, during which time I
flew missions in Central America and also from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. From 1986 to 1992, I was an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency, operating under a deep-cover assignment.
During this time I witnessed activities involving high-level U.S. personnel that I felt were unlawful, and I reported these activities to my superiors in the U.S. Army and to my handlers in the Central Intelligence Agency, to the National Security Council, and to various individuals, including William Barr, Oliver North, George Bush.
Among these activities were rampant drug smuggling into the United States involving people in control of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration,, the armed forces of the United States, among others.
I have documented some of these activities on military flight plans, showing as passengers on certain flights, the following: William Barr; Buddy Young; Felix Rodriguez; Oliver North; Joe Fernandez; Manuel Noriega, and Mike Harari.
I have visited cocaine laboratories with the above people, who were inspecting the drug smuggling operations in Central America.
I have documented on some of these military flight plans the nature of the cargo being carried in white coolers that were fraudulently marked as “medical supplies,” which I accidentally discovered to be cocaine.
During one flight and related meeting, I was present while there were discussions as to where drug money was being siphoned on the Panama to Arkansas run.
Present at this meeting was Manuel Noriega; William Barr (associated with CIA proprietary Southern Air Transport and later attorney general of the United States); Joe Fernandez; Mike Harari; General Gustavo Alverez.
Participating in this meeting via satellite telephone was Vice President George Bush, Oliver North, and William Jefferson Clinton, then governor of Arkansas.
I have reported these illegal operations to my superiors, including William Barr; Oliver North; George Bush; Felix Rodriguez; Joe Fernandez; Don Gregg; Dewey Clarridge.
After I refused to perform a mission that I felt was beyond my willingness to execute, I notified my handlers that I wanted out of the operation, which at that time was known as Operation Pegasus.
Their response was to warn me that no one leaves the operation.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the above facts are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Executed this 15th day of August 1996 in the County of Hillsborough, State of Florida.
Dois Gene Tatum
aka Gene D. Tatum
Tatum provided me copies of these military flight plans with notations on them
of the drugs and passengers carried.
Deep-Cover CIA Asset Tosh Plumlee
Another of the many sources providing me confidential insider information
about the role of U.S. government operations in drug smuggling, and involving
many of the people already described, was William “Tosh” Plumlee. After joining the army in Dallas, he worked under several case officers with OSS and
CIA ties, including Captain Edward G. Seiwell. Plumlee received pilot training
under the GI Bill at White Rock Airport in Dallas, after which he worked at
Red Bird Airport south of Dallas, becoming involved with several CIA-front
companies. (I was a flight and ground instructor at Redbird Airport in 1949 and
1950, teaching the instrument and airline transport pilot courses, before I
started flying as pilot for various airlines. Plumlee and I had also worked for
the same airline, Pioneer Airlines at Love Field in Dallas.)
Plumlee was a former deep-cover military and CIA asset from 1956 to
1987 with a long history of CIA activities.
Fighting Alongside Fidel
Castro as CIA Operative
He was sent to the Miami area where he became involved in covert operations in Cuba, the Caribbean and Central America. Most of this time he flew
guns and ammunition for various factions in half a dozen countries. Plumlee
said he was driven by the adventure and the paychecks. He explained that in his
covert operations he had to keep other federal agencies from knowing about the
clandestine and usually illegal operations.
Covert Operations Have Ring
of Unreality for the Public
He was one of a handful of North Americans fighting to overthrow Batista
and install Fidel Castro. He described how covert activities have the ring of unreality to the public because of their lack of knowledge about the activities.
Those who work the 8 to 5 shift cannot comprehend what goes on in covert operations.
CIA Arming Castro while White
House Sought to Assassinate Him
He was involved, while connected to military and CIA intelligence, fighting alongside Fidel Castro’s rebel forces in Cuba; he flew aircraft in Southeast
Asia for Air America, and flew arms to Central America and drugs on the return
trips, as ordered by his government handlers. There were similar reports indicating that the CIA armed Castro to overthrow the Batista government. After
Castro took over in Cuba, shut down mobster-owned casinos, and threatened to
nationalize American businesses, the White House sought for the next several
decades to overthrow him. This would suggest that the CIA was continuing its
practice of undermining governments all over the world, or, that the CIA’s activities were contrary to those established by the White House.
