vault backup: 2026-10-08 18:20:15

10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Augusto Pinochet.md

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ tags:
 summary: "Chilean Army commander who led the September 11, 1973 coup against Salvador Allende and ruled Chile until 1990, with the Letelier assassination and Operation Condor documented in declassified US records."
 location: "Valparaiso, Chile"
 created: 2026-05-14
-updated: 2026-10-07
+updated: 2026-10-08
 born: 1915-11-25
 died: 2006-12-10
 relations:
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ In April 2016 the then German Foreign Minister, [[Frank-Walter Steinmeier]], sta
 
 ### Carlos Cardoen and Iraq
 
-[[Carlos Cardoen]], a Chilean arms manufacturer who returned to Santiago after the 1973 coup to work for the government-owned [[Chilean Mining Corporation]], is described by [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] as selling cluster bombs to [[Iraq]] by 1985 with the help of individuals connected to the CIA, and as having been charged in Miami in April 1992 by the US Customs Service.[^16] [[Alan Friedman]] reports that Cardoen's plant at [[Iquique]] produced about a thousand cluster bombs a month, with a first shipment worth 21 million dollars reaching Iraq early in 1984 during the [[Iran-Iraq War]]; a former CIA contractor described Cardoen to Friedman as "an all-purpose asset, designed to be one of those offshore stockpilers of military equipment who could be used by the CIA to ship arms to the Afghan rebels, to the boys in Angola, or anywhere the U.S. needed some help." The White House said in July 1991 that there "never were any sales, overt or covert, to Iraq or Iran through a third country." The British journalist [[Jonathan Moyle]], who was inquiring into Cardoen's helicopter project, was found dead in a Santiago hotel on March 31, 1990.[^17]
+[[Carlos Cardoen]], a Chilean arms manufacturer who returned to Santiago after the 1973 coup to work for the government-owned [[Chilean Mining Corporation]], is described by [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] as selling cluster bombs to [[Iraq]] by 1985 with the help of individuals connected to the CIA, and as having been charged in Miami in April 1992 by the US Customs Service.[^16] A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned a twenty-one count indictment against Cardoen and [[Industrias Cardoen]] on May 26, 1993.[^23] [[Alan Friedman]] reports that Cardoen's plant at [[Iquique]] produced about a thousand cluster bombs a month, with a first shipment worth 21 million dollars reaching Iraq early in 1984 during the [[Iran-Iraq War]]; a former CIA contractor described Cardoen to Friedman as "an all-purpose asset, designed to be one of those offshore stockpilers of military equipment who could be used by the CIA to ship arms to the Afghan rebels, to the boys in Angola, or anywhere the U.S. needed some help." The White House said in July 1991 that there "never were any sales, overt or covert, to Iraq or Iran through a third country." The British journalist [[Jonathan Moyle]], who was inquiring into Cardoen's helicopter project, was found dead in a Santiago hotel on March 31, 1990.[^17]
 
 ### London arrest and the House of Lords
 
@@ -180,3 +180,4 @@ On August 24, 2004, the [[Supreme Court of Argentina]] upheld the life sentence
 [^20]: United States Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, minority staff, "Money Laundering and Foreign Corruption: Enforcement and Effectiveness of the Patriot Act, Case Study Involving Riggs Bank" (report released with the July 15, 2004 hearing), Finding 1 (p. 7) and Section B (p. 18). https://archive.org/details/SenateSubcommitteeReportOnMoneyLaunderingAndRiggsBank
 [^21]: National Security Archive, "The Pinochet Regime at 50: The Assassination of General Carlos Prats and Sofía Cuthbert," Electronic Briefing Book, Peter Kornbluh, October 1, 2024, narrative and CIA and DINA documents. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/chile/2024-10-01/pinochet-regime-50-assassination-general-carlos-prats-and-sofia
 [^22]: Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nacion (Argentina), *Arancibia Clavel, Enrique Lautaro s/ homicidio calificado y asociacion ilicita y otros*, recurso de hecho, Buenos Aires, August 24, 2004. https://www.cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/ut/fallo_arancibia_clavel_2004_01.pdf
+[^23]: *United States v. Cardoen*, 898 F. Supp. 1563 (S.D. Fla. 1995), No. 93-241-CR, https://static.case.law/f-supp/898/cases/1563-01.json.

10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Dr. John Philip Nichols.md

@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 category: "Criminals & Offenders"
 aliases:
   - "John Philip Nichols"
+  - "Dr. John Nichols"
+  - "John P. Nichols"
 tags:
   - Person
   - PROMIS

10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Eden Pastora.md

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ relations:
     start: 1983
     end: 1987
     role: "rent-free house in Costa Rica, two pickup trucks, cash"
-    fn: 10
+    fn: 14
   - type: funded
     with: "[[George Morales]]"
     reverse: true
@@ -66,19 +66,21 @@ Pastora formed the Sandino Revolutionary Front (FRS) in early 1982 and allied it
 
 By September 1984 the CIA recorded [[Marcos Aguado]] as Chief of Air Operations for the FRS and ARDE and as Pastora's personal pilot. A December 1984 cable reported that Pastora had designated Aguado "one of his 18 commandantes, to be in charge of air operations and logistics at Ilopango," and said that Aguado "may very well be actively participating in alleged narcotics activities . . . or at least aware of such activities." In July 1987 Aguado asked, through [[Octaviano Cesar]], to give the CIA information tying Pastora to "past drug trafficking"; the station declined to meet him on counterintelligence grounds and passed the matter to the local DEA office.[^7] The Senate subcommittee called Aguado "Eden Pastora's air force chief." In an October 31, 1987 deposition in San José, Aguado said that traffickers "took advantage of the anti-Communist sentiment which existed in Central America" and "undoubtedly used it for drug trafficking."[^8][^9]
 
+In March 1986 retired Army major general [[John Singlaub]] travelled to [[Costa Rica]], met Pastora and negotiated an agreement with him, purportedly on behalf of the United States. The Independent Counsel's report states that word of the agreement briefly gave Pastora the advantage in the competition among the Newly Aligned Commanders for resupply; [[Alan Fiers]] cabled that Singlaub's actions did not reflect a new posture toward Pastora and that all United States support would come through UNO.[^10] A *Miami Herald* clipping places the announcement in Costa Rica: Singlaub said he had come to persuade Pastora to visit Washington and that United States officials wanted Pastora to play a role like that of Charles de Gaulle in the French resistance.[^11] [[Adolfo Calero]] testified that people in Washington were upset about Singlaub's involvement and that the FDN ended by sending Pastora nothing.[^12] In May 1986 Singlaub travelled to the Far East to solicit funds after asking [[Elliott Abrams]] how the United States would send a "signal"; Abrams told him to stop the plan.[^13]
+
 ### Morales
 
