Among the major stories not fully explored regarding the "private" arms network set up by fired National Security Council (NSC) staffer Lt. Col. Oliver North is the network's alleged sale of cocaine to fund contra troops fighting the Nicaraguan government. Colombian "cocaine lords," working in conjunction with Cuban-American and American operatives in the "North network," have been smuggling massive amounts of cocaine into the U.S. each month, starting in September 1983, and part of the profits were used to purchase arms for the contras based in Costa Rica, according to investigators and congressional sources.  

But Bill Schofield, at the State Department's Nicaragua desk, said that he was not aware of any contra involvement in cocaine smuggling. Schofield added, "There's been stories that individuals may have been involved in it, but none of the leadership has, and it's not a practice."  

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), whose office has been investigating the alleged cocaine smuggling, recently told the media, "I'm confident that the contras have received drug money. They have received illegal shipments of weapons and that U.S. officials knew of it."  

When asked if North was linked to this operation, Kerry aide John Winer told In These Times, "We have received a variety of allegations about drug connections to the contras and to parts of the North network. As to whether Oliver North was directly involved in that, I can't say. But parts of the North network allegedly were. And that needs to be looked at very seriously."  

Kerry's office is in contact with several individuals who will testify about the cocaine smuggling charges in the likely event that congressional hearings are held on this subject early next year. In the meantime, Kerry aides refused to reveal the details of what they know. But much of Kerry's evidence is the product of a two-year investigation led by Dan Sheehan of the Christic Institute, a Washington-based law firm.  

A marriage of connivance

Sheehan said two of Colombia's largest dealers of cocaine, Jorge Ochoa and Pablo Escobar, had been involved in smuggling cocaine into the U.S. in 1983. At this time, the North network was interested in creating a "southern front" of contra forces in northern Costa Rica, he said.  

Operatives in the network, including anti-Castro Cubans Felipe Vidal, Rene Corbo, Francisco Chanes and American John Hull, struck a deal with the Colombians, who agreed to provide them with hundreds of pounds of cocaine on a regular basis, Sheehan said.  

A Nicaraguan contra, who was known to reporters as David before his death last year, and other mercenaries have provided information that Hull's land in Costa Rica is used for training contras and staging military attacks against Nicaragua. Kerry's office also has information linking Hull to the CIA or the NSC. According to a Kerry report, "Hull...has been identified by a wide range of sources, including Eden Pastora, mercenaries, Costa Rican officials and contra supporters, as a CIA or NSC liaison to the contras on the southern front."  

The cocaine is flown from Columbia to airstrips in northern Costa Rica located on land owned or managed by Hull, Sheehan claimed. For the Colombians, Hull's land provides an ideal refueling point. In return, the contra supporters receive $10,000 to $25,000 for each plane that refuels, Sheehan alleged.  

The Christic Institute learned of this arrangement from intelligence officials in the Costa Rican Rural Guard, workers on Hull's land who claim to have unloaded the illegal substance from the small planes and the pilots who transported the cocaine. Sheehan said he also obtained records of Corbo buying huge gasoline tanks in Costa Rica that are used for refueling the planes.  

Evidence of the Colombia-Costa Rica connection was provided indirectly by the Nicaraguan contra David, who decided to tell his story in part because of the contras' involvement in cocaine trafficking. He revealed what he knew of the drug trafficking activities to a Costa Rican named Carlos Rejos Chinchilla. According to Rejos' notes, obtained by In These Times, David said: " Drugs come from Colombia and go to Miami in small planes. Sometimes they are dropped by parachute to locations inside Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a perfect place for drug trafficking. There's no control here."  

Sheehan said the drug is transported by two methods into the U.S. It is flown to Memphis or Denver, or it is packed into container ships in Costa Rica belonging to seafood companies with which Chanes is associated, and is then transported to Miami, New Orleans and San Francisco, according to Sheehan.  

The snow keeps falling

Jesus Garcia, a former Dade County, Fla., deputy sheriff, claims to have been an operative in the arms supply network. In a telephone interview from prison, where Garcia is now serving a three-year term for possession of a firearm, he told In These Times, "It is common knowledge here in Miami that this whole contra operation in Costa Rica was paid for with cocaine. Everyone involved knows it. I actually saw the cocaine and the weapons together under one roof, weapons that I helped ship to Costa Rica."  

Garcia said he was personally involved in a March 1985 shipment of six tons of arms to northern Costa Rica from Miami. The weapons were stored at the home of fellow Cuban-American Chanes in Miami, according to Garcia, who said he was working with Chanes and Steven Carr, a mercenary.  

Near the weapons Garcia said he saw a supply of cocaine. "The cocaine was kept in a dresser, about 10 feet away from the weapons," said Garcia. "Carr told me that the three keys (kilograms) was what was left from a larger shipment." Carr told Garcia the shipment of cocaine was brought to the U.S. from Costa Rica in ships belonging to Ocean Hunter, one of the companies that Chanes is associated with, according to Garcia.  

Garcia said he told FBI agents that Chanes and Corbo were also involved in the contra arms supply operation. Garcia said the agents responded by saying that Chanes and Corbo were already the subjects of an FBI narcotics trafficking investigation.  

ReaganGate

Peter Glibbery, a British mercenary, told several sources he witnessed the arrival of the weapons that Garcia helped transport on airstrips located on land managed by Hull in Costa Rica. Glibbery said he was in the company of Owen, Lt. Col. Oliver North's liaison with the contra network, when the weapons arrived.