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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/ARDE.md
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---
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category: "Paramilitary"
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tags:
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- Organization
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- Contra
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- Nicaragua
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- Costa_Rica
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- 1980s
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- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
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summary: Alianza Revolucionaria Democratica (ARDE) was a Contra faction based in Costa Rica and commanded by former Sandinista war hero Eden Pastora, formed when UDN-FARN merged with Pastora's group in September 1982.
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---
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The Alianza Revolucionaria Democrática (ARDE) was a [[Contras|Contra]] faction based in [[Costa Rica]] and commanded by [[Eden Pastora]], a former [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] war hero known as "Commandante Zero."[^1]
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### Formation
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ARDE was formed in September 1982 when [[UDN-FARN]], under the leadership of [[Fernando Chamorro|"El Negro" Chamorro]] and his brother [[Edmundo Chamorro]], broke away from the [[FDN]] and united with Pastora's group. The merger made political sense because both factions shared a common trait: as former Sandinistas, they hated the ex-[[Nicaraguan National Guard|National Guard]] officers who made up the FDN.[^2]
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Pastora frequently outraged his [[Central Intelligence Agency]] handlers by publicly complaining about the FDN, once referring to them as "criminal mummies and gorillas." [[Enrique Bermudez|Bermúdez]] and the FDN considered Pastora a closet Communist and suspected him of being a Sandinista mole.[^2]
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### CIA Oversight
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Like Bermúdez, Pastora was put on the CIA's payroll, where he remained until mid-1984. When the Chamorros switched from the FDN to ARDE, they changed their line of command—reporting to Pastora instead of Bermúdez—but both Pastora and Bermúdez still reported to the CIA.[^2]
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Cocaine profits from [[Norwin Meneses]]'s [[San Francisco]] drug operation, previously channeled through UDN-FARN to the FDN, likely began being used to benefit ARDE after the September 1982 merger. The CIA retained oversight responsibility throughout.[^2]
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### Later Evolution
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UDN-FARN later left ARDE and rejoined the FDN under the umbrella group [[UNO]].[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary of Organizations and Locations
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[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom"
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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/ARENA.md
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---
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category: "Paramilitary"
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tags:
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- organization
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- salvadoran
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- contra-war
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summary: ARENA was the ultraright Salvadoran political party led by death squad commander Roberto D'Aubuisson that had connections to Contra funding and narcotics trafficking.
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---
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ARENA (Alianza Republicana Nacionalista) was the ultraright Salvadoran political party led by death squad commander [[Roberto D'Aubuisson]] that had connections to [[Contras|Contra]] funding and narcotics trafficking. Records seized from D'Aubuisson revealed financial contributions to Nicaraguan Contra operatives.[^1]
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### Connections to the Contra War
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D'Aubuisson, a Salvadoran army major and ARENA party leader, ran death squads during the civil war in [[El Salvador]]. Records seized from his offices revealed that he had made two "contributions to Nicaraguans," totaling $120,000, three days after the assassination of Archbishop Romero. Written underneath these amounts was the name and telephone number of [[Ricardo Lau]], connecting ARENA to the founding of the [[FDN]] Contra army. The overlap between ARENA's death squad activities, the Salvadoran military, and the Contra war illustrated the interconnected nature of right-wing violence and U.S.-backed covert operations in [[Central America]].[^2]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 5.
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[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 5.
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- Paramilitary
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- South Africa
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- Revolutionary
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category: "Paramilitary"
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summary: "The African National Congress (ANC) was a black revolutionary group in South Africa. It was targeted by the PROMIS software, which was implemented in Transkei by Degem (controlled by Israel military intelligence) with the assistance of Robert..."
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---
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The [[African National Congress]] (ANC) was a black revolutionary group in [[South Africa]]. It was targeted by the [[PROMIS]] software, which was implemented in [[Transkei]] by [[Degem]] (controlled by [[Israel|Israeli]] military intelligence) with the assistance of [[Robert Maxwell]].
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[[PROMIS]] was used as a "killing machine" against the [[African National Congress|ANC]] and other black revolutionary groups, leading to the disappearance or maiming of almost 12,000 activists by early 1986. This was often carried out through "black-on-black" violence by death squads led by Chief [[Gatsha Buthelezi]], a term known in [[Israel|Israeli]] intelligence circles as "Kushi kills Kushi." The system tracked dissidents through their required identity passes, and death lists were drawn up and handed over to [[Gatsha Buthelezi|Buthelezi]]'s group.[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")
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[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
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@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ tags:
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- Paramilitary
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- Germany
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- Terrorism
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category: "Paramilitary"
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summary: "The Baader-Meinhof Group, also known as the Red Army Faction (RAF), was a West German far-left militant organization."
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---
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The [[Baader-Meinhof Group]], also known as the Red Army Faction (RAF), was a West German far-left militant organization. They were involved in the 1976 [[Entebbe hijacking]], where they boarded an [[Air France]] jet flying from [[Tel Aviv]] to [[Paris]] and diverted it to [[Entebbe Airport]] in [[Uganda]].[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")
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[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
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@ -4,10 +4,12 @@ tags:
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- Paramilitary
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- Palestine
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- Terrorism
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category: "Paramilitary"
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summary: "Black September was a Palestinian militant organization. They were involved in a battle with Mossad agents in Europe in the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre of Israel athletes. They were known for killing each other at every opportunity."
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---
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[[Black September]] was a Palestinian militant organization. They were involved in a battle with [[Mossad]] agents in [[Europe]] in the aftermath of the 1972 [[Munich Olympic Massacre|Olympic Games massacre]] of [[Israel|Israeli]] athletes. They were known for killing each other at every opportunity.[^1]
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Suspicion fell on [[Black September]] for the killing of two [[Israeli Military Intelligence]] members working in the [[Rome]] listening station in April 1977.[^1]
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Suspicion fell on [[Black September]] for the killing of two [[Mossad]] members working in the [[Rome]] listening station in April 1977.[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")
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[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
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36
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/Contras.md
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---
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category: "Paramilitary"
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tags:
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- Organization
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- Political
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- Nicaragua
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- Contra
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- 1980s
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- Cold_War
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- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
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summary: Nicaraguan rebel groups organized and funded by the CIA to overthrow the Sandinista government, composed largely of former Somoza National Guard officers and implicated extensively in cocaine trafficking throughout the 1980s war.