-In October 1984 the CIA began receiving reports that Pastora's associates had agreed to help the Miami-based trafficker Jorge Morales bring drugs into the United States in return for material and financial help. The State Department's July 1986 report to Congress said a senior member of the FRS agreed late in 1984 that FRS pilots would fly narcotics from South America to sites in Costa Rica and Nicaragua; Morales gave the FRS a C-47 and two crated helicopters and about $100,000.[^2] A November 1984 cable reported that Pastora, Adolfo "Popo" Chamorro and Roberto Chamorro were traveling to Miami to meet Morales, that Morales had transferred about $30,000 to an ARDE account, and that two ARDE pilots, including Gerardo Duran, were there for a flight for Morales. A December 1984 cable said Pastora met Morales and did not like his "pressuring him to immediately meet [Pastora's] end of their arrangement, which is providing pilots and operational facilities in Costa Rica for Morales' drug operations." The CIA disseminated this to thirteen senior government officials in a December 1984 sensitive memorandum and briefed the DEA and the U.S. Attorney's office in Miami on December 6; its representatives told the House intelligence committee in January 1985 that members of Pastora's organization had agreed, "either with Pastora's direct knowledge or tacit approval," to supply pilots and landing strips to a Miami-based Colombian drug dealer.[^1] Pastora told the Inspector General that he did not know Morales was a trafficker until October 1984, ended the arrangement in January 1985 when he realized the political cost, and returned the planes; Popo Chamorro said Pastora learned of it only after the October meetings and his own December meeting with Morales; Pastora said Morales also gave him about $40,000, and he listed about $20,000 from a Cuban, about $40,000 and two helicopters from Leo Fernandez, and about $25,000 from [[Manuel Noriega]].[^1][^10] Morales testified to the Kerry subcommittee that he hoped helping the Contras would get his indictment dropped because of their CIA contacts.[^2]
+In October 1984 the CIA began receiving reports that Pastora's associates had agreed to help the Miami-based trafficker Jorge Morales bring drugs into the United States in return for material and financial help. The State Department's July 1986 report to Congress said a senior member of the FRS agreed late in 1984 that FRS pilots would fly narcotics from South America to sites in Costa Rica and Nicaragua; Morales gave the FRS a C-47 and two crated helicopters and about $100,000.[^2] A November 1984 cable reported that Pastora, Adolfo "Popo" Chamorro and Roberto Chamorro were traveling to Miami to meet Morales, that Morales had transferred about $30,000 to an ARDE account, and that two ARDE pilots, including Gerardo Duran, were there for a flight for Morales. A December 1984 cable said Pastora met Morales and did not like his "pressuring him to immediately meet [Pastora's] end of their arrangement, which is providing pilots and operational facilities in Costa Rica for Morales' drug operations." The CIA disseminated this to thirteen senior government officials in a December 1984 sensitive memorandum and briefed the DEA and the U.S. Attorney's office in Miami on December 6; its representatives told the House intelligence committee in January 1985 that members of Pastora's organization had agreed, "either with Pastora's direct knowledge or tacit approval," to supply pilots and landing strips to a Miami-based Colombian drug dealer.[^1] Pastora told the Inspector General that he did not know Morales was a trafficker until October 1984, ended the arrangement in January 1985 when he realized the political cost, and returned the planes; Popo Chamorro said Pastora learned of it only after the October meetings and his own December meeting with Morales; Pastora said Morales also gave him about $40,000, and he listed about $20,000 from a Cuban, about $40,000 and two helicopters from Leo Fernandez, and about $25,000 from [[Manuel Noriega]].[^1][^14] Morales testified to the Kerry subcommittee that he hoped helping the Contras would get his indictment dropped because of their CIA contacts.[^2]
 
 Further reports followed. A Sandinista radio broadcast in February 1985 said Pastora's associates were building landing strips in Guanacaste for drug flights; an April 1985 cable named Duran and David Mayorga as owners of an air company said to hide cocaine in yucca shipments, with a plane belonging to Pastora and ARDE; a December 1985 cable said a Panamanian with business ties to Noriega, Cesar Rodriguez, was gathering money for Pastora, and in June 1986 the CIA was told Pastora accepted $10,000 from Rodriguez during a trip to Panama; and a January 1986 cable reported that a Costa Rican associate had 200 kilograms of cocaine he wished to use to help finance Pastora's activities. A February 1986 cable asked for an interagency review of the evidence on David Mayorga, one of Pastora's closest advisers, and noted that it "needs to be made available to those still bent on seeing that [Pastora] is given . . . funding"; the Inspector General found no record that the review took place. In March 1986 a CIA station chief wrote that the Southern Front structure was "too badly penetrated by Sandinistas and too many of the players have been associated with narcotics smuggling."[^1] Marcos Aguado, Pastora's pilot and, in Pastora's words, his son-in-law, was among those named by [[Robert Owen]] as involved in trafficking, and Prado told the Kerry subcommittee that the allegations against Pastora's group were a CIA effort to discredit him; the subcommittee could not validate Owen's claims.[^1][^2]
 
-The CIA's Central American Task Force chief, [[Alan Fiers]], testified to the Iran-Contra committees on August 5, 1987 that "we knew that everybody around Pastora was involved in cocaine. His staff and friends . . . they were drug smugglers or involved in drug smuggling." He told the Senate intelligence committee on July 31, 1987 that the CIA had no knowledge that Pastora was directly involved in the Morales deal but had "a significant body of evidence" that Pastora's people were directly involved in cocaine trafficking to the United States, and said on October 14, 1987, as Pastora planned to return to Nicaragua, "This guy is a cocaine runner. Period. He ran cocaine." In January 1988 he told Senator Bill Bradley that "Pastora had been involved with a Colombian trafficker, but the FDN was clean."[^1][^11] Webb wrote that the CIA station chief [[Joseph Fernandez]] disputed Pastora's claim of a CIA plot, that CIA files showed the agency passed the drug reporting about Pastora to a wide range of officials in contrast to its silence about the FDN and UDN-FARN, and that after an Associated Press story in late 1985 Pastora quit within months.[^3] The CIA's Inspector General recorded that he left ARDE in 1986 and withdrew from the war; the Associated Press reported that he then ran a fishing cooperative in Costa Rica.[^1][^4]
+The CIA's Central American Task Force chief, Alan Fiers, testified to the Iran-Contra committees on August 5, 1987 that "we knew that everybody around Pastora was involved in cocaine. His staff and friends . . . they were drug smugglers or involved in drug smuggling." He told the Senate intelligence committee on July 31, 1987 that the CIA had no knowledge that Pastora was directly involved in the Morales deal but had "a significant body of evidence" that Pastora's people were directly involved in cocaine trafficking to the United States, and said on October 14, 1987, as Pastora planned to return to Nicaragua, "This guy is a cocaine runner. Period. He ran cocaine." In January 1988 he told Senator Bill Bradley that "Pastora had been involved with a Colombian trafficker, but the FDN was clean."[^1][^15] Webb wrote that the CIA station chief [[Joseph Fernandez]] disputed Pastora's claim of a CIA plot, that CIA files showed the agency passed the drug reporting about Pastora to a wide range of officials in contrast to its silence about the FDN and UDN-FARN, and that after an Associated Press story in late 1985 Pastora quit within months.[^3] The CIA's Inspector General recorded that he left ARDE in 1986 and withdrew from the war; the Associated Press reported that he then ran a fishing cooperative in Costa Rica.[^1][^4]
 