In the 1960s, Plumlee flew missions evacuating defecting Russian missile
technicians out of Cuba, and trained Cuban pilots in Nicaragua and Happy Valley, prior to the Bay of Pigs fiasco. He flew in Laos and Cambodia, about the time of the Tet offensive.
CIA and Military Personnel
Involved in Drug Operations
Plumlee tried to leave covert operations after a tour in Vietnam, but his
handlers kept calling him for other deep-cover or “black” projects. He wrote:
It was in Mexico where I saw the widespread government corruption on
both sides of the border. Someone in Washington was turning a blind eye
toward drug shipments from Colombia being smuggled through Mexico
and into the United States. It was obvious, our intelligence information was
being tampered with at the highest level. Millions of dollars, dirty drug
money, was being routed through Panama by the cartel, some of it to be
used to influence the upcoming presidential election. Some of the illegal
cargoes were flown and transported by other CIA operatives and military
personnel holding civilian status, thus covering their CIA-Military affiliations from public view.
Plumlee had flown and had contacts with key people in the Contra and drug
operations, including Bill Cooper (captain of the C-123 plane shot down over
Nicaragua ). He worked for various CIA proprietary or front companies, including Riddle Airlines, the Dodge Corporation, Inter-Mountain Aviation, Evergreen Helicopters, Act Technology, Air America, CDG American Services, InAir, and other companies that he couldn’t remember. (Ironically, Evergreen
helicopter crews would occasionally land one of their large helicopters on my
motel property in Yuba City, California, and stay at the motel.)
Given Many CIA Aliases
As a standard CIA procedure, the agency gave Plumlee different aliases
when working in different undercover operations, including Buck Pierson,
James Plumlee, James H. Rawlings, William H. Pierson, Juan Carbello, and
some that he couldn’t remember anymore.
In the early 1970s Plumlee was attached to an operation in Miami called
Jay Emway, which involved assassination attempts upon Fidel Castro. Plumlee
was involved in black operations with the Pentagon while also working with
the CIA. He became a CIA contract pilot, taking orders from the Pentagon and
worked through the National Security Council staff. Plumlee worked in the
CIA’s Jim Wave operation, which was another CIA scheme to assassinate Castro.
U.S. Military Working with Mafia People
Plumlee flew many black operations, including flying arms to Central
America and drugs into the United States, being advised that these activities
were in the national interest. He told me of the heavy involvement of the military, the Pentagon, the staff of the National Security Council, in these drug activities. He described how the military and intelligence groups worked with
Mafia people and casino-associated crime groups.
He described assassination attempts on Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo,
and Fidel Castro, and kidnapping people in foreign countries. He described
how these illegal operations were given the pious-sounding name of national
security, the same label used to support secrecy on subversive and criminal activities against the United States.
CIA’s Attempt to Assassinate Eden Pastora
Plumlee described how one of the Contra commanders on the Southern
Front, Eden Pastora, also known as Commander Zero, refused to engage in
drug trafficking as the other Contras did. The CIA then tried to assassinate Pastora during a media conference held at La Penca, Costa Rica, during which Pastora was expected to expose the CIA-DEA drug trafficking. The conference
started in chaos as a bomb exploded and killed several people.
Operation Whale Watch and
Operation Watchtower
Plumlee confirmed the existence of Operation Whale Watch and Operation
Watchtower, drug smuggling operations involving the CIA, U.S. military, National Security Council, that others had described to me. He told me about his
drug flights from Central America to the United States for the CIA, with stops
at places he marked on maps that he provided.
U.S. and Mexico Cooperation
in Drug Smuggling
Evidence of some of the most bizarre and contradictory deep-cover operations has periodically surfaced during my many years of obtaining information
from my dozens of insiders. Plumlee talked about the close cooperation between Mexican and U.S. government personnel in drug smuggling, for which
there is other evidence in later pages. This defies comprehension, but remember
there are many factions working under the umbrella of the U.S. government
and they often have contradictory agendas. Plumlee described the practice of
Mexican police and military protecting drug traffickers, something that will be
described in considerably more detail in later pages.
CIA’s Drug Corridors Through Mexico
Plumlee described one of the drug corridors used by the CIA that ran the
length of Baja California with a refueling stop at an airstrip north of Cabo San
Lucas. He described another common drug route that he flew, starting in Panama, with stops at Santa Helene in Costa Rica, Puerto Escondido in Southern
Mexico, and then up through Baja California to Mexicali. He delivered drugs to airfields throughout the Southwest, including Borrego Desert airstrips, one near Humboldt Mountain in Arizona where drugs would be pushed out of the aircraft, an airstrip near Buckskin Mountain close to the Colorado River, and at abandoned mine sites between Parker and Havasu City, Arizona.