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---
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The Contras were [[Nicaragua|Nicaraguan]] rebel groups organized and funded by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] to overthrow the [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] government of Nicaragua.[^3] Made up largely of former followers of deposed dictator [[Anastasio Somoza]] and his [[Nicaraguan National Guard|National Guard]], the Contras were the darlings of the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] administration's anti-Communist foreign policy. Multiple Contra factions were implicated in [[cocaine]] trafficking during the 1980s war.[^1]
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### Major Contra Factions
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The largest and best-equipped faction was the [[FDN|Fuerza Democrática Nicaragüense (FDN)]], created by the CIA, based in [[Honduras]], and commanded by [[Enrique Bermudez|Enrique Bermúdez]].[^2] The [[UDN-FARN]] was based in [[Costa Rica]] and commanded by [[Fernando Chamorro|"El Negro" Chamorro]]. [[ARDE]] was commanded by former Sandinista hero [[Eden Pastora|"Commandante Zero"]] and was also based in Costa Rica. The later umbrella group [[UNO]] was a CIA-inspired attempt to unite all factions under one banner.
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### Drug Trafficking
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The [[John Kerry|Kerry]] Committee investigation (1987-1988) by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee uncovered direct links between drug dealers and the Contras.[^1] Contra leaders acknowledged receiving drug profits with the apparent knowledge of the CIA. Drug dealers admitted under oath to giving money to the Contras and passed polygraph tests. Pilots admitted flying weapons south and cocaine and marijuana north, landing in at least one instance at [[Homestead Air Force Base|Homestead]] Air Force Base in [[Florida]].
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[[Norwin Meneses]] worked for the Contras as a recruiter, arms supplier, and benefactor during the entire war.[^2] [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] sold cocaine in [[Los Angeles]] to raise funds for the Contras in the early 1980s and founded the FDN chapter in Los Angeles. Multiple Contra officials were identified by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] as being involved in or connected to drug trafficking, including [[Aristides Sanchez|Aristides Sánchez]], [[Fernando Sanchez|Fernando Sánchez]], [[Renato Pena|Renato Peña]], [[Vicente Rappaccioli]], and [[Marcos Aguado]].
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The [[Frogman Case]], the largest cocaine bust in West Coast history at the time, exposed direct links between Contra drug traffickers in [[San Francisco]] and the CIA. When defense attorneys obtained letters from CIA assets [[Francisco Aviles]] and Vicente Rappaccioli claiming seized drug money belonged to the Contras, the CIA intervened to suppress the connection. A secret 1987 [[DEA]] report noted that a defendant in the Frogman case had made 51 phone calls to the FDN office in San Francisco.[^4]
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### Political Context
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The Contras were a creation of the CIA, assembled from the remnants of Somoza's defeated National Guard. After the Sandinistas overthrew Somoza in July 1979, National Guard officers who escaped poured across the borders into [[El Salvador]], Honduras, and Costa Rica. The CIA began reassembling these forces in 1980 under the direction of [[Dewey Clarridge]].[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Prologue: "It was like they didn't want to know"
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[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Cast of Characters
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[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary of Organizations and Locations
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[^4]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom"
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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/Crips.md
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---
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category: "Paramilitary"
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tags:
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- Organization
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- Organization/Street_Gang
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- 1980s
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- Los_Angeles
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- Crack_Cocaine
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summary: The Crips are a Los Angeles street gang that became the primary distribution network for crack cocaine across the United States, spreading from South Central L.A. to cities nationwide during the mid-1980s.
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---
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The Crips are a Los Angeles-based street gang composed of numerous semi-autonomous "sets" operating across the city. During the early 1980s, Crips sets from across Los Angeles became the primary retail distribution network for [[Crack Cocaine|crack cocaine]], a role that transformed them from traditional neighborhood gangs into what law enforcement would later describe as a coast-to-coast criminal enterprise.[^1]
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[[Ricky Ross]], who operated from a Crip neighborhood, initially sold to Crips members simply because those were his local connections. "I did not sell exclusively to Crips gang members," Ross said, "they initially formed a large part of my customer base simply because he and [[Ollie Newell|Ollie]] were from a Crip neighborhood. But that only mattered in the beginning." By 1984 and 1985, Ross was so far removed from street-level dealing that gang affiliations were trivialities.[^1]
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### National Expansion
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As the South Central crack market became saturated, Crips members began traveling to other California cities to establish new crack markets, using their connections with Ross to supply them. This migration marked the start of an unprecedented cross-country expansion by the Crips, and later the Bloods, that spread crack from South Central to black neighborhoods across the United States.[^1]
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UC-Berkeley sociologist Jerome Skolnick wrote in 1988: "We think that law enforcement perceptions of gang involvement in the drug trade are sharper than the Klein and Maxson statistical study suggest. In fact, it appears difficult to overstate the penetration of Blood and Crip members into other states."[^1]
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### GAO Assessment
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The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), in a 1989 report, documented the nationwide reach: "In the early 1980s the gangs began selling crack cocaine. Within a matter of years, the lucrative crack market changed the black gangs from traditional neighborhood street gangs to extremely violent criminal groups operating from coast to coast. The lure of profits coupled with increased pressure from local police have prompted the Los Angeles gangs to extend their territories far beyond their neighborhoods. Within the past three to four years, members of the Crips and the Bloods have been identified selling or distributing crack in Washington, Oregon, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina, Arizona, Virginia, Maryland and elsewhere."[^1]
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The GAO noted that a Washington, D.C., crack ring in 1989 was distributing 440 pounds of cocaine every week, much of it allegedly purchased from the Crips and the Bloods, who had purchased their cocaine from the Colombians. The report included a map showing arrows emanating from Los Angeles across the country, with black dots marking cities where crack had appeared.[^1]
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### Weapons
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The crack trade brought a flood of automatic weapons into gang hands. [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] began selling high-powered weapons to Ross and his associates in 1984 through [[Ronald Lister]]. "Around '86, '87, it was on. You name it, you could get it," one East Side Crip known as Leibo told interviewers. "You didn't hear that much about 9-millimeters, M-16's, M-14's and AKs unless you were hooked up and was high on the echelon, but after 1986 they were available to anybody."[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 10: "Teach a man a craft and he's liable to practice it"
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---
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category: "Paramilitary"
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tags:
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- organization
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- nicaraguan
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- contra-war
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summary: FARN (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Nicaragüenses) was the UDN-FARN Contra faction that operated on Costa Rica's Southern Front and was deeply involved in cocaine trafficking.