 ### Blandon, Meneses and the California circle
 
-The Justice Department and CIA inspectors recorded the money [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] gave him and disagree about its source and meaning. Blandón said he let Pastora live rent-free in a house he owned in Costa Rica from about 1983 or 1984 to 1987, gave him about $9,000 in 1985 or 1986 "for personal use," from his legitimate businesses, and gave him two cars; he told the Justice Department's inspectors that Pastora "didn't want to know" about the source and that he never told him he dealt drugs. Pastora told the Senate intelligence committee on November 26, 1996 that Blandón gave him $3,000 twice between 1985 and 1987 and two pickup trucks, that he met Blandón three or four times, and that he knew nothing of the trafficking until Blandón's 1992 arrest; he told the CIA's inspectors Blandón gave about $6,000 and the housing and that the trucks were worth about $1,500 each. Blandón estimated the total at about $30,000, including the housing. The DEA informant DEA CI-1 told the Inspectors General that Pastora and Adolfo Calero "lied" in congressional hearings in denying they knew Meneses, Blandón and Torres; Pastora testified that he met [[Norwin Meneses]] in 1979 and by chance in Costa Rica around 1988.[^10][^12] An informant told the FBI that Pastora met Blandón in Miami in January 1985 seeking cocaine funds for Contra operations; LA CI-1 told the Inspector General he meant the funds were cocaine money, not that Pastora knew it, and that Blandón, drunk at a Miami party, produced no money. The Rolodex from Blandón's car lot listed a number for Pastora in Costa Rica.[^12][^13][^14] In the January 1987 Operation Perico reports, DEA CI-1 recorded that Blandón's organization had given Pastora weapons until two years earlier, that Pastora lived in a Blandón house, and, separately, that Pastora lived in Meneses's house in Costa Rica and told Meneses he wanted to enter cocaine trafficking to funnel money to the Contras and asked Meneses to find a buyer for a DC-3 at Ilopango, with Aguado as his representative in El Salvador.[^15] Webb wrote that Pastora got money and trucks from Blandón and that the physician Felix Saborio, a Blandón friend, became his Cuban-community liaison in Miami and an ARDE fundraiser; Pastora said of both, "Blandón and Saborio . . . both vanished from my ranks when it became clear that I was not willing to march to the tune of the CIA."[^3]
+The Justice Department and CIA inspectors recorded the money [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] gave him and disagree about its source and meaning. Blandón said he let Pastora live rent-free in a house he owned in Costa Rica from about 1983 or 1984 to 1987, gave him about $9,000 in 1985 or 1986 "for personal use," from his legitimate businesses, and gave him two cars; he told the Justice Department's inspectors that Pastora "didn't want to know" about the source and that he never told him he dealt drugs. Pastora told the Senate intelligence committee on November 26, 1996 that Blandón gave him $3,000 twice between 1985 and 1987 and two pickup trucks, that he met Blandón three or four times, and that he knew nothing of the trafficking until Blandón's 1992 arrest; he told the CIA's inspectors Blandón gave about $6,000 and the housing and that the trucks were worth about $1,500 each. Blandón estimated the total at about $30,000, including the housing. The DEA informant DEA CI-1 told the Inspectors General that Pastora and Adolfo Calero "lied" in congressional hearings in denying they knew Meneses, Blandón and Torres; Pastora testified that he met [[Norwin Meneses]] in 1979 and by chance in Costa Rica around 1988.[^14][^16] An informant told the FBI that Pastora met Blandón in Miami in January 1985 seeking cocaine funds for Contra operations; LA CI-1 told the Inspector General he meant the funds were cocaine money, not that Pastora knew it, and that Blandón, drunk at a Miami party, produced no money. The Rolodex from Blandón's car lot listed a number for Pastora in Costa Rica.[^16][^17][^18] In the January 1987 Operation Perico reports, DEA CI-1 recorded that Blandón's organization had given Pastora weapons until two years earlier, that Pastora lived in a Blandón house, and, separately, that Pastora lived in Meneses's house in Costa Rica and told Meneses he wanted to enter cocaine trafficking to funnel money to the Contras and asked Meneses to find a buyer for a DC-3 at Ilopango, with Aguado as his representative in El Salvador.[^19] Webb wrote that Pastora got money and trucks from Blandón and that the physician Felix Saborio, a Blandón friend, became his Cuban-community liaison in Miami and an ARDE fundraiser; Pastora said of both, "Blandón and Saborio . . . both vanished from my ranks when it became clear that I was not willing to march to the tune of the CIA."[^3]
 
-Webb also relayed that Pastora visited Blandón's silk-screen shop in Los Angeles in 1982, where T-shirts with his likeness were printed, and a *San Francisco Chronicle* report in 1994 that he attended a weapons demonstration at a firing range near the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] in 1981, a claim Webb wrote Pastora both confirmed and denied.[^16] Blandón said he arranged a presentation by [[Ronald Lister]] of weapons for Contra leaders including Pastora and Adolfo Chamorro, who showed no interest; a handwritten note seized from Lister's home in 1986 listed the names of several CIA officers working with Pastora's ARDE, Webb wrote.[^3][^10]
+Webb also relayed that Pastora visited Blandón's silk-screen shop in Los Angeles in 1982, where T-shirts with his likeness were printed, and a *San Francisco Chronicle* report in 1994 that he attended a weapons demonstration at a firing range near the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] in 1981, a claim Webb wrote Pastora both confirmed and denied.[^20] Blandón said he arranged a presentation by [[Ronald Lister]] of weapons for Contra leaders including Pastora and Adolfo Chamorro, who showed no interest; a handwritten note seized from Lister's home in 1986 listed the names of several CIA officers working with Pastora's ARDE, Webb wrote.[^3][^14]
 
 ### Later years
 
@@ -95,10 +97,14 @@ Webb wrote that Pastora said the CIA had targeted him after he refused to merge
 [^7]: CIA Inspector General, *Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States*, Volume II (October 8, 1998), Marcos Antonio Aguado section of the Southern Front chapter, https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine2/south.html
 [^8]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165 (December 1988), pp. 37, 50 to 52, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
 [^9]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy: The Cartel, Haiti and Central America*, Part 3, hearing of April 7, 1988, testimony of Jorge Morales (pp. 297 to 300) and videotaped depositions of October 31, 1987, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152832_0005. Gary Webb, in Dark Alliance (1998), dates the "CIA agents" statement to 1986 congressional testimony, and his chapter notes give April 7, 1986 and March 27, 1987.
-[^10]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Inspector General, *Report of Investigation: Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States (96-0143-IG)*, Volume I: The California Story, January 29, 1998, Findings (Ross, Blandon, Meneses), https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine/findings1.html
-[^11]: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy* (the Kerry report), December 1988, p. 38, quoting the August 5, 1987 testimony of the CIA Central American Task Force chief before the Iran-Contra Committees, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
-[^12]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter IV, section B (OIG investigation regarding support of the Contras by Blandon and Meneses), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch04p2.htm
-[^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions* (December 1997, released July 1998), Chapter II (Oscar Danilo Blandon), sections A-D, https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p1.htm
-[^14]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter IV, section A (sources of the allegations), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch04p1.htm
-[^15]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter II, section G (the 1987 Los Angeles OCDETF investigation), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p4.htm
-[^16]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 6: "They were doing their patriotic duty." Sole source for the passages so cited.
+[^10]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 19 (Fiers), citing DIRECTOR 772442 (March 11, 1986) and DIRECTOR 799822 (March 28, 1986). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_19.htm
+[^11]: *Miami Herald* clipping (undated), FBI Vault, "John Singlaub (Final)," p. 8. https://vault.fbi.gov/john-singlaub/john-singlaub-final
+[^12]: Deposition of Adolfo Calero, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 3, transcript p. 166 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0235).
+[^13]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 3, pp. 69-70 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=93).
+[^14]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Inspector General, *Report of Investigation: Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States (96-0143-IG)*, Volume I: The California Story, January 29, 1998, Findings (Ross, Blandon, Meneses), https://irp.fas.org/cia/product/cocaine/findings1.html
+[^15]: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy* (the Kerry report), December 1988, p. 38, quoting the August 5, 1987 testimony of the CIA Central American Task Force chief before the Iran-Contra Committees, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
+[^16]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter IV, section B (OIG investigation regarding support of the Contras by Blandon and Meneses), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch04p2.htm
+[^17]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions* (December 1997, released July 1998), Chapter II (Oscar Danilo Blandon), sections A-D, https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p1.htm
+[^18]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter IV, section A (sources of the allegations), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch04p1.htm
+[^19]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter II, section G (the 1987 Los Angeles OCDETF investigation), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch02p4.htm
+[^20]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 6: "They were doing their patriotic duty." Sole source for the passages so cited.