Apples, Pears, and Bananas
Plumlee described some of the code words used in radio and other communications. “Apples” was the code word for small arms and ammunition. “Oranges” referred to C-4 explosives and primer cords. “Pears” referred to electronics. “Bananas” referred to personnel. For instance, if he was to deliver a
government agent, he would say on the radio, “Bananas are delivered.” Code 6” referred to the flyway through Central Mexico and crossing the U.S. border at Piedres Negras, and then into the Big Bend region of Texas. “Code 7” referred to the air route along the Baja Peninsula, through San Felipe and Mexicali, to drop points in the Anza-Borrego Desert, Twenty Nine Palms, or the former Patton bombing range east of the Salton Sea.
Plumlee sent me a map containing data on a major drug trafficker at the Delgado Ranch near San Felipe: Luis Carlos Quintero Cruz. Plumlee was part of a major drug deal in 1986 involving Quintero that involved the Contras.
Some of the data Plumlee conveyed to me corroborated what several of my other sources that flew the drugs told me.
Plumlee provided me with various documents relating to the drug trafficking by U.S. forces, one of which was marked Secret, dated February 13, 1990, which stated in part:
Apparently one month ago (January 1990), and AVINA-Batiz were engaged in conversation when AVINA-Batiz told that the flow of drugs into the United States is the best solution to Latin America’s problems. The poisoning of American youth is the best answer to the down-trodden Latin American masses in retaliation against the imperialistic actions of the United States.... has learned that the reporter from Vera Cruz (FNU) Valasco, before his death (1985) was allegedly developing information that, using the DFS as cover, the CIA established and maintained clandestine airfields to refuel aircraft loaded with weapons which were destined for Honduras and Nicaragua.
Pilots of these aircraft would load up with cocaine in Barranquilla, Colombia and enroute to Miami, Florida, refuel in Mexico at narcotic trafficker-operated and CIA-maintained airstrips.... Cubans were working a similar type of refuel operations, picking up cocaine in Medellin, Colombia and flying it thru Cuba into Miami.
Smuggling Arms Into Mexico
and Destroying FBI Report
An August 10, 1976 FBI report from the special agent in charge of the
Phoenix office (62-2116) to the FBI director confirmed that Plumlee had flown
a large shipment of arms to Albuquerque for later flight to San Diego, that there
was a 1963 government report on the matter in Phoenix file 26-20103, and that
the “file has been destroyed.” The FBI report further stated, “This would fit
into the time frame PLUMLEE alleged on 8-10-76 wherein he was instructed
to leave a plane loaded with arms in New Mexico.” The 1976 date suggests that
the United States was clandestinely shipping arms to Mexico. A CIA attempt to
destabilize or overthrow another government?
FBI Report of Plumlee Covert Activities
In a FBI report (000037) it was stated that Plumlee had advised special
agents of the Cincinnati Division that under authority of a government cover
agent, Larry Allen of Miami, Plumlee arranged to fly munitions to the Castro
forces in Cuba. On or about July 5, 1958, he flew a DC-3 airplane from Miami
International Airport to an abandoned military airport on Marathon Island in the
Florida Keys, where the plane was loaded with arms and ammunition and
flown to Cuba. Allen paid Plumlee $900.00 for this flight. The FBI report stated that “it was [Plumlee’s] desire to establish his credibility concerning his past activities [working for government agencies and] in establishing contact with the FBI in Arizona in the event he should ever become involved in border-line activities.” The report stated that Plumlee agreed to provide a written report to the Phoenix FBI office. The report stated that Plumlee was also flying for Regina Airlines and Riddle Airlines. Among the various CIA agents mentioned in the reports were Larry Allen, Johnny Smith, Frank Sutter, John Roselli, and John Martino. The FBI’s reports showed the Federal Bureau of Investigation knew of the various covert and surely illegal activities by the CIA and the military.
I asked Plumlee if he knew why the CIA and the White House’s position changed from supporting Castro into suddenly calling him an enemy of the United States. He said that President Ike Eisenhower was supportive of Castro but the moment that President Kennedy took office, the support reversed. Castro then sought help from Russia and suddenly became an “enemy” of the United States.