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---
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FARN (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Nicaragüenses) was the military wing of the [[UDN-FARN]] Contra faction that operated on [[Costa Rica]]'s Southern Front and was deeply involved in [[cocaine]] trafficking. The organization was led by [[Fernando Chamorro|Fernando "El Negro" Chamorro]], with [[Edmundo Chamorro]] as deputy commander.[^1]
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### Drug Trafficking on the Southern Front
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The [[State Department]] assured Congress that [[DEA]] had examined allegations of linkages between members of the [[UNO]]/FARN and suspected traffickers and found no information indicating involvement in narcotics trafficking. This assurance came despite extensive evidence to the contrary, including Costa Rican wiretaps capturing FARN commanders discussing cocaine shipments. The [[Frogman Case]] that exposed a major cocaine trafficking ring in [[San Francisco]] involved FARN-connected operatives, including [[Troilo Sanchez|Troilo Sánchez]] and [[Horacio Pereira]], who coordinated drug flights to finance Contra operations.[^2]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 6.
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[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 6, Ch. 17.
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53
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/FDN.md
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---
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category: "Paramilitary"
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tags:
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- Organization
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- Contra
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- Nicaragua
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- Honduras
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- 1980s
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- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
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summary: The FDN was the largest and best-armed Contra faction, created by the CIA and commanded by Enrique Bermudez, with documented connections to cocaine trafficking for fundraising.
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---
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The [[FDN|Fuerza Democrática Nicaragüense]] was the largest, most well-armed, and best-trained of all the [[Contras|Contra]] factions.[^3] Created by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], based in [[Honduras]], and commanded by [[Enrique Bermudez|Enrique Bermúdez]], a former [[Nicaraguan National Guard|National Guardsman]]. The FDN's political wing was led by [[Adolfo Calero]], a longtime CIA agent and former manager of the Coca-Cola bottling plant in [[Managua]].
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### Leadership
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Enrique Bermúdez ("Commandante 380") served as supreme military commander. Adolfo Calero was selected by the CIA in 1983 to lead the political wing and worked closely with [[Oliver North]]. [[Aristides Sanchez|Aristides Sánchez]] was head of supplies and logistics, went on the CIA payroll in the early 1980s as an aide to Bermúdez, and allegedly served as the conduit for [[cocaine]] money flowing from the [[Norwin Meneses|Meneses]] drug ring in [[California]].
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### Drug Trafficking Connections
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Multiple FDN officials were implicated in drug trafficking. [[Renato Pena|Renato Peña]], the FDN spokesman in [[San Francisco]], was one of Norwin Meneses's cocaine dealers and admitted hauling millions in drug profits from San Francisco to [[Los Angeles]] for delivery to the Contras. Peña was present "on many occasions" when Meneses telephoned FDN commander Enrique Bermúdez in Honduras to discuss requests for gun silencers, cross bows, and other military equipment.[^5] [[Fernando Sanchez|Fernando Sánchez]], the FDN's representative in [[Guatemala]], was identified by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] in November 1982 as a cocaine supplier to the [[Frogman Case|Frogman drug ring]]. Aristides Sánchez allegedly served as the conduit for cocaine money from the Meneses operation and personally received drug cash from [[Carlos Cabezas]] at the Contras' [[Miami]] offices.[^1] [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] founded the FDN chapter in Los Angeles and used cocaine sales to fund the Contras.[^1]
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A secret 1987 [[DEA]] report stated that a defendant in the Frogman Case had made 51 phone calls to the FDN office in San Francisco, and a DEA informant had met with traffickers at the FDN office.[^4]
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### Origins and Creation
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The FDN was officially created in August 1981 when the CIA forced a merger between Bermúdez's [[Legion of September 15]] and [[UDN-FARN]]. The merger was signed in the upstairs rec room of the Legion's rented safe house in [[Guatemala City]], with an Argentine military officer observing. Former FDN director Edgar Chamorro stated in a World Court affidavit that the CIA paid for the meeting, rented the building, and drafted the agreement: "The name of the organization, the members of the political junta and the members of the general staff were all chosen or approved by the CIA."
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The CIA's role was authorized under National Security Decision Directive #17, signed by [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]] in late 1981, which allocated $19.95 million for covert operations against the [[Sandinistas]]. The funds were channeled through the Argentine military to preserve CIA "deniability."
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The CIA selected Aristides Sánchez — a close friend of Norwin Meneses and brother of Fernando Sánchez ([[Anastasio Somoza|Somoza]]'s last ambassador to Guatemala), Troilo Sánchez (Norwin's business partner), and Enrique Sánchez (partner in a Miami restaurant with Donald Barrios) — to assist Bermúdez. Oliver North later called Aristides Sánchez "Calero's hatchet man."[^3] Norwin Meneses stated: "I dealt directly with Bermúdez, and occasionally his assistant on minor things. I also worked with Aristides Sanchez. He was a very good friend of mine."