10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Eugene Propper.md

@@ -22,15 +22,16 @@ relations:
     role: "short-form registrant for Lane & Edson, P.C., FARA registration 3286"
     fn: 5
   - type: represented
-    with: "[[Government of Jamaica]]"
+    with: "[[Jamaica]]"
     start: 1989-09
     end: 1990-04
     role: "short-form registrant for CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P., FARA registration 4294"
     fn: 7
   - type: employed_by
     with: "[[Lane and Edson]]"
-    role: "head of trial division (as stated in the 1990 resume packet)"
-    fn: 9
+    start: 1983
+    role: "attorney, later partner and head of the trial division (as stated in the 1990 resume packet); named on the firm letterhead from 1983"
+    fn: 12
 ---
 
 Eugene M. Propper was the assistant [[United States Attorney]] in Washington assigned in September 1976 to the murder of [[Orlando Letelier]] and [[Ronni Moffitt]]. His deputy was [[E. Lawrence Barcella]], and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agents were [[Carter Cornick|C. Carter Cornick]] in Washington and [[Robert Scherrer]], the bureau's representative in [[Buenos Aires]].[^1]
@@ -49,7 +50,9 @@ With the journalist [[Taylor Branch]] he wrote *Labyrinth* (1982), an account of
 
 Justice Department registration files list Lane & Edson, P.C., of 2300 M Street NW, Washington, as a registrant under the [[Foreign Agents Registration Act]] from October 8, 1981 to November 8, 1988, with the Republic of Peru as its foreign principal until October 8, 1988; the Attorney General's report lists its services as legal work on the recovery of illegally exported pre-Columbian artifacts and on favorable import legislation or regulations, with finances "None Reported." Propper is a short-form registrant under that registration, with the November 8, 1988 termination date.[^5][^6] Under CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P. (registration 4294) he is a short-form registrant from September 18, 1989 to October 25, 1990; the registration's only foreign principal was the [[Government of Jamaica]], from September 18, 1989 to April 15, 1990, and it reported $25,000.00 received prior to registration.[^7][^8]
 
-A June 1990 resume packet of the firm describes Propper as co-founder, advising clients on criminal prosecutions, extradition, expulsion and the formulation of statutes and prosecutorial guidelines. It states that he was an assistant United States attorney in Washington from 1972 to 1979 and an attorney in the Criminal Division of the [[United States Department of Justice]] from 1971 to 1972; that he headed the investigation and prosecution of the terrorists who killed Orlando Letelier; that he was instrumental in the prosecution of [[Edwin Wilson]] and [[Frank Terpil]] for selling weapons to Libya; that he was chief prosecutor in the bombing of the United States Capitol and of the offices of a foreign airline in Washington; that he heads the trial division at Lane and Edson; that he is a member of the District of Columbia and Massachusetts bars; and that he holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the [[University of Massachusetts]] and a law degree from the [[University of Minnesota]] Law School.[^9]
+Propper is named among the lawyers on Lane and Edson letterheads printed in congressional hearing records of 1983 and 1984, with [[Frederic J. Truslow]], [[Jack Feder]] and others, and on the firm's letter of February 25, 1985 printed in the record of Senate housing authorization hearings.[^9] The 2009 edition of *The Art of M&A* describes him as a Lane & Edson partner who had contributed substantially to the due diligence chapter of the original 1989 edition, and as then in private practice in McLean, Virginia.[^10] The firm's registration for Peru recorded receipts of $19,778.00, $15,513.00, $37,281.71 and $23,758.89 for the twelve-month periods ending October 8 of 1982 to 1985.[^11]
+
+A June 1990 resume packet of the firm describes Propper as co-founder, advising clients on criminal prosecutions, extradition, expulsion and the formulation of statutes and prosecutorial guidelines. It states that he was an assistant United States attorney in Washington from 1972 to 1979 and an attorney in the Criminal Division of the [[United States Department of Justice]] from 1971 to 1972; that he headed the investigation and prosecution of the terrorists who killed Orlando Letelier; that he was instrumental in the prosecution of [[Edwin Wilson]] and [[Frank Terpil]] for selling weapons to Libya; that he was chief prosecutor in the bombing of the United States Capitol and of the offices of a foreign airline in Washington; that he heads the trial division at Lane and Edson; that he is a member of the District of Columbia and Massachusetts bars; and that he holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the [[University of Massachusetts]] and a law degree from the [[University of Minnesota]] Law School.[^12]
 
 ### Footnotes
 
@@ -61,4 +64,7 @@ A June 1990 resume packet of the firm describes Propper as co-founder, advising
 [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Report of the Attorney General to the Congress on the Administration of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, calendar years 1988 to 1991, Peru section, entry "Lane & Edson, P.C., #3286 (T88)," https://www.justice.gov/media/910056/dl?inline.
 [^7]: Same bulk files, registration 4294 (CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P.): short form "Propper, Eugene M.," September 18, 1989, terminated October 25, 1990; foreign principal "Government of Jamaica," September 18, 1989 to April 15, 1990.
 [^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Report of the Attorney General to the Congress on the Administration of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, for the Calendar Years 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991, Volume 1, Jamaica section, p. 599, https://www.justice.gov/media/910066/dl?inline.
-[^9]: CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P., "Proudly Presents The Resumes of its Associates," fax copy dated June 20, 1990, page 141 P07, Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Promotional Material," https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks.
+[^9]: Letterheads of Lane and Edson, P.C., in *Governmental Lease Financing Reform Act* (1983), https://books.google.com/books?id=L63PFff8BXkC, and *Section 8 Rent Adjustments, Elderly Housing, and Other Assisted Housing Issues* (1984), https://books.google.com/books?id=HQwRxaYIvskC; letter of February 25, 1985, Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs, *Housing, Community Development, and Mass Transportation Authorizations, 1986*, https://books.google.com/books?id=pfCKEE1NeD0C.
+[^10]: Stanley F. Reed and Lane & Edson, P.C., *The Art of M&A* (1989), and the 2009 edition, which states that "Lane & Edson Partner Eugene M. Propper (now in private practice in McLean, Virginia) contributed substantially to the due diligence chapter in the original (1989) edition," https://books.google.com/books?id=02XSV9j541EC.
+[^11]: U.S. Department of Justice, Reports of the Attorney General to the Congress on the Administration of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, calendar years 1982 to 1985, Peru entries for "Lane and Edson, P.C., #3286," https://www.justice.gov/media/910086/dl, https://www.justice.gov/media/910081/dl, https://www.justice.gov/media/910076/dl, https://www.justice.gov/media/910111/dl.
+[^12]: CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P., "Proudly Presents The Resumes of its Associates," fax copy dated June 20, 1990, page 141 P07, Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Promotional Material," https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks.