Plumlee provided me with a picture of him seated in the pilot’s seat of a C130, which was taken of him by pilot William Cooper who was shortly thereafter shot down over Nicaragua in a C-123, exposing the U.S.’s role in undermining the Nicaraguan government. As I looked at notations that Plumlee made on the back of the picture, I saw the name, Crittenden Air Transport, one of my sources who headed a CIA proprietary airline that I describe in great detail in Defrauding America. Plumlee explained that he personally delivered that C130 to Crittenden of Crittenden Air Transport, which provided still more support for Crittenden’s CIA connections.
Operation Grasshopper: Another
Government Drug Operation
Plumlee described the operation known as Operation Grasshopper and using government contract pilots to fly drugs, including Barry Seal. Plumlee described the protection given to the CIA drug trafficking by other government
agencies.
Murder Of Drug Pilot by Mexicans
and Murder of Witness
Plumlee described the brutal murder of a former Air America pilot, Maurice Louis Gonzales, in Quedo Loco Lobo, near Oaxaca in Southwestern Mexico, by Pepe Suequez. Plumlee described how an informant sought to report the
killing to American authorities, who then allowed a Mexico police officer to be
present. Later, Mexican police retaliated against the informant for reporting the
killing to American authorities by horribly mutilating him and leaving him to
slowly die in a Mexican prison yard.
Hundreds Of “Drug Stings”
That Never Happened
Plumlee said that his government handlers tried to cover up for the government’s drug shipments into the United States with the explanation that the
drugs were used in sting operations. Plumlee said, “We were documenting the
loads and the routes and waiting for the big busts. But the busts never seemed
to add up to the amount of cocaine we were bringing in.” He said that many of
the men in the “black ops” with whom he worked felt extremely uneasy about
the illegality of the drug shipments. They occasionally talked of exposing the
drug trafficking as a group, and complained to their DEA and CIA contacts.
The questioning pilots were told, “You’ve got to keep the big picture in mind,
or you might blow a major sting operation.”
One Agency Arresting Another
Agency’s Drug-Hauling Pilots
Plumlee said that he knew of about 125 pilots flying drugs for the CIA, the
DEA, and the FBI, some of whom would infiltrate other government groups to
determine what they were doing. Occasionally, one government agency would
arrest a pilot flying for another government agency or even another office of
the same agency. The agency authorizing the operation might either call and obtain the pilot’s release, or simply sacrifice the pilot and disavow any relationship. The pilot then goes to prison, sometimes for life. Plumlee brought out that
different agencies would file charges on people working for other agencies, so
that they could show greater results and support their request for higher funding. Plumlee said that the DEA, CIA and FBI were spying on each other’s covert deals. He described landing a DC-3 loaded with over 1200 pounds of cocaine in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was to meet an FBI contact who failed to meet the plane. Plumlee then called the FBI, trying to contact the agent. Plumlee said, “The FBI thought I was some kind of nut.” That trip had started from an airfield called “The Farm,” near McAllen, Texas. His instructions were to deliver the arms to the Contras, and then return with a load of drugs.
Arkansas Drug Drops
Plumlee described the airdrops of cocaine-filled bags in the areas around
Russellville and Mena in Arkansas, mostly in national forest areas, and the subsequent pickup by helicopters. He described how he was involved in several of
the helicopter pickups. He said aircraft would go north from the Bayou Buff
area to Mena and up to Antlers, Oklahoma. Most of these drops would be at
night, with daytime pickups by helicopters. (Tatum and other pilots described
this same operation to me.) He described how helicopters would pick up the drug drops in daylight, with one group authorized to pick up blue colored drug-laden bags, and another group authorized to pick up bags of another color. One of the helicopter companies that he mentioned was American Services.
Method of Paying Pilots
Plumlee explained, pilots were paid either by check from the CIA proprietary or front companies to which they were attached, or by cash. He said that
his checks or money usually came from military intelligence sources, including
Sitco, and sometimes regular military pay. He said to this day he still had not
received a military discharge. At the request of his military handlers, in 1988, Plumlee started a pilot recruitment agency in Southern California called Pilot’s Aviation Network for the purpose of recruiting pilots to continue flying drugs for the various U.S. agencies.
Reason for Government to Arrange
for Seal’s Assassination
Plumlee described his role in Operation Grasshopper, a top secret military
operation in which Barry Seal was a part. Another operation in which he was
involved was code named “AMSOG.” Seal was also a part of that operation.