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### Weapons Supply Network
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[[Ronald Lister]] and [[Pyramid International Security Consultants]] established weapons manufacturing operations in [[El Salvador]] that supplied arms to the Contras. Lister partnered with FDN supporters Danilo Blandón and Norwin Meneses in selling weapons abroad. The FDN could not collect sufficient funds to finalize an arms deal with Lister, but Lister and his associates set up a weapons plant in downtown [[San Salvador]] that manufactured guns airlifted to Contra camps in Honduras.[^5]
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Air cargo company [[Hondu Carib Cargo]], operated by Mario Calero — brother of FDN political leader Adolfo Calero — flew FDN supply missions. The owner of Hondu Carib was pilot [[Frank Moss]], identified in a 1989 Senate report as having been investigated for narcotics offenses by ten different law enforcement agencies. A DC-4 Moss used was seized by the DEA in 1987 with marijuana residue and notes containing the names of two CIA officers and the phone number of [[Robert Owen]], Oliver North's courier.[^5]
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### Later Reorganization
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The FDN later joined the umbrella group [[UNO]] (United Nicaraguan Opposition), a CIA-inspired attempt to unite all Contra factions. The FDN retained most of the authority and did the bulk of the fighting.[^2]
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### Low Point of 1984–85
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During the winter of 1984–85, the FDN reached its lowest ebb on the battlefield and in public opinion. After twelve months of consecutive public relations disasters—the CIA's harbor mining, the assassination manual scandal, the passage of the [[Boland Amendment]] in October 1984—the FDN was alone and in disarray. Thousands of rebel fighters retreated from Nicaragua to Honduras. Money and weapons were scarce. In early 1985, allegations of Contra battlefield atrocities—murders, tortures, assassinations, and "the deliberate use of terror"—surfaced from human rights groups, undermining President Reagan's characterization of them as "freedom fighters."[[Robert McFarlane]], Reagan's national security adviser, told FDN leader Adolfo Calero in January 1985 that it might be time to start thinking about "cutting both our losses and theirs."[^6]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Cast of Characters
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[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary of Organizations and Locations
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[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 4: "I never sent cash"
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[^4]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom"
|
||||
[^5]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 6: "They were doing their patriotic duty"
|
||||
[^6]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 10: "Teach a man a craft and he's liable to practice it"
|
||||
18
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/FMLN.md
Normal file
18
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/FMLN.md
Normal file
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- organization
|
||||
- nicaraguan
|
||||
- contra-war
|
||||
summary: The FMLN was the leftist guerrilla army in El Salvador that received arms from the Sandinista government, providing the Reagan administration's stated justification for the Contra war.
|
||||
---
|
||||
The FMLN (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional) was the leftist guerrilla army in [[El Salvador]] that received arms from the [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] government, providing the Reagan administration's stated justification for the [[Contras|Contra]] war. Halting Sandinista arms shipments to the FMLN was the official reason [[Central Intelligence Agency]] director [[William J. Casey]] gave to Congress when informing lawmakers of the decision to launch covert operations against [[Nicaragua]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Justification for the Contra War
|
||||
|
||||
The Reagan administration argued that the Contras were needed to interdict the flow of weapons from Nicaragua to the FMLN guerrillas in El Salvador. [[Felix Rodriguez]] was initially involved in a counter-based counterinsurgency operation against the FMLN before being reassigned to manage the Contra resupply operation at Ilopango Air Base. The FMLN threat provided the political cover for the CIA's larger covert war against the Sandinista government, even as the Contra operation itself became entangled in drug trafficking.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 6.
|
||||
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 6, Ch. 15.
|
||||
|
|
@ -3,10 +3,12 @@ tags:
|
|||
- Organization
|
||||
- Military
|
||||
- Israel
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The Golani infantry brigade is an elite infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. Uri Simchoni, a member of the Iran-Israel Joint Committee, was formerly the chief of this brigade.[^1]"
|
||||
---
|
||||
The [[Golani infantry brigade]] is an elite infantry brigade of the [[Israel Defense Forces|Israeli Defense Forces]]. [[Uri Simchoni]], a member of the [[Iran-Israel Joint Committee]], was formerly the chief of this brigade.[^1]
|
||||
The [[Golani infantry brigade]] is an elite infantry brigade of the [[Israel|Israeli Defense Forces]]. [[Uri Simchoni]], a member of the [[Iran-Israel Joint Committee]], was formerly the chief of this brigade.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Ari Ben-Menashe]]'s basic training in the military was in a special infantry unit known as Golani, where he undertook a special high-explosives sabotage course.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ tags:
|
|||
- Organization
|
||||
- Paramilitary
|
||||
- Israel
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The Hagannah was the military arm of the Zionist movement in Palestine. In 1936, it requested a chemist to help produce an effective high explosive for use in the underground war against the Arabs and the British."
|
||||
---
|
||||
The Hagannah was the military arm of the Zionist movement in Palestine. In 1936, it requested a chemist to help produce an effective high explosive for use in the underground war against the Arabs and the British. [[Ernst David Bergmann]] was assigned this mission and subsequently joined the Hagannah's technical committee.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -4,10 +4,12 @@ tags:
|
|||
- Paramilitary
|
||||
- USA
|
||||
- Israel
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a New York-based extreme right-wing organization associated with Meir Kahane.[^1]"
|
||||
---
|
||||
The [[Jewish Defense League]] (JDL) is a [[New York]]-based extreme right-wing organization associated with [[Meir Kahane|Rabbi Meir Kahane]].[^1]
|
||||
The [[Jewish Defense League]] (JDL) is a [[New York City]]-based extreme right-wing organization associated with [[Meir Kahane|Rabbi Meir Kahane]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
The JDL was implicated in the 1969 arson attack on the [[El Aqsa Mosque]] in [[Jerusalem]], carried out by [[Michael Dennis Rohan]]. [[Michael Dennis Rohan|Rohan]] claimed to have coordinated the deed with the JDL. [[Israel|Israeli]] interrogators, including those who questioned [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], emphasized the importance of not revealing the JDL's involvement to avoid any "traces of Jewish hands" in the incident.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -4,12 +4,14 @@ tags:
|
|||
- Paramilitary
|
||||
- Israel
|
||||
- Terrorism
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "LEHI (Lohamei Herut Israel, Hebrew for Fighters for the Liberation of Israel), also known as the Stern Gang, was a Jewish terrorist group. It was founded by David Stern and later led by Yitzhak Shamir.[^1]"
|
||||
---
|
||||
[[LEHI]] (Lohamei Herut Israel, Hebrew for Fighters for the Liberation of [[Israel]]), also known as the [[Stern Gang]], was a Jewish terrorist group. It was founded by [[David Stern]] and later led by [[Yitzhak Shamir]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Gourdji]], the father of [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], was involved with [[LEHI]] in [[Palestine]] during 1940. Although the organization had a reputation as right-wing, many of its members were formerly part of the communist movement. [[LEHI]] was virulently anti-British, and [[Yitzhak Shamir]] was even willing to negotiate with the [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]] for Jewish lives, offering to fight alongside German troops against the British if the Germans would allow interned Jews to emigrate to [[Palestine]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
[[LEHI]] members were persecuted and hunted down, even by other Jews in [[Palestine]], due to opposition from the British, [[USA|U.S.]] governments, and the Jewish labor movement. Most individuals affiliated with the [[Stern Gang]] were not welcomed in the State of [[Israel]] after its establishment. [[Yitzhak Shamir]] was an exception, becoming a prominent figure in [[Mossad]].[^1]
|
||||
[[LEHI]] members were persecuted and hunted down, even by other Jews in [[Palestine]], due to opposition from the British, [[United States|U.S.]] governments, and the Jewish labor movement. Most individuals affiliated with the [[Stern Gang]] were not welcomed in the State of [[Israel]] after its establishment. [[Yitzhak Shamir]] was an exception, becoming a prominent figure in [[Mossad]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
36
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/Legion of September 15.md
Normal file
36
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/Legion of September 15.md
Normal file
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Organization
|
||||
- Contra
|
||||
- Military
|
||||
- Guatemala
|
||||
- 1970s
|
||||
- 1980s
|
||||
- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
|
||||
summary: Early Contra group of ex-Nicaraguan National Guardsmen based in Guatemala, co-commanded by Enrique Bermudez and Ricardo Lau, that formed the core of what became the FDN.