10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/John Singlaub.md

@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+---
+title: John Singlaub
+aliases:
+  - John Singlaub
+  - John K. Singlaub
+  - Jack Singlaub
+  - John Kirk Singlaub
+  - Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub
+  - General Singlaub
+  - Gen. Singlaub
+created: 2026-10-08
+updated: 2026-10-08
+category: "Military"
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - IranContra
+  - Contras
+  - GeoMiliTech
+  - WorldAntiCommunistLeague
+  - OSS
+  - MACVSOG
+  - SouthKorea
+  - Taiwan
+  - WesternGoals
+summary: "Retired Army major general, OSS Jedburgh, CIA and MACV-SOG officer, who chaired the World Anti-Communist League and solicited money and arranged arms for the Nicaraguan contras in 1985 and 1986."
+born: 1921-07-10
+died: 2022-01-29
+relations:
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[Office of Strategic Services]]"
+    role: "officer; Jedburgh Team JAMES"
+    start: 1943
+    fn: 4
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[Central Intelligence Agency]]"
+    role: "deputy chief of the CIA mission in Korea"
+    start: 1950
+    end: 1951
+    fn: 5
+  - type: head_of
+    with: "[[MACV-SOG]]"
+    role: "commander"
+    start: 1966-05
+    end: 1968-08
+    fn: 6
+  - type: head_of
+    with: "[[United States Council for World Freedom]]"
+    role: "chairman"
+    start: 1981
+    fn: 5
+  - type: head_of
+    with: "[[World Anti-Communist League]]"
+    role: "chairman until August 1986"
+    start: 1984
+    fn: 2
+  - type: member_of
+    with: "[[Western Goals Foundation]]"
+    role: "involved"
+    fn: 1
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]]"
+    role: "consultant"
+    start: 1986
+    fn: 20
+  - type: partner_of
+    with: "[[Barbara Studley]]"
+    start: 1985
+    fn: 18
+  - type: participant_in
+    with: "[[Iran-Contra Affair]]"
+    start: 1985
+    end: 1987
+    fn: 15
+  - type: participant_in
+    with: "[[Christic Institute]]"
+    role: "defendant in the La Penca civil suit"
+    start: 1986
+    end: 1992
+    fn: 1
+---
+
+John Kirk Singlaub (July 10, 1921 to January 29, 2022) was a United States Army major general who served in the [[Office of Strategic Services]], the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and the Army, commanded the Studies and Observation Group in the [[Vietnam War]], and after leaving the Army in 1978 chaired the [[United States Council for World Freedom]] and the [[World Anti-Communist League]], raised money for the [[Contras]] of [[Nicaragua]] during the congressional ban on aid, and arranged a 1985 weapons purchase for them, in contact with [[Oliver North]] and [[William J. Casey]].[^1][^2]
+
+### Early life and the OSS, 1921-1945
+
+Singlaub was born on his grandfather's homestead in what is now Independence, California, on July 10, 1921, grew up in the Sherman Oaks district of Los Angeles, and enrolled in the Army ROTC program at the [[UCLA|University of California at Los Angeles]].[^1] He was commissioned a second lieutenant on January 14, 1943, and within ten months was assigned to the Office of Strategic Services; the Army's special operations history office gives November 1943 as the date of his recruitment.[^3][^4] In the summer of 1944 he led a three-man team that parachuted into the mountains of France to organize, train and lead French Resistance fighters; the Army history office names the unit as Jedburgh Team JAMES and gives August 11, 1944 as the date of the jump.[^3][^4] His case officer was William J. Casey, who offered him cyanide pills for use if captured; Singlaub was wounded in the face by sniper fire in a fight with a German garrison.[^1] Asked about Casey in 1986, Singlaub said that Casey "has indicated approval and he has been encouraging" and introduced him to people who needed detailed information.[^2]
+
+On August 27, 1945, Singlaub led an eight-man OSS team by parachute onto Hainan Island to reach Allied prisoners of war; the Army history office names the operation the PIGEON mission and the prisoners Dutch and Australian, and the Washington Post obituary lists American, Australian and Dutch prisoners.[^1][^4]
+
+### China, Manchuria and Korea, 1945-1958
+
+After the war he remained in China with the Strategic Services Unit, the OSS successor, reporting on the Chinese civil war.[^4] The Washington Post obituary places him at Mukden, in Manchuria, until the city fell to Chinese communist forces in 1948, and states that he headed CIA operations in postwar Manchuria; CBS in 1986 described him as a CIA officer stationed in China in 1949 who watched the country fall.[^1][^2] In 1950 he was an instructor at [[Fort Benning]], where the Army history office says he helped establish the Ranger Training Center.[^4]
+
+During the [[Korean War]] he was detailed to the CIA to direct operations behind enemy lines and served as deputy chief of the CIA mission in Korea (the New York Times of October 14, 1986 dates the post to 1951) and later as an infantry battalion commander, for which he received the Silver Star.[^1][^2][^5] CBS named his immediate superior as [[Richard G. Stilwell|Richard Stilwell]] and a case officer under him as [[Nestor Sanchez]], later the Pentagon's official in charge of Latin America, and Singlaub told the network that he had friends at the top levels of the CIA, State, the [[National Security Council]] and the [[Department of Defense]].[^2] He attended the Command and General Staff College at [[Fort Leavenworth]] and completed his UCLA degree in political science in 1958.[^1]
+
+### Studies and Observation Group, 1966-1968
+
+Singlaub told FBI agents in 2003 that he served as the general in charge of the Vietnam Special Operations Group for unconventional warfare from May 1966 through August 1968, a joint task force command; the Army history office gives the same years for his command of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observation Group ([[MACV-SOG]]).[^4][^6] CBS identified John Vessey as a colleague who ran missions into [[Laos]] in the same period.[^2] In the 2003 interview he said that there were no sterile firearms on SOG helicopters and that men who later claimed secret SOG missions were "wanna-bes."[^6]
+
+### The 1977 Korea recall and retirement
+
+In May 1977, as chief of staff of United States forces in [[South Korea]], Singlaub told a Washington Post reporter that [[Jimmy Carter]]'s plan to withdraw ground troops would "lead to war"; he later said the interview had been off the record.[^1] He was ordered to Washington, and at a news conference Carter said the general had committed "a very serious breach of the propriety that ought to exist among military officers after a policy has been made."[^1] Singlaub told CBS that Defense Secretary Harold Brown had suggested he say he had been misquoted; CBS reported that Brown denied this.[^2] The withdrawal plan was later dropped.[^3] Singlaub was reassigned as chief of staff of Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson, Georgia, criticized Carter again over the neutron bomb and the B-1A bomber, and, after a speech at Georgia Tech, left the Army in 1978 after 35 years; the New York Times wrote in 1986 that he was asked to resign.[^1][^3] The CBS narration and the October 14, 1986 New York Times article date the Korea episode to 1979.[^2][^5] Senator [[Jesse Helms]] praised him; according to the journalist Peter Dale Scott, [[Ronald Reagan]] took up his cause in syndicated radio broadcasts, and in 1979 and 1980 Singlaub told Guatemala's president, [[Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia]], that Reagan if elected would aid anti-communist efforts in Central America.[^2][^7]
+
+### The Council for World Freedom and the League
+
+Singlaub started the United States Council for World Freedom, which Scott dates to a November 22, 1981 inauguration and which the Internal Revenue Service recognized in 1982 as a tax-exempt educational organization after a pledge that it would not supply matériel or funds to any revolutionary, counterrevolutionary or liberation movement.[^3][^7] CBS reported that [[Ku Cheng-kang]], the League's founder, invited him in 1984 to become its director, and that the governments of [[Taiwan]] and South Korea created the League in 1954; the New York Times gave 1966 as the League's founding year and 1981 as the year Singlaub took over.[^2][^5] Singlaub said he had expelled the Mexican affiliate, the Tecos, and the Latin American Anti-Communist League; the [[Anti-Defamation League]] wrote that substantial progress had been made since 1981 in removing racists and anti-Semites, while the journalists Scott Anderson and Jon Lee Anderson, in the book Inside the League, argued that the League continued to harbor fascists, which Singlaub called "absolute nonsense."[^5] He was also involved with the Western Goals Foundation, a domestic intelligence group financed by [[Nelson Bunker Hunt]].[^1]
+
+The Council worked from a Phoenix office. Its executive director, Joyce Downey, said in 1986 that it had distributed 8,000 "freedom fighter kits" and supplied a helicopter, had raised about $600,000 that year, and had provided $10 million to $25 million in cash and in-kind aid over two years, with aid for the [[FDN]] routed through the New Orleans warehouse of [[Mario Calero]].[^5] A previous executive director, Larry Tifverberg, resigned and said that people called every day "asking for guns, ammunition, everything."[^5] The Internal Revenue Service audited the Council's books.[^5] Singlaub told the Washington Post in March 1986 that "there is nothing illegal about banks sending money to overseas accounts" from which arms could then be bought.[^8] At the League's 1985 conference in Dallas, [[Ellen Garwood]] donated money to refit a medical helicopter (the New York Times gave $65,000 and CBS $67,000), and a letter from Reagan was read to the delegates.[^2][^3] An unnamed Administration source said in October 1986 that groups controlled by Singlaub were behind the cargo plane shot down over Nicaragua; the plane's surviving crewman was [[Eugene Hasenfus]], and Singlaub denied involvement.[^5][^7] Singlaub told CBS: "And outside the country, we organized an effort to raise money to buy arms for them," and Senator [[John Kerry]] told the network that his activities violated the Neutrality Act.[^2]
