The igs report cleared the cia of complicity with the innercity crack cocaine trade. It refuted charges that cia officials knew that their nicaraguan allies were dealing drugs. They saw that the strength and addiction potential was far greater than ordinary cocaine and created crack cocaine from the basuco formula. This is a must read for every person searching for answers to why crack cocain flooded our country seemingly unbridled, into our country. However, ross told us that he never sold drugs for the contras or donated any money to the contras. Oct 27, 1997 but alfred blumstein, a criminologist at carnegie mellon university, said the connection between crack and homicide could be linked to the way crack created new markets. A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yesand the charge. In the 1980s, the soviet union and allies participated in a widespread disinformation campaign. Long before facebook, the kgb spread fake news about aids.
On august 18, 1996, the san jose mercury news published the first installment of a threepart series of articles concerning crack cocaine, the central intelligence agency cia, and the nicaraguan contra. News that central intelligence agency operatives were tied to the crack cocaine epidemic has. Under the provisions of the national security act of 1947, the national security council nsc and the central intelligence agency cia were created. Blandon and meneses were said to have used their drug trafficking profits to help fund the contra armys war effort. Two years later, in 1980, britain and america were starting to see the first signs of the crack cocaine epidemic on the streets. Gary webb was no journalism hero, despite what kill the. It started when webb wrote a series of three articles for the san jose mercury news in 1996 dubbed dark alliance. Weekly has a fascinating piece concerning the late gary webb.
Black gangs used their profits to buy automatic weapons, sometimes from one of the cialinked drug dealers. This is the true story about the ciacontra relationship. By 2002, the united kingdom was experiencing their own crack epidemic, with the number of crack addicts seeking help climbing nearly 50% that year. All the time that this crack epidemic was being unleashed by the contras, vice president bush was the man in charge of the reagan administrations central america program, overseeing all of the activities of the cia, the pentagon, and every other government intelligence agency. Crack cocaine was popularized because of its affordability, its immediate euphoric effect, and its high profitability. This is a stunning revelation into the crack epidemic perpitrated in part by the reagan administration era. The crack epidemic in the united states was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the united states between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. Oct 05, 2011 the drugs the cia let into the country contributed to the deaths of many africanamericans in the ghetto, these drugs were part of the crack epidemic. This creates a short high, followed by tiredness, depression, panic, anxiety, and brain damage.
Mi6 and the cia then flooded britain and america with crack. Even today, the conspiracy theory has a number of highprofile believers. The drugs the cia let into the country contributed to the deaths of many africanamericans in the ghetto, these drugs were part of the crack epidemic. The cia planes brought guns, washing machines, gourmet food, and fancy furniture intto colombia and took drugs back to the u. A commonheld belief was that the cia flooded the black community with crack so. A series of expose articles in the san jose mercurynews by reporter gary webb told tales of a drug. These claims have led to investigations by the united states government, including hearings and reports by the united states house of representatives, senate, department of justice, and the cias office of the inspector general. But in the background, the cia relationships flourished and grew. This source, ricky ross, was being unwittingly used to fund the guerrilla war in nicaragua. Ross said the crack epidemic also created a different, dangerous mindset. Titled dark alliance, the headline ran beneath the provocative image of a man smoking crack superimposed on the official seal of the cia. The cia, the contras and crack cocaine albion monitor. The act charged the cia with coordinating the nations intelligence activities and correlating, evaluating, and disseminating intelligence that affects national security. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb in 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between nicaraguas drugrunning contra rebels and the cia.
Since the centers for disease control and prevention first reported the hivaids epidemic in 1981, rumors have persisted that the deadly virus was created by the cia to wipe out homosexuals and african americans. During the 1980s, ross was a major cocaine and crack trafficker who says he made millions in the drug trade. Great essay against prohibition which discusses the u. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb. He said in an interview that cocaines emerging popularity was linked to heroins decline.
It was hard for me to keep track of who was a good guy and who was a bad guy, but i think that is the whole point of the book anyway. Small doses of it are smoked into the lungs and delivered quickly to the brain. One of the most talked about conspiracy theories of the mid80s and early 90s had to do with the crack epidemic. Crack epidemic united states history 1980s britannica. Others however argued that this is not true and that its some sort of liberal agenda to demonize reagans term. The use of crack cocaine reached epidemic proportions in this country at the end of the 1980s. In 1996 the agency was accused of being a crack dealer. Read more at, crack, the cia and black americas drug crisis. God, if we just had more kids his age asking this question in our schools. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy studies. Cia concludes, after interviewing nearly 400 people on four continents, that its officers had nothing to do with explosion of crack cocaine in us, as charged by some blacks. He regrets being used a pawn in the cialinked operation that spread drugs and despair in the black community. Cia created 1947 in an effort to bring to a close the interservice bickering that marred u. It created a mindset that we should attack life as easy as we can and try to get shortcuts.