Plumlee described the government’s double-cross of Seal, which led to Seal’s
assassination. The intent was to keep Seal from testifying about the government’s drug and money laundering activities at a trial that was to shortly start.
Plumlee said Seal was a military operative in the early days of AMSOG, a joint
operation involving Mexican and American government personnel. Plumlee described an incident in Mexico where a prisoner, seeking to give him and his DEA agents information about the killing of an American pilot by a Mexican drug lord, was then killed by Mexican guards.
Lajitas, Texas Drug Transshipment Point
Plumlee described the heavy amount of arms trafficking from the United
States into Mexico and then to El Salvador, and the drug trafficking on return
flights. He described what another deep-cover source, Basil Abbott had told me
that arms and drugs were flown from Mexico into a small airstrip at Lajitas,
Texas, just across the Mexican border.
Secret Codes to Prevent Interdiction
of Government Drug Pilots
Plumlee confirmed what other pilots had told me, about military personnel
giving him contact codes to get back into the country without being intercepted. Referring to the secret codes given to him that halted drug interdiction
flights, Plumlee said, “I have seen interdiction planes turn away after we
squawked our transponders, and let us into the country, not molested, and not
have Customs waiting for us when we land.” Plumlee described another procedure to avoid interdiction. At a certain geographical point upon entering U.S. airspace, the pilot would call a particular ground station from the air and say, for instance, “Bravo One, Bravo One,” after which the ground station would answer, “Okay Bravo One, we have a lock.” The pilot would then hit the “Ident” button on the transponder. If the code was correct, there would be no interdiction and Customs would not be waiting the plane’s arrival.
Stealing Arms from U.S.
Armories to Arm Chiapas Indians
Plumlee described the stealing of guns and ammunition from National
Guard arsenals throughout the United States, which were then used to supply
the Cuban rebels, the Contras, the Mexicans in Chiapas, Mexico, and various
third world countries. The purpose was to destabilize other countries or overthrow a particular government. Private arms merchants, working with the CIA,
Department of Defense and other Pentagon operations, obtained the documentation necessary to move the arms out of the United States. In Defrauding America, CIA operative Gunther Russbacher described the looting of U.S. arsenals in other covert operations. In one instance, the arms were taken out of National Guard armories and sent to Iran via Israel as part of the bribe used in the October Surprise operation to delay the release of the American hostages seized in Teheran (as described in Defrauding America).
National Security Staff Operating
Secretly from NSC Council
Plumlee discovered that the unlawful arms shipments and drug trafficking
involved the CIA and other government entities, and even the National Security
Council and the White House. Plumlee said the National Security Council often
did not know about the arms and drug trafficking activities conducted by the
staff of the council.
Tactics to Hide Criminal
Activities from the Public
Speaking about how people in control of government agencies keep the
government drug trafficking from the American people, Plumlee said: We’ve lost a lot of people that’s been killed or assassinated or discredited because for whatever reasons, they were going to blow the whistle on current operations they were involved with. Elements within the agencies that are involved would definitely put hit men out, if it was going to jeopardize their on-going operation. Independent operatives within the agency sometimes take it upon themselves to protect the operation, and also to protect their profit margins.
Presidential Spin-Doctors
The Reagan and Bush administrations were accusing the Sandinistas of
drug trafficking, seeking public and congressional support for the war against
this poor country. But Plumlee described (as others have done) how he discovered that it was the Contras, supported by the United States, who were heavily
involved in drug trafficking. Actually, other sources that flew arms to Central
America said they delivered arms to both the Contras and Sandinistas, and that
both sides paid for the arms with drugs.
Drug Cartels Penetrating U.S. Data Bases
Plumlee described how the drug cartels had sophisticated decoding devices
that decoded DEA and CIA messages, and that the cartel decoded a message
showing that one of the traffickers, named Rodriguez, had given testimony to
the DEA. The cartel then beheaded the informer.
Congress’ Decades of Complicity
in Crimes Against Americans
After Plumlee decided that the drug operations were not lawful undercover
operations, but rather criminal in nature, he contacted members of Congress
and the media, expecting as I did years ago that they would exercise their responsibilities, receive the information, and use it in such a way that the criminal activities would be exposed, prosecuted, and halted. Plumlee testified to
several House and Senate committees, including the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, as an insider who had the evidence of CIA and DEA drug trafficking. He testified to the close cooperation between Mexican and U.S. officials in the drug smuggling operation. He described how witnesses who were suspected of exposing the U.S. involvement in drug smuggling were assassinated. As other insiders have discovered for many decades, the members of Congress covered up for the criminal activities that he—at great risk to himself— revealed.