+
+### Solicitations in Taiwan and South Korea, 1984-1985
+
+On December 4, 1984, North wrote [[Robert McFarlane]] in a memorandum titled "Assistance for the Nicaraguan Resistance," whose second part described Singlaub's efforts to obtain military aid for the contras in South Korea and Taiwan.[^9] On January 28, 1985, CIA officers in South Korea reported to headquarters that Singlaub had asked the governing political party to contribute $2 million to the contras and that the Koreans said some signal from the United States Government endorsing the request would be necessary.[^10] [[Clair George]], the CIA operations director, telephoned North; North's notebook of February 4, 1985 records George saying the South Koreans were "increasingly inclined to contribute $2M" and needed a White House indication, and George also called on February 2 and 5.[^10] [[Alan Fiers]] recalled discussing Singlaub's solicitation of the Koreans with George, the upshot being that North should be called.[^10]
+
+North's February 6, 1985 memorandum to McFarlane stated that "as a consequence of GEN Singlaub's recent trip, both the Taiwanese and the South Koreans have indicated [to CIA field personnel] that they want to help in a 'big way,'" and that George had withheld dissemination of the offers and contacted North privately.[^10] A second memorandum of the same date from North to McFarlane, on a cable to Honduran President [[Roberto Suazo Cordova]], states that the FDN needed approximately $2 million in near-term financing for rifles, ammunition and boots for new volunteers, notes that Singlaub would see North the next day, and recommends that McFarlane authorize North to proceed as indicated with Singlaub.[^11] The Independent Counsel's report states that North arranged for Singlaub to meet South Korean officials in the United States.[^12] In an October 7, 1985 written response to questions from Representative [[Lee Hamilton]], McFarlane wrote that there was no official or unofficial relationship between the NSC staff and fund raising for the Nicaraguan opposition, "This includes the alleged relationship with General Singlaub"; the Independent Counsel's report lists the response among McFarlane's withholdings of information from Congress.[^9]
+
+In March 1987 Singlaub told the Washington Post that in late 1984 he had asked two foreign governments for $10 million each, had offered three options (a direct contribution, money for him to buy weapons, or a diversion through an overcharged arms deal), and had discussed the diversion idea with North in early 1985. Informed sources named the two governments as Taiwan and South Korea, and officials of both denied contributing or knowing of any solicitation. Singlaub described a planned Taiwanese purchase of 40 MK 37 torpedoes from [[Israel]] through a Washington consulting company for which he was an unpaid adviser, with Taiwan to pay about $10 million above Israel's price of $72 million to $75 million, and said he left each government an index card with the number of the contras' Panamanian bank account.[^13] An investigator told the Post that Taiwan's contribution came as surplus light arms, with the CIA station chief in Taiwan acting as a facilitator.[^13]
+
+In May 1986 Singlaub travelled to the Far East again, to countries that the congressional report designates only by number, after telling [[Elliott Abrams]] that he wanted to know how the United States would send a "signal"; Singlaub testified that Abrams said he would send it, Abrams testified that he never agreed to, and Richard Melton, who was present at their conversations, supported Abrams. Before Singlaub met his contact in one country, Abrams told him to stop.[^14]
+
+### The 1985 weapons purchase for the FDN
+
+In March 1985 Singlaub met the FDN military commander, [[Enrique Bermudez]], at FDN base camps, drew up a weapons list (AK-47 rifles, RPG-7 launchers, light machine guns and SA-7 missiles), and took it to North, who made "some additions and subtractions"; later that month Singlaub introduced [[Adolfo Calero]] to a European arms dealer whose AK-47 price Calero described as about half of what the FDN had been paying, a difference the congressional report partly attributes to Singlaub taking no commission.[^15] In early May Calero and Singlaub met [[Richard Secord]] in North's office about SA-7 missiles, and Secord was chosen for them because he would supply training; in mid-May Calero ordered other weapons through Singlaub's dealer. North's notes of May 17, 1985 list a "Singlaub deal" and 10,000 AK-47s and record an unsuccessful effort to dissuade Calero; North attributed to Casey a warning against a five-to-six-million-dollar transaction with a broker suspected of reverse technology transfer to the Eastern Bloc, and the dealer denied this to the committees. The arms arrived in Central America on July 8, 1985, and were the last order Calero placed with any dealer other than Secord.[^15]
+
+Calero testified in deposition that his three main sources were Ron Martin, Secord and Singlaub, that he felt best with Singlaub and had "blind trust" in him, and that Singlaub told him North had said to stay away because of his high profile. Committee counsel put the first payments for shipments arranged by Singlaub at $2 million on April 26, 1985 and $3.3 million in May.[^16] The Washington Post reported in 1987 that Singlaub helped the contras buy $5.3 million of East Bloc weapons shipped through [[Honduras]].[^13] A letter from the Washington lawyer [[Thomas Green]] to the committees compared the Singlaub and Secord shipments, giving Singlaub's as 348 tons with about $300,000 charged for shipping.[^17] Singlaub testified in 1987 that the delivery went from [[Poland]] to Honduras, that Swiss banks handled the transfers, and that North had cleared the items and given him rules after checking with "someone in the Justice Department," who was not identified.[^18]
+
+### Eden Pastora, 1986
+
+In March 1986 Singlaub travelled to [[Costa Rica]], met [[Eden Pastora]] and negotiated an agreement with him, purportedly on behalf of the United States. The Independent Counsel's report states that word of the agreement briefly gave Pastora the advantage in the competition among the Newly Aligned Commanders; Fiers cabled that Singlaub's actions did not reflect a new posture toward Pastora, and a UNO/FARN commander and two other commanders threatened to march back to the Costa Rican border if the arms they had been promised did not arrive.[^19] A Miami Herald clipping in Singlaub's FBI file reports him announcing in Costa Rica that he had come to persuade Pastora to visit Washington and saying that United States officials wanted Pastora to play a role like that of Charles de Gaulle in the French resistance.[^6] Calero testified that people in Washington were upset about Singlaub's involvement in the Pastora matter, so the FDN sent nothing to Pastora, and that Singlaub had also gone to a meeting with a group of former national guardsmen.[^16]
+
+### GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.
+
+Singlaub signed correspondence as "Consultant" of [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]], the Washington company of [[Barbara Studley]], at 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Among the exhibits to the deposition of [[Daniel O. Graham]] is a letter on the company's letterhead addressed "Dear Bill" to Casey at the CIA and signed by Singlaub as "Major General, U.S. Army (RET)" and "Consultant," which committee counsel dated to August 1986. It encloses a list of hardware quoted July 28, 1986, including 10,000 AKMS rifles at 185 each, 60 12.7mm machine guns and 20 twin-mount 14.5mm machine guns, and the list is marked "NO EUC REQUIRED." The letter states that the list was developed in conjunction with a member of the NSC, that funds from Congress would not be available until after September, and that a bank in Switzerland would accept a letter of credit from Casey's bank and lend for six to twelve months.[^20] Committee counsel stated in the Graham deposition that [[Robert Schweitzer]], a lieutenant general, was hired by the company in late August or early September 1986, was interviewed by Singlaub, and met North with Singlaub on or about December 2, 1986.[^20]
+
+A memorandum prepared by Studley, found in North's safe, proposed a "conduit" through which Soviet weapons and technology would be supplied to "Freedom Fighters" without "the consent or awareness of the Department of State or Congress." The congressional report calls it the Singlaub-Studley plan, states that Singlaub presented it to North and Casey in 1985 and that North acknowledged receiving it and dismissed its significance, and quotes [[George Shultz]] saying at the hearings that it was "a piece of junk."[^21] Singlaub told the 1987 hearings that Studley showed him the memorandum and that he thought it a good plan; Senator [[Paul Sarbanes]] called it a "plan to get around the constitutional system," and Singlaub testified that he set up a December 1985 meeting between Casey and Studley.[^18] Graham testified that he arranged a meeting at Langley between Studley and Casey toward the end of 1985, with only the three of them present.[^20]