Webb had discovered that the cocaine being brought into these areas all came from one source. The threepart series by reporter gary webb linked the cia and nicaraguas contras to the crack cocaine epidemic. Now, webbs bombshell expose is being explored anew in a documentary, freeway. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in the 1980s earlier one of our younger duers asked why reagan was so bad. Hes freeway rick ross, the man who stood at the center of the crack epidemic, and whose name has been inextricably linked to the cia contracocaine connection. But alfred blumstein, a criminologist at carnegie mellon university, said the connection between crack and homicide could be linked to the way crack. What did the cia have to gain by being involved with. Excellent article from the village voice in 1990 arguing that the u. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in american inner city neighborhoods, as well as a resulting backlash in the form of tough on crime. The reagan administration and the cia also collaborated with nicaraguan cocaine traffickers to support the contras led to the crack epidemic of the 1980s. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb telegraph. Dec 31, 2004 crack, the cia and black americas drug crisis. In 1996, a bombshell report by journalist gary webb claimed that the central intelligence agency cia supported cocaine trafficking into the u. Cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking wikipedia.
Did the cia play a role in launching the crack cocaine epidemic. Measuring crack cocaine and its impact harvard university. Due to the unique characteristics associated with crack addiction and the populations that use it, the epidemic created a host of new problems for the public health and drug treatment commu nities. The cia and aids conspiracy theories printout time. The subject of todays hearings involves the allegations of cia in volvement in the u. Did the cia really introduce cocainecrack to the u. How the drug war created crack, from cures not wars. The crack epidemic the history of crack cocaine drugfree.
Mar 21, 2015 the cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb in 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between nicaraguas drugrunning contra rebels and the cia. Aug 30, 2012 one of the most talked about conspiracy theories of the mid80s and early 90s had to do with the crack epidemic. Crack epidemic, the significant increase in the use of crack cocaine, or crack, in the united states during the early 1980s. When reagans pentagon tried to do something similar by selling arms to iran to fund nicaraguan guerrillas without the cia, it didnt know what it was doing and screwed it all up, getting caught and thus the irancontra scandal. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward.
Drop in homicide rate linked to cracks decline the new. It is one of the most highly additive and destructive drugs in the world. The uk reported an increase of 74% in seizures of crack cocaine in drug raids between 2000 and 2006. Mar 23, 20 under the provisions of the national security act of 1947, the national security council nsc and the central intelligence agency cia were created. Hes freeway rick ross, the man who stood at the center of the crack epidemic, and whose name has been inextricably linked to the ciacontracocaine connection. Webbs story made the extraordinary claim that the central intelligence agency was responsible for the crack cocaine epidemic in america. On august 18, 1996, the san jose mercury news published the first installment of a threepart series of articles concerning crack cocaine, the central intelligence agency cia, and the nicaraguan contra army. Dec 19, 1997 cia concludes, after interviewing nearly 400 people on four continents, that its officers had nothing to do with explosion of crack cocaine in us, as charged by some blacks. Dark alliance was a series written by californiabased reporter webb and published in the san jose mercury news in 1996. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s.
He regrets being used a pawn in the cia linked operation that spread drugs and despair in the black community. Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in the. The invention of crack represented a technological innovation that dramatically widened the availability and use of cocaine in inner cities. Allegations of a cia connection to crack cocaine epidemic. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion webb, gary, waters, maxine on. Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia in.
David icke americas crackcocaine epidemic created by the cia. Says it has found no link between itself and crack. Crips to sell crack in cincinnati in 1987 and that he sold cocaine. Did the cia play a role in launching the crackcocaine epidemic. How one journalist linked the cia to the crack epidemic and. This is the true story about the cia contra relationship. One day in the early 1980s, wanda palacio watched a hercules cargo plane roll to a stop on the tarmac of barranquilla international airport, located in the andean foothills just off the azure waters of colombias northern coast.
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