Repeated Depositions with
Members of Congress
In 1983, several years before the lid of secrecy on the Contra scandal was
slightly lifted by the U.S. media—forced into doing so by the shooting down of
the “Hasenfus ” flight—Plumlee met several times with Senator Gary Hart‘s
aide, Bill Holden. Plumlee gave precise details, documents, CIA and other
maps, field maps, coded flyways, names, military codes, that left no doubt that
these activities did exist. This information was passed on to various congressional committees, none of who allowed the American public to know about it.
Remember, cover-ups like this are federal crimes. Senator Hart conveyed the information to Senator John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Communications. Several of my other informants who were an active part of the arms and drug trafficking also contacted Senator Kerry. In a February 14, 1991, letter to Senator John Kerry, Senator Hart stated:
Mr. Plumlee raised several issues including that covert U.S. intelligence agencies were directly involved in the smuggling and distribution of drugs. He provided my staff with detailed maps and names of alleged covert landing strips in Mexico, Costa Rica, Louisiana, Arizona, Florida, and California where he alleged aircraft cargoes of drugs were off-loaded and replaced with Contra military supplies. He also stated that these operations were not CIA operations but rather under the direction of the White House, Pentagon and NSC personnel. My staff brought these allegations to the attention of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time, but no action was initiated by either committee.
In 1991, journalist Art Goodtimes of the Telluride Times-Journal wrote a letter (January 13, 1991) to Senator John Kerry offering to provide maps, data, and testimony of former CIA agent Tosh Plumlee. The letter advised that Plumlee was involved in flying in Central America and had evidence of the U.S. government’s involvement in illegal drug trafficking through Mexico, El Salvador and Panama. The letter stated in part:
Government’s involvement with illegal drug operations, infiltrated by military undercover operatives...Plumlee intent to get a federal investigation into the illegal covert activities instigated by various agencies of our government in Central America.
A DEA report dated February 13, 1990, marked SECRET, stated in part:
BUENDIA had allegedly gathered information on...the relationship the CIA had with known narcotic traffickers in Vera Cruz area....the CIA narcotic trafficker situation was very delicate (not to be spoken about)....information on CIA arms smuggling and the connection the CIA had to narcotic traffickers....Shortly thereafter, Eden Pastora, aka Commander ZERO, who had given BUENDIA information on CIA arms smuggling allegedly suffered a CIA sponsored bomb attack while traveling in Costa Rica....It was later learned that BUENIDA had allegedly obtained information that would expose high ranking members of the PRI political party who were assisting the CIA with arms smuggling and knew of the CIA link to narcotics traffickers. [Buenida, who was exposing drug trafficking by the CIA and high officials of Mexico’s PRI party, was killed by elements of the Mexican DFS security detail.]
Plumlee was only one of many people having direct knowledge of these criminal activities and who gave this information to members of Congress. The sheer number of insiders risking their lives by coming forward should have had some effect upon members of Congress. You guessed it: none.
Hiding From Retaliation by U.S. Authorities
Plumlee eventually went underground, hiding from his prior handlers, and
settled in a small town near Denver. In a book Plumlee was writing, he described the government corruption that he saw in Mexico involving both Mexican and U.S. officials and how both either participated in or did nothing to halt
the drug trafficking. To the best of my knowledge, Plumlee gave up writing the
book because of the widespread public indifference.
Another of Many Hoaxes
Upon the American People
Seeking to get public support for the U.S. attempts to undermine the Nicaraguan government. President Ronald Reagan appeared on television holding
up a picture allegedly showing Nicaraguan Sandinistas loading drugs onto a plane in Nicaragua that was piloted by Barry Seal. Plumlee, a friend of Seal,
said that the picture was not taken in Nicaragua, but in Panama, and misrepresented to the public what was actually taking place. Plumlee said that the C-123
aircraft from which the picture was taken had on it a global positioning instrument wherein a satellite could identify the location of the aircraft, and the record shows that the plane never went to Nicaragua. Plumlee said the camera in the C-123 aircraft was rigged up by the CIA at Rickenboch Field and that he helped rig the switching arrangement. The idea was to fraudulently indicate to the American public that the Sandinistas were engaging in drug trafficking, when in fact, as Plumlee stated, it was the Contras —and U.S. agents—who were most active in drug trafficking. The American public was, again, duped by their own leaders.
