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DEEP BLACK The CIA's Secret Drug Wars DEEP The CIA's Secret Wars Drug The much- publicised "War on Drugs" has been a smokescreen for CIA covert gun- running and drug- trafficking operations aimed at financing "black-budget" projects. he illicit hard drugs industry has a turnover estimated to be well in excess of USS] trillion per annum. Put more simply, it is the largest industry in the world. Ongoing international measures to eradicate this industry have largely proved futile, despite the billions spent. For example, the death of Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar at the hands of law enforcement officers and the capture of Panamanian middleman General Manuel Antonio Noriega by US forces didn't interrupt the flow of Colombian cocaine one iota. On the contrary, shipments to the US and else- where increased sharply in the wake of these so-called "drug-enforcement victories". Meanwhile, information has surfaced that paints a damning picture of intelligence- agency involvement in the drugs industry. Sworn affidavits in my possession finger the US Central Intelligence Agency for engaging in narcotics and cocaine trafficking on an almost industrial scale. Some observers, meanwhile, perhaps with an element of merit, have opined that the CIA's long-term involvement with the drugs industry resulted from their support of nations that strongly adhered to the anti-communist philosophy. Under this rubric, drug barons the world over were aided and assisted in the production, transportation and distribution of illicit drugs, and the proceeds were used to arm resis- tance movements. So long as there was a "red menace" to fight, those dope peddlers, large and small, who cooperated with the CIA's Cold War strategy, remained immune to prosecution. With the collapse of communism in the late 1980s, this rationale evaporated. Curious, then, that the narcotics industry has not declined along with communism. On the contrary, all the indications point to continued growth and profits. Illicit drugs have become a self-perpetuating industry that continues to create billion- aires overnight. It is by far the most /aissez-faire enterprise of them all, enjoying spectac- ular financial returns for relatively modest investment—arguably, reason enough to ensure that continuing calls to legalise some types of soft drugs remain doomed to failure at the political level. Why kill the golden goose that effortlessly lays so many golden eggs? History increasingly suggests that the hidden reality was that it was not so much a "War on Drugs" as a "War for Drugs'—a war, moreover, aimed at winning the hearts and minds of those who live in embattled regions of the globe, while silently impoverishing, stupefy- ing and killing those at home. The innocent, as always, are the major casualties of any war. CIA COVERT OPERATIONS What follows is drawn from an affidavit signed by Colonel Edward P. Cutolo; a letter written by his close friend, Paul Neri, an employee of America's huge National Security Agency; and an additional supporting affidavit signed by Private first class William Tyree, a soldier under Cutolo's command.' Collectively they amount to a powerful indict- ment of the Central Intelligence Agency and senior Pentagon officers who knowingly engaged in large-scale narcotics trafficking. More alarming still are Cutolo's and Tyree's allegations concerning a black operation, suitably named George Orwell, that utilised US Special Forces to spy on well-known American politicians, members of the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and the Catholic Church in New York and Boston. The "product" of this covert surveillance was used for the purpose of blackmail. Colonel Cutolo was Commanding Officer of the US 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. Possessing a dis- by David G. Guyatt ©1997 All correspondence c/- NEXUS Office Queens Road East Grinstead, W. Sussex RH19 1BG United Kingdom Telephone/Fax: +44 (0)1702 217523 E-mail: david.g7@ukonline.co.uk NEXUS - 17 A TRILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY by David G. Guyatt ©1997 DECEMBER 1997 - JANUARY 1998