|
||||
---
|
||||
The Legion of September 15 was an early [[Contras|Contra]] group made up primarily of ex-[[Nicaraguan National Guard|National Guardsmen]], based in [[Guatemala]] and later [[Honduras]]. It was commanded by [[Ricardo Lau|Ricardo "El Chino" Lau]] and [[Enrique Bermudez|Enrique Bermúdez]] and later became the core of the [[FDN]], the largest and most powerful Contra faction.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### Origins and Operations
|
||||
|
||||
The Legion was started by former [[Anastasio Somoza|Somoza]] bodyguards soon after Somoza's fall in July 1979. Its members had a safe house in [[Guatemala City]] and trained on a farm near the Honduran border called Detachment 101, located in the same town (Esquipulas) that had served as headquarters for the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]-backed group that overthrew the Guatemalan government in 1954.
|
||||
|
||||
Before the Contra war began in earnest, the Legion sustained itself through criminal operations. The CIA acknowledged in 1998 that the Legion "to some extent engaged in kidnapping, extortion, and robbery to fund its operations" and also "engaged in the bombing of Nicaraguan civilian airliners and airliner hijackings as methods of attacking the [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] government." A June 1981 cable to CIA headquarters noted the Legion's commanders "see themselves as being forced to stoop to criminal activities in order to feed and clothe their cadre."
|
||||
|
||||
### Connection to Archbishop Romero Assassination
|
||||
|
||||
The Legion's most horrific attributed act was the March 1980 assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of [[San Salvador]], who was shot through the heart while celebrating Mass. Records seized from right-wing Salvadoran politician Roberto D'Aubuisson revealed that D'Aubuisson traveled to Guatemala three days after Romero's murder and made two "contributions to Nicaraguans" ($40,000 and $80,000) with the name and telephone number of Colonel Ricardo Lau written underneath. Lau was running the Legion of September 15 prior to Bermúdez's appointment as commander. Lau was never charged.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Intelligence Connections
|
||||
|
||||
Much of the Legion's leadership had worked with or for the CIA during their previous lives as Somoza's secret agents, rooting out dissidents for the dictator's [[OSN|Office of National Security]], which was advised by the CIA. The CIA admitted that during 1981-82 it was receiving regular reports that Lau and seven other Legion commanders were "involved in criminal activities."[^1][^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Reorganization
|
||||
|
||||
In spring 1981, the Legion moved its operations from Guatemala to new headquarters in Honduras. In August 1981, the CIA merged the Legion with two smaller resistance groups to form the FDN, the largest and most powerful Contra faction.
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 2: "We were the first"
|
||||
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary of Organizations and Locations
|
||||
|
|
@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ tags:
|
|||
- Afghanistan
|
||||
- Islamic
|
||||
- Guerrilla
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The Mujahideen refers to various groups of Muslim guerrilla fighters, particularly those who resisted the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan."
|
||||
---
|
||||
The [[Mujahideen]] refers to various groups of Muslim guerrilla fighters, particularly those who resisted the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] invasion of [[Afghanistan]]. They were supported by a worldwide network that included figures like [[Ralph Olberg]] and [[Tim Osman]], who were involved in procuring [[United States|U.S.]] weapons and technology for them.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ tags:
|
|||
- Organization
|
||||
- Political
|
||||
- Algeria
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The National Liberation Front (FLN) was a nationalist political party and armed liberation movement in Algeria. By 1955, the French government was facing an insurrection from the FLN, which was strongly supported by Gamal Abdel Nasser."
|
||||
---
|
||||
The National Liberation Front (FLN) was a nationalist political party and armed liberation movement in [[Algeria]]. By 1955, the French government was facing an insurrection from the FLN, which was strongly supported by [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]. The bloody war for independence, which resulted in 250,000 deaths, came close to destroying [[France]] over five years and inspired Arab revolutionaries throughout the [[Middle East]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
32
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/Nicaraguan National Guard.md
Normal file
32
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/Nicaraguan National Guard.md
Normal file
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Organization
|
||||
- Military
|
||||
- Nicaragua
|
||||
- 1930s
|
||||
- 1970s
|
||||
- Contra_War
|
||||
- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
|
||||
summary: Somoza's military force that served as army, police, and intelligence service, trained at U.S. military schools, and whose dispersed officers formed the founding cadre of the Contras.
