Iran-Contra and the CIA

The Iran-Contra scandal is one of the most serious political affairs in American history, involving a systematic violation of the law by high-ranking officials in the Reagan administration. The affair breaks down into two interconnected aspects that, together, constitute a clandestine operation on a considerable scale.

THE IRANIAN COMPONENT: WEAPONS FOR HOSTAGES

In 1985, despite a strict embargo on arms sales to Iran (at war with Iraq since 1980), the Reagan administration secretly authorized the sale of weapons to Tehran through Israel. The official objective was to obtain the release of American hostages held in Lebanon by Hezbollah, an ally of Iran. The first weapon deliveries (TOW anti-tank missiles) were carried out in August and September 1985 via Israel. In November 1985, Hawk missiles were also delivered. From 1986 onwards, sales were made directly between the United States and Iran, with Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North of the National Security Council as the principal operational coordinator.

The fundamental contradiction is glaring: the Reagan administration, which publicly proclaims a policy of firm opposition to terrorism and officially refuses to negotiate with terrorists or states that support them, secretly sold weapons to the principal state sponsor of terrorism in the Middle East in order to obtain the release of hostages.

THE NICARAGUAN COMPONENT: ILLEGAL FINANCING OF THE CONTRAS

The second aspect concerns the financing of the Contras, the anti-Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua. The American Congress had adopted the Boland Amendment (1982-1984), explicitly prohibiting the CIA and the Department of Defense from providing military aid to the Contras. To circumvent this legal prohibition, Oliver North put in place a clandestine network called 'The Enterprise'.

The connection between the two aspects is as follows: profits from the sale of weapons to Iran (the Iranians paid inflated prices) were diverted to finance the Contras. This operation was coordinated by Oliver North with the help of General Richard Secord and businessman Albert Hakim.

KEY PLAYERS

Oliver North, Lieutenant Colonel of the Marine Corps detached to the National Security Council, is the principal operator. He coordinates both the arms sales to Iran and the financing of the Contras, destroying compromising documents when the scandal erupts. John Poindexter, National Security Advisor, supervises North. Robert McFarlane, Poindexter's predecessor, initiates contacts with Iran. William Casey, Director of the CIA, is suspected of being the architect of the entire scheme, but dies of a cerebral tumor in May 1987 before he could testify. President Ronald Reagan denies having been aware of the diversion of funds to the Contras, although his knowledge of the arms sales to Iran is established. Vice President George H.W. Bush also denies any significant involvement, which is contradicted by several testimonies and his own diary.

THE REVELATION AND CONSEQUENCES

The scandal broke on November 3, 1986, when the Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa revealed the arms sales to Iran. On November 25, 1986, Attorney General Edwin Meese announced the discovery of the fund diversion to the Contras. Oliver North is dismissed, Poindexter resigns.

The Tower Commission (1987) documents the operations but concludes that Reagan was not aware of the diversion. The Congressional hearings (May-August 1987) are televised and make Oliver North a polarizing figure. Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh conducts a six-year investigation (1986-1993), resulting in 14 indictments and 11 convictions. However, the convictions of North and Poindexter are overturned on appeal due to the immunity granted to them during their testimony before Congress. On December 24, 1992, President Bush (Sr.) pardoned six individuals involved, including former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, effectively sabotaging Walsh's investigation.

THE EXTENSION: CIA AND NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING

The most controversial and conspiratorial aspect of the matter concerns allegations of CIA complicity in the cocaine trafficking of the Contras. In August 1996, journalist Gary Webb published 'Dark Alliance', a series of articles in the San Jose Mercury News, alleging that the CIA had allowed cocaine traffickers linked to the Contras to flood Los Angeles's black neighborhoods with crack cocaine in the 1980s. Webb identifies two Nicaraguan traffickers, Danilo Blandon and Norwin Meneses, as major suppliers of 'Freeway' Ricky Ross, the principal distributor of crack in Los Angeles.

The series by Webb provoked a major polemic. Major American newspapers (Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times) published articles criticizing Webb's methodology and the scope of his conclusions. The Mercury News eventually partially distanced itself from the series. Webb was marginalized professionally and committed suicide in December 2004 (two bullets to the head, which fuels conspiracy theories, although medical examiners confirm it was a suicide).

However, the CIA’s Inspector General, Frederick Hitz, published a two-volume report in 1998 that partially corroborates Webb's allegations. The report confirms that the CIA maintained relationships with individuals and organizations involved in drug trafficking, that it was aware of this involvement, and that a secret agreement between the CIA and the Department of Justice in 1982 exempted the CIA from the obligation to report the drug trafficking of its assets and partners. The report does not confirm the allegation that the CIA deliberately orchestrated the introduction of crack into black neighborhoods.

THE MYSTERY OF MENA, ARKANSAS

The most speculative theories involve the Mena airport in Arkansas as a hub for the arms and drug trafficking linked to the Contras. Pilot Barry Seal, a drug trafficker turned DEA informant, allegedly used Mena as a base of operations. Seal was assassinated on February 19, 1986, by Colombian hitmen. Theories allege that Bill Clinton, then governor of Arkansas, was aware of or facilitated these operations, which constitutes an element not corroborated by solid evidence.

The 'Mena connection' remains one of the most speculative aspects of the matter, mixing factual elements (Seal actually operated from Mena, he worked for the DEA and had links to the Contras) with considerable extrapolations (Clinton's involvement, the scale of trafficking transiting through Mena).