Seal’s Ace-in-The-Hole
Protection was Valueless
Plumlee described how Barry Seal told him he had an ace-in-the-hole
against federal prosecution. This ace-in-the-hole was Seal’s threat to report the
CIA-DEA-White House involvement in drug trafficking to the media and to
Congress. Like Tatum, Plumlee, and many others, each of these checks and
balances would have ignored his charges and even ridiculed him. Eventually,
government personnel set him up to be assassinated by Colombians.
Evidence of Government Corruption Withheld on National
Security Excuse—The Law Calls It, Obstruction Of Justice
During a taped interview for Jeremiah Films in 1995, Plumlee stated: The result of that testimony [to various congressional committees] was that the testimony was sealed. The committee censored it, calling it national security and top secret. A lot of the pilots that flew and testified to the committees had the same problem. Their testimony was not released. Pilots and other ground crew personnel, who made these allegations in 1982 and 1983, were systematically purged from those operations. There was systematic character assassinations of a lot of good people that had done a lot of black operations, one in particular was Barry Seal, who was a personal friend of mine.... They discredited people with fake documents.
Military Bases as Drug
Transshipment Points
We flew some of the drugs into Air Force bases along the southeast
coast, and some in the West and the Southwest...including Homestead Air
Force Base. DEA has a very good handle on [the drug trafficking] around
Arkansas and Louisiana, but their investigations were completely shut
down, stopped in their tracks...and the people who had the information
about this operation were suddenly transferred and can’t be found now. Starting about 1981, the [CIA-DEA] drug smuggling problem was just really starting to escalate. It didn’t really start until the latter part of 1981 and 1982, about the same time that Reagan said we’re fighting a drug war, and a lot of money was appropriated for that....From the time that the money was appropriated to start [the drug war] we saw a 400 percent increase in the illegal drugs that were coming into this country.
High Level Government
Block-Obstruction of Justice
Someone had the power to intercept that information, to destroy the information and the operatives that had gathered the information. Even to the point of putting them in jail, discrediting their character, by assassinations, assassinating their character by labeling them as “cartel drug runners.”
Drug Cartels Could Have Been
Shut Down 20 Years Ago
Plumlee felt that it would have been easy to shut down the drug cartels 20
years ago: What I’m saying is the cartel could have been shut down in 1981. The information was there from the informants that had infiltrated the cartel.
Heavy Military Involvement
in Drugging America
Plumlee said that he flew over 6600 pounds of cocaine into the United
States in government-sanctioned operations. He said many of his flights were
for the military, a fact little known, as most of the blame goes to the CIA. He
said that his military handler was out of a military base in Arizona.
CBS’s Reversal of what Plumlee Said
Plumlee appeared on CBS Television (November 15, 1996) as CBS televised CIA Director John Deutsch’s appearance before a high school in the
Watts area of Los Angeles. After Deutsch was filmed—denying any CIA involvement in drugs—CBS showed Plumlee stating in a 30-second clip that he
flew drugs; that he did so under orders of individuals, and that the CIA was not
involved. After I saw that segment, I contacted Plumlee, since he had earlier
gone into great detail describing the CIA involvement in drug smuggling.
Plumlee had clearly stated this fact to CBS over the last few years and had provided the TV network with documentation. Plumlee was outraged that CBS
took his statements out of context as Plumlee was referring to another drug
smuggling operation that was controlled by the National Security Council, the
Pentagon, and the White House. In response, I wrote a letter on November 22, 1996, to Bruce Rheins, CBS News producer in Los Angeles, complaining about that cover-up for the past 30 years. I advised him that I also had considerable evidence of covert agencies and the military smuggling drugs into the United States, and had over two dozen former agents of the FBI, CIA, DEA ready to testify to these activities.
Rheins responded on November 25, 1996: “Your name has surfaced quite frequently in my research surrounding the allegations of the CIA’s involvement with the distribution of crack cocaine in South Central Los Angeles.” He made no attempt to obtain any information from me. On the contrary, I was canceled from two subsequent CBS television productions.
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Secret CIA Financial Institutions
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