|
||||
---
|
||||
Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua (National Guard) was the military, police, and intelligence service of [[Nicaragua]] under the [[Anastasio Somoza|Somoza]] dynasty.[^2] Created by the [[United States|U.S.]] in the 1930s, the Guard served as the power base of the Somoza family's forty-six-year rule. Its officers formed the leadership core of the [[Contras]] after the [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] revolution.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Creation and U.S. Training
|
||||
|
||||
The U.S. created the National Guard in the 1930s and spent millions of dollars a year supplying weapons and training its officers in anticommunist counterinsurgency.[^1] Training took place at [[Fort Gulick]], [[Fort Benning]], and [[Fort Leavenworth|Leavenworth]]. Anastasio Somoza told U.S. ambassador [[Lawrence Pezzullo]] in 1979 that of approximately nine hundred Guard officers, "eight hundred or so belong to your schools."
|
||||
|
||||
The Guard also encompassed the [[OSN|Oficina Seguridad Nacional (OSN)]], Somoza's secret police unit that monitored political dissidents. It managed the national police, state security and intelligence services, the postal service, and customs agency.
|
||||
|
||||
### Collapse
|
||||
|
||||
When Somoza fled Nicaragua on July 17, 1979, the vaunted National Guard collapsed within hours.[^1] Officers who could escape poured across the borders into [[El Salvador]], [[Honduras]], and [[Costa Rica]], or sought refuge in the Colombian embassy in [[Managua]]. Those who could not escape were imprisoned or faced firing squads.
|
||||
|
||||
### Reconstitution as the Contras
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] began reassembling the scattered National Guard brigades in 1980 under [[Enrique Bermudez|Enrique Bermúdez]], a former military attaché in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] who had been hired by the agency specifically for this purpose.[^1] The Legion of September 15, an early Contra group made up primarily of ex-National Guardsmen, was based in [[Guatemala]] and commanded by [[Ricardo Lau]] and Bermúdez. This group later became the core of the [[FDN]], the largest and most powerful Contra faction.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 1: "A Pretty secret kind of thing"
|
||||
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary of Organizations and Locations
|
||||
|
|
@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
|
|||
The [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command|PFLP-GC]] is a Palestinian militant organization. It was implicated by the private investigative firm [[Interfor]] as being behind the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Interfor claimed that the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command|PFLP-GC]] was able to get their bomb on board the 747 because the flight was part of a heroin smuggling route connected to the Syrian regime and protected by both the [[United States Drug Enforcement Administration|U.S. DEA]] and the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]].[^1]
|
||||
---
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command is a Palestinian militant organization. It was implicated by the private investigative firm Interfor as being behind the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103."
|
||||
---
|
||||
The [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command|PFLP-GC]] is a Palestinian militant organization. It was implicated by the private investigative firm [[Interfor]] as being behind the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Interfor claimed that the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command|PFLP-GC]] was able to get their bomb on board the 747 because the flight was part of a heroin smuggling route connected to the Syrian regime and protected by both the [[DEA|U.S. DEA]] and the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
Allegations suggest that a suitcase intended for heroin was covertly substituted with explosives by the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command|PFLP-GC]] and [[Monzer Al-Kassar]], unbeknownst to others involved in the alleged drug smuggling operation. The [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command|PFLP-GC]] also maintained camps in the Bekaa Valley in [[Lebanon]], which were targeted by [[Israel|Israeli]] air strikes in 1989.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
## Footnotes
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
|
||||
34
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/Sandinistas.md
Normal file
34
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/Sandinistas.md
Normal file
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Organization
|
||||
- Political
|
||||
- Nicaragua
|
||||
- 1970s
|
||||
- Contra_War
|
||||
- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
|
||||
summary: Frente Revolucionario de Sandino (FRS), the leftist revolutionary guerrilla group that overthrew Somoza's U.S.-supported dictatorship in Nicaragua in 1979, triggering the Contra war.
|
||||
---
|
||||
Frente Revolucionario de Sandino (FRS) were the leftist revolutionary guerrilla group that overthrew [[Anastasio Somoza|Somoza]]'s [[United States|U.S.]]-supported dictatorship in [[Nicaragua]] in July 1979.[^2] Their victory triggered the [[Contras|Contra]] war and set in motion the events documented in the [[Dark Alliance]] investigation.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Revolution
|
||||
|
||||
Sandinista columns swarmed into [[Managua]] after Somoza fled to [[Florida]] on July 17, 1979, proclaiming an end to both the [[Nicaraguan National Guard|National Guard]] (which had hunted the rebels for more than a decade) and the Somoza dynasty.[^1] The Sandinistas had waged a guerrilla campaign against Somoza's regime for years.
|
||||
|
||||
### Post-Revolution
|
||||
|
||||
After taking power, the Sandinistas imprisoned or executed captured National Guard officers.[^1] Former Guard officers who escaped across Nicaragua's borders into [[El Salvador]], [[Honduras]], and [[Costa Rica]] became the founding cadre of the Contras, reassembled by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] starting in 1980.