+
+A memorandum from Studley to North dated October 30, 1985 reports the questioning of an arms agent identified as "W" about a shipment that left on June 20, 1985, and a visit by a man named Mario Dellamico, described as working for the arms dealer Ron Martin, who offered Martin's arms for the contras and handed over a copy of Studley's packing list; it ends: "General John K. Singlaub has been advised of this information."[^20]
+
+### Hearings and the Christic Institute suit
+
+Singlaub was one of about 30 defendants in the civil suit brought by two journalists injured in the May 30, 1984 La Penca bombing at a press conference held by Pastora in Costa Rica.[^5] An FBI report of an interview in Miami on May 23, 1989, with the interviewee's name withheld, summarizes the amended complaint as accusing Singlaub and others of conspiring to supply money for explosives and arms through businesses including the Orca Supply Company and CSF Investments Ltd., of a December 1984 plan to kill Pastora, and of smuggling cocaine into the United States between September 1983 and the date of the complaint. The report also states that Judge James L. King ordered summary judgment for the defendants on June 23, 1988, finding the plaintiffs' allegations "based upon unsubstantiated rumor and speculation from unidentified sources with no first hand knowledge," and that Singlaub had told Congress he arranged for weapons from an Eastern bloc country to reach the contras through an intermediary, an act the report calls not a violation of the [[Boland Amendment]].[^6] The Washington Post obituary states that the suit, brought by the [[Christic Institute]], was resolved in Singlaub's favor in 1992 and that Singlaub was never the subject of a criminal investigation.[^1] An FBI agent, an assistant United States attorney and a Customs agent interviewed Singlaub on June 12, 1987 at the Miami Airport Marriott; the content is withheld in the released file.[^6]
+
+[[Robert Gates]] told the Senate intelligence committee on October 8, 1986 that CIA officials had tried to avoid learning about private funding: "Somebody will say something about Singlaub or something like, we will say I don't want to hear anything about it." The Independent Counsel wrote that, to the extent Gates spoke for others in the CIA, this was wrong, and recorded Gates's grand jury testimony that he had heard rumors that North had put contra leaders in touch with Secord and Singlaub.[^22]
+
+### The Philippines, 1987
+
+Singlaub opened an office in the [[Philippines]] to search for a treasure of gold bullion, telling the [[Los Angeles Times]] he intended to use the gold to finance anti-communist insurgencies in Southeast Asia; he abandoned the effort after local newspaper reports described it as a cover for mercenary training.[^1] On September 17, 1987 the FBI's Honolulu office sent a teletype to headquarters captioned "Neutrality Matter, Philippines," from a source whose reliability had not been established, and asked headquarters to contact the Independent Counsel or the Front Door Task Force and to obtain background on the National Defense Council Foundation and the United States Council for World Freedom; the released file withholds the source and the body of the report.[^6] Graham testified in 1987 that his last conversation with Singlaub, in February, concerned "his problems with his activities in the Philippines."[^20]
+
+### Later years
+
+Singlaub's memoir, Hazardous Duty, written with Malcolm McConnell, appeared in 1991; it calls North a "gullible dupe" and describes the arms dealers as motivated by "profit, not patriotism."[^1] He married Joan Lafferty in 1992, chaired the OSS Society, and died at his home in Franklin, Tennessee, on January 29, 2022, aged 100.[^1]
+
+### Claims from Ari Ben-Menashe
+
+[[Ari Ben-Menashe]] describes a 1985 contra deal brokered through GeoMiliTech and itemized at $3,242,000 paid to the [[Ora Group]], against $5 million that he says GeoMiliTech's books showed received from the American side.[^23] The Hartford Courant reported in 1992 a private $5 million shipment of Soviet-bloc arms arranged by Singlaub and Studley in the summer of 1985, and did not mention Ora.[^18]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Adam Bernstein, "John Singlaub, audacious warrior who waged private battle against communism, dies at 100," Washington Post, January 31, 2022 (copy at https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/nmarritz/105322/John_Singlaub_Army_general_who_battled_with_Carter_dies_at_100_-_The_Washington_Post.pdf).
+[^2]: "General Singlaub's Role in Aiding Nicaraguan Contras," CBS "60 Minutes," transcript, October 5, 1986 (Radio TV Reports, Inc.); CIA CREST CIA-RDP90-00552R000606200004-5, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00552r000606200004-5
+[^3]: James Barron, "Outspoken General Raises Money for Contras," New York Times, October 8, 1986; CIA CREST copy CIA-RDP90-00552R000606200003-6, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00552r000606200003-6
+[^4]: U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Office of the Command Historian, "Major General John K. Singlaub," https://arsof-history.org/icons/singlaub.html
+[^5]: Robert Reinhold, "Ex-General Hints at Big Role as U.S. Champion of Contras," New York Times, October 14, 1986; CIA CREST CIA-RDP90-00552R000606200001-8, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00552r000606200001-8
+[^6]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, "John Singlaub (Final)," FBI Vault, 23 pages (teletype of September 17, 1987, pp. 1-3; FD-302 of June 12, 1987, p. 10; FD-302 of November 21, 2003, pp. 12-13; FD-302 of May 23, 1989, pp. 19-23; newspaper clippings, pp. 5-9). https://vault.fbi.gov/john-singlaub/john-singlaub-final
+[^7]: Peter Dale Scott, "Nicaragua: A Dubious Innocence," Baltimore Sun, October 13, 1986 (Pacific News Service); CIA CREST CIA-RDP90-00965R000605740027-4, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00965r000605740027-4
+[^8]: Myra MacPherson, "In the Contra Chasm: Two War Heroes, Battling on Opposite Sides on the Hill," Washington Post, March 18, 1986; CIA CREST CIA-RDP90-00965R000503970001-0, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00965r000503970001-0
+[^9]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 1 (U.S. v. Robert C. McFarlane): North memorandum to McFarlane of December 4, 1984, "Assistance for the Nicaraguan Resistance" (AKW 037386-88); McFarlane response of October 7, 1985 to questions forwarded by Representative Lee Hamilton. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_01.htm
+[^10]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 17 (U.S. v. Clair E. George), citing CIA cable of January 28, 1985 (ER 29941), North notebook entries of February 2, 4 and 5, 1985, and North memorandum to McFarlane of February 6, 1985 (ALU 130089-90). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_17.htm
+[^11]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair (H. Rept. 100-433, S. Rept. 100-216), Appendix A, vol. 2, Source Documents: memorandum from North to McFarlane, February 6, 1985, "Cable to President Suazo of Honduras," pp. 1056-1058 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0229; the scan is partly illegible).
+[^12]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, Part I, "The Underlying Facts." https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/part_i.htm
+[^13]: Benjamin Weiser, "Singlaub Suggested an Earlier Fund Diversion," Washington Post, March 20, 1987 (date as printed on the clipping); CIA CREST CIA-RDP90-00965R000707040014-2, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00965r000707040014-2
+[^14]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 3, pp. 69-70 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=93).
+[^15]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair (H. Rept. 100-433, S. Rept. 100-216), ch. 2, pp. 50-51 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=74).
+[^16]: Deposition of Adolfo Calero, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 3 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0235), including transcript pp. 84-85, 94-95, 165-166 and 178-179.
+[^17]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix A, vol. 2, Source Documents: letter from Thomas C. Green to committee counsel on the prices and shipments of the Singlaub and Secord purchases (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0229; the scan is partly illegible).
+[^18]: Hartford Courant, "Head of Iran Hostage Probe Linked to Arms Deal," May 29, 1992. https://www.courant.com/1992/05/29/head-of-iran-hostage-probe-linked-to-arms-deal/
+[^19]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 19 (U.S. v. Alan D. Fiers, Jr.), citing DIRECTOR 772442 (March 11, 1986) and DIRECTOR 799822 (March 28, 1986). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_19.htm
+[^20]: Deposition of Daniel O. Graham, with Graham Exhibits 1 to 4, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234).
+[^21]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 15, "The Diversion," p. 269 and note (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=293).
+[^22]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 16 (Robert M. Gates): Gates, SSCI testimony, October 8, 1986, p. 9; Gates, grand jury, May 1, 1991. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_16.htm
+[^23]: Ari Ben-Menashe, Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network (Sheridan Square, 1992). Sole source for the itemization; the figures are as reported on the Ora Group page of this vault.