|
||||
|
||||
The Sandinista government was opposed by the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] administration, which authorized the CIA to create and fund the Contra army to overthrow it.[^1] Former Sandinista intelligence officer [[Enrique Miranda]] later became a CIA asset, [[DEA]] informant, and right-hand man to [[Norwin Meneses]] from 1989 to 1991.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### Unsubstantiated Drug Trafficking Allegations
|
||||
|
||||
Despite the Reagan administration's efforts to link the Sandinistas to drug trafficking, the evidence never materialized. "Although uncorroborated reports indicating Nicaraguan involvement in the shipping of cocaine to the United States had been received, CIA was unable to confirm reports implicating high-level Sandinistas in drug trafficking," the CIA informed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in April 1984. Two years later, Justice Department officials reached the same conclusion.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
President Reagan displayed a photograph of [[Federico Vaughn]], identified as "a top aide to one of the nine commandantes," loading an aircraft with drugs. A subsequent House Judiciary Committee investigation revealed Vaughn was likely a U.S. double agent whose house had been "continuously rented" by the U.S. Embassy since 1981, and who was associated with both Norwin Meneses and [[Oliver North]].[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 1: "A Pretty secret kind of thing"
|
||||
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary of Organizations and Locations
|
||||
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends"
|
||||
|
|
@ -4,14 +4,16 @@ tags:
|
|||
- Paramilitary
|
||||
- Peru
|
||||
- Terrorism
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) is a Maoist terrorist group in Peru. It was founded and led by Abimael Guzman Reynoso, a former philosophy professor at the University of San Cristobal in Ayacucho.[^1]"
|
||||
---
|
||||
The [[Shining Path]] (Sendero Luminoso) is a Maoist terrorist group in [[Peru]]. It was founded and led by [[Abimael Guzmán Reynoso]], a former philosophy professor at the [[University of San Cristobal]] in [[Ayacucho]].[^1]
|
||||
The [[Shining Path]] (Sendero Luminoso) is a Maoist terrorist group in [[Peru]]. It was founded and led by [[Abimael Guzman Reynoso]], a former philosophy professor at the [[University of San Cristobal]] in [[Ayacucho]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
In 1980, [[Abimael Guzmán Reynoso|Guzmán]] proclaimed the armed struggle against the capitalist government in [[Lima]], leading to the [[Shining Path]] becoming a powerful force. The department of [[Ayacucho]] was declared under martial law by [[Alan Garcia|Peruvian President Alan Garcia]] due to the group's activities.[^1]
|
||||
In 1980, [[Abimael Guzman Reynoso|Guzmán]] proclaimed the armed struggle against the capitalist government in [[Lima]], leading to the [[Shining Path]] becoming a powerful force. The department of [[Ayacucho]] was declared under martial law by [[Alan Garcia|Peruvian President Alan Garcia]] due to the group's activities.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
In 1988, [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] met with [[Abimael Guzmán Reynoso|Guzmán]] to secure rare minerals for [[Israel|Israel's]] nuclear program. The [[Shining Path]] agreed to sell the minerals for $10 million and requested [[Israel]] to purchase the [[Ocho Group]] newspaper chain and provide medical equipment. The group's philosophy was a mixture of Inca and kibbutz ideology, with a focus on communal living and a unique perspective on social issues.[^1]
|
||||
In 1988, [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] met with [[Abimael Guzman Reynoso|Guzmán]] to secure rare minerals for [[Israel|Israel's]] nuclear program. The [[Shining Path]] agreed to sell the minerals for $10 million and requested [[Israel]] to purchase the [[Ocho Group]] newspaper chain and provide medical equipment. The group's philosophy was a mixture of Inca and kibbutz ideology, with a focus on communal living and a unique perspective on social issues.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
The [[Shining Path]] controlled significant areas of [[Peru]], particularly outside of [[Ayacucho]]. They were involved in ambushes against the military, and their actions led to the slaughter of innocent villagers by [[Rafael Cordova|Col. Rafael Cordova]] in retaliation. The group also used [[Stinger missiles]] to shoot down military helicopters.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -4,10 +4,12 @@ tags:
|
|||
- Paramilitary
|
||||
- Israel
|
||||
- Terrorism
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The Stern Gang was another name for LEHI (Lohamei Herut Israel, Hebrew for Fighters for the Liberation of Israel), a Jewish terrorist group founded by David Stern and later led by Yitzhak Shamir.[^1]"
|
||||
---
|
||||
The [[Stern Gang]] was another name for [[LEHI]] (Lohamei Herut Israel, Hebrew for Fighters for the Liberation of [[Israel]]), a Jewish terrorist group founded by [[David Stern]] and later led by [[Yitzhak Shamir]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Gourdji]], the father of [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], was involved with the [[Stern Gang]] in [[Palestine]] in 1940. The group was known for its virulently anti-British stance, with [[Yitzhak Shamir]] even willing to negotiate with the [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]] for Jewish lives. They were persecuted by British and [[USA|U.S.]] governments and the Jewish labor movement.[^1]
|
||||
[[Gourdji]], the father of [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], was involved with the [[Stern Gang]] in [[Palestine]] in 1940. The group was known for its virulently anti-British stance, with [[Yitzhak Shamir]] even willing to negotiate with the [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]] for Jewish lives. They were persecuted by British and [[United States|U.S.]] governments and the Jewish labor movement.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")
|
||||
[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ tags:
|
|||
- USA
|
||||
- California
|
||||
description: The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was a radical left-wing organization active in California in the mid-1970s, known for the kidnapping of Patty Hearst.
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was a radical left-wing organization active in California in the mid-1970s. They are best known for the kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst in 1974.[^1]"
|
||||
---
|
||||
The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was a radical left-wing organization active in California in the mid-1970s. They are best known for the kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst in 1974.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
47
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/UDN-FARN.md
Normal file
47
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/UDN-FARN.md
Normal file
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Organization
|
||||
- Contra
|
||||
- Nicaragua
|
||||
- Costa_Rica
|
||||
- 1980s
|
||||
- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
|
||||
summary: Early Contra faction based first in Honduras then Costa Rica, commanded by Fernando Chamorro, that shifted allegiances between the FDN, ARDE, and back during the Contra war.
|
||||
---
|
||||
Union Democrática Nicaragüense - Fuerzas Armadas Resistencia Nicaragüenses (UDN-FARN) was an early [[Contras|Contra]] faction based first in [[Honduras]] and then in [[Costa Rica]], commanded by the erratic former [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] [[Fernando Chamorro|"El Negro" Chamorro]]. UDN-FARN was one of the two groups merged by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] in August 1981 to form the [[FDN]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Origins
|
||||
|
||||
UDN-FARN grew out of the National Democratic Union (UDN), a group of [[Nicaragua|Nicaraguan]] exiles in [[Miami]] that had a small armed branch in Honduras called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Nicaragua (FARN). The group tapped into Miami's [[Cuba|Cuban]] community for financial support and volunteers, including men who had worked with the CIA on the [[Bay of Pigs|Bay of Pigs]] operation.
|
||||
|
||||
The group made the first donation of military supplies to the Contra cause in fall 1980, scraping together enough money to buy rifles from Miami sporting goods stores and radio equipment, which was mailed to Honduras via the head of the Honduran national police, Gustavo Álvarez.
|
||||
|
||||
### Leadership
|
||||
|
||||
"El Negro" Chamorro was a rabble-rouser who had fought for the Sandinistas against [[Anastasio Somoza|Somoza]] and achieved notoriety by helping shoot rockets at Somoza's bunker from the roof of the Intercontinental Hotel in 1974. He broke with the Sandinistas and joined his brother [[Edmundo Chamorro]] in Costa Rica. Edmundo Chamorro served as second in command. Both were only distantly related to the influential Chamorro clan that included martyred newspaper editor Pedro Joaquin Chamorro.
|
||||
|
||||
### Merger into FDN
|
||||
|
||||
The CIA pressured UDN-FARN to merge with [[Enrique Bermudez|Bermúdez]]'s [[Legion of September 15]]. The Chamorro brothers resisted, regarding many of the ex-[[Nicaraguan National Guard|National Guard]] men as war criminals who could never win popular support. "The Legion was entirely composed of ex-National Guards. Naturally one couldn't make a big splash with that in Nicaragua," said UDN-FARN commander William Baltodano Herrera.
|
||||
|
||||
The CIA eventually forced the merger by having their Honduran allies withdraw support from the Chamorros and back Bermúdez instead. In August 1981, an Argentine military officer watched as Bermúdez signed a one-paragraph document merging the two groups into the FDN. The Chamorro brothers boycotted the meeting.
|
||||
|
||||
### After the FDN
|
||||
|
||||
UDN-FARN Contras were pushed into subordinate roles in the FDN. The Chamorro brothers later broke away and joined [[Eden Pastora|Pastora]]'s [[ARDE]] faction in Costa Rica, then left Pastora and rejoined the FDN under the umbrella group [[UNO]].[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
### Drug Trafficking
|
||||
|
||||
Multiple UDN-FARN members were implicated in cocaine trafficking. [[Carlos Cabezas]] supported UDN-FARN through cocaine sales in [[San Francisco]] and testified as a U.S. government witness that his drug profits were going to Contra organizations.[^2] [[Julio Zavala]], a top-ranking U.S.-based member, was a major cocaine trafficker in the San Francisco Bay Area. [[Vicente Rappaccioli]] and [[Francisco Aviles]] were directly involved in the 1983 [[Frogman Case|Frogman]] cocaine case.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Horacio Pereira]] told Carlos Cabezas he was representing UDN-FARN and the FDN in Costa Rica and that the CIA would control the delivery of drug money. Cabezas delivered drug cash directly to [[Aristides Sanchez|Aristides Sanchez]] at the Contras' Miami offices and to Pereira or FDN logistics officer Joaquín "Pelón" Vega in Honduras.[^4] A 1984 [[DEA]] report described UDN-FARN's deputy commander Edmundo Chamorro as "well known to 'The Company.'" The CIA described Fernando Chamorro as "playing a major role in the Contra movement. CIA contact with Chamorro began in 1982."[^4]
|
||||
|
||||
When Fernando Chamorro and Edmundo Chamorro broke from the FDN in September 1982, UDN-FARN joined with Pastora's group to form ARDE.[^4]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 4: "I never sent cash"
|
||||
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Cast of Characters
|
||||
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary of Organizations and Locations
|
||||
[^4]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom"
|
||||
23
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/UNO.md
Normal file
23
20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PARAMILITARY/UNO.md
Normal file
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- organization
|
||||
- nicaraguan
|
||||
- contra-war
|
||||
summary: UNO (United Nicaraguan Opposition) was a CIA-inspired merger of Contra factions created to improve the Contras' public image, existing mostly as a facade while the FDN retained real authority.
|
||||
---
|
||||
UNO (United Nicaraguan Opposition) was a [[Central Intelligence Agency]]-inspired merger of Contra factions created to improve the [[Contras|Contras]]' public image, existing mostly as a facade while the [[FDN]] retained real authority and did the bulk of the fighting. The merger was formalized in the Oval Office on August 5, 1987, at a gathering of Nicaraguan resistance leaders.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Purpose and Structure
|
||||
|
||||
UNO existed mostly as a public relations creation. The [[State Department]] used UNO to deny drug links, assuring Congress that "DEA has examined allegations of linkages between members of the UNO/[[FARN]] and suspected traffickers. It has found no information indicating that members of this group have been involved in narcotics trafficking." This assurance came despite extensive evidence to the contrary, including wiretaps capturing Contra commanders discussing [[cocaine]] shipments and [[DEA]] reports linking UNO members to drug trafficking.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### Facade of Unity
|
||||
|
||||
The CIA-inspired merger gathered all Contra factions under one group on paper, but the FDN retained most of the authority. [[Enrique Bermudez|Enrique Bermúdez]] and the FDN leadership continued to control military operations and the associated drug trafficking networks. UNO served primarily as a political tool to secure congressional funding and deflect criticism of Contra human rights abuses and criminal activities.[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary.
|
||||
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 17.
|
||||
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 13.
|
||||
|
|
@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
|
|||
The [[United States Army Special Forces|U.S. Army Special Forces]], also known as the Green Berets, are a special operations force of the [[United States Army]]. They are mentioned in connection with several individuals involved in covert operations and intelligence activities.[^1]
|
||||
---
|
||||
category: "Paramilitary"
|
||||
summary: "The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, are a special operations force of the United States Army. They are mentioned in connection with several individuals involved in covert operations and intelligence activities.[^1]"
|
||||
---
|
||||
The [[United States Army Special Forces|U.S. Army Special Forces]], also known as the Green Berets, are a special operations force of the [[U.S. Army]]. They are mentioned in connection with several individuals involved in covert operations and intelligence activities.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Michael Hand]], co-founder of [[Nugan Hand Bank]], was a highly decorated Special Forces Green Beret soldier in [[Vietnam]]. He later moved to the clandestine [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] war in [[Laos]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -9,6 +13,6 @@ An American code-named "Charlie," who allegedly helped [[Michael Hand]] escape f
|
|||
[[Allan Boyak]], an attorney who represented [[Michael Riconosciuto]], had a background in the [[United States Army Special Forces|U.S. Army Special Forces]] and reportedly did some contract work for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] during the 1960s and early 1970s.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
## Footnotes
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
|
||||
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