10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Mayer Nudell.md

@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+---
+aliases:
+  - Mayer Nudell
+  - M. Nudell
+  - Meyer Nudell
+  - Nudell
+category: "Intelligence & Government"
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - MayerNudell
+  - Counterterrorism
+  - CrisisManagement
+  - ForeignService
+  - HostageNegotiation
+  - CounterTerrorismConsultants
+  - NormanAntokol
+summary: "Foreign service officer appointed in 1975, posted to San Salvador and Managua, listed in the State Department counterterrorism office until a June 1984 resignation, later executive director of an institute on terrorism."
+created: 2026-10-08
+updated: 2026-10-08
+relations:
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[State Department]]"
+    start: 1975-09
+    end: 1984-06
+    role: "foreign service officer"
+    fn: 1
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[Office for Combatting Terrorism]]"
+    start: 1984-01
+    end: 1984-06
+    role: "staff, office symbol M/CT, as listed in the January 1984 telephone directory; resignation listed for June 1984"
+    fn: 8
+  - type: head_of
+    with: "[[Institute on Terrorism and Subnational Conflict]]"
+    start: 1986-05
+    role: "executive director, as listed in May 1986"
+    fn: 9
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[General Services Administration]]"
+    role: "instructor, training center, per the firm's 1990 packet"
+    fn: 4
+  - type: employed_by
+    with: "[[Webster University]]"
+    role: "adjunct professor, as stated in June 2015"
+    fn: 16
+  - type: member_of
+    with: "[[American Society for Industrial Security]]"
+    role: "chairman, Washington chapter Terrorist Action Subcommittee, per the firm's 1990 packet"
+    fn: 4
+  - type: member_of
+    with: "[[Counter Terrorism Consultants, Inc.]]"
+    start: 1990-06
+    role: "associate"
+    fn: 4
+  - type: participant_in
+    with: "[[Conference on Securing Installations Against Car-Bomb Attack]]"
+    start: 1986-05
+    role: "attendee, Arlington, Virginia"
+    fn: 9
+---
+
+Mayer Nudell is a former foreign service officer of the [[State Department]] who was appointed in 1975, served in [[El Salvador]] and [[Nicaragua]], was listed in the department's counterterrorism office in 1984 and later worked as a consultant on crisis management and emergency planning. He co-wrote two books on hostage-taking and crisis management with [[Norman Antokol]], a State Department officer who was listed with him in the same counterterrorism office.
+
+### Foreign Service career
+
+A list of Foreign Service nominations submitted to the Senate in September 1975 places "NUDELL, Mayer" under appointments as FSO-7, consular officers and secretaries. The August-September 1975 issue of the department's Newsletter lists "Nudell, Mayer, JOC" among new appointments, and the August 1975 [[Foreign Service List]] gives his entry as "STATE (R-7) trng."[^1]
+
+The department's Newsletter for 1978 lists "Nudell, Mayer, San Salvador to Managua." The Newsletter for 1980 lists "Nudell, Mayer, Managua to Inter-American Affairs."[^2] An issue of the department's magazine [[State (magazine)|State]] for 1981 lists Nudell among Class FS-4 officers recommended for tenure by the Commissioning and Tenure Board.[^3]
+
+In June 1990 [[Counter Terrorism Consultants, Inc.|CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P.]] described Nudell, in a resume packet, as "A veteran foreign service officer with special expertise in counterterrorism." The firm said he held posts in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and served in the State Department's [[Bureau of Inter-American Affairs]] and [[Office of Counterterrorism and Emergency Planning]]. It listed two Group Meritorious Honor Awards from the department, a Distinguished Leadership Award from the [[American Biographical Institute]] and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Washington chapter of the [[American Society for Industrial Security]]. It gave his degrees as a B.S. in foreign service from [[Georgetown University]], an M.S. in international public administration from the [[University of Southern California]] and a Certificat d'Assiduite from the [[University of Grenoble]], and his training as including the [[Foreign Service Institute]], the police reserve program of the Washington, D.C. Police Academy and [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] seminars on hostage negotiation and victimology.[^4]
+
+### Office for Combatting Terrorism, 1983 to 1984
+
+The department's telephone directory for January 1984 lists "Nudell; Mayer" under the office symbol M/CT. In a section headed "Assistant Coordinator for Security Policies and Programs," the same directory lists International Relations Officers, with Mayer Nudell for Near East and South Asia and Norman Antokol for Europe and Africa.[^5] The January 1985 directory lists "Antokol; Norman" under the same office symbol and carries no Nudell entry.[^6]
+
+The 1984 volume of State carries the office's news column. It reports that Nudell, Antokol, [[John Coffman]] and Deven McConnell took part in a hostage negotiation seminar taught by a [[FBI Academy]] instructor, Fred Lancely, on November 9 to 11, and that Coffman and Nudell attended a civil aviation security course at the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] Academy in Oklahoma City from November 28 to December 2. The same column reports that Nudell traveled to Anchorage, Alaska, from January 10 to 14 to brief Federal Aviation Administration, [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] and FBI officials on terrorism matters and to address the regional meeting of the American Society for Industrial Security, and, in the April 1984 issue, that he traveled to Islamabad from March 21 to 29 for consultations on emergency action planning.[^7]
+
+The August-September 1984 issue of State lists, under "Resignations (June)," "Nudell, Mayer, Office for Combatting Terrorism."[^8]
+
+### Institute on Terrorism and Subnational Conflict
+
+The firm's 1990 packet described Nudell as formerly the executive director of the [[Institute on Terrorism and Subnational Conflict]], and as an instructor for the [[General Services Administration]] training center. It adds that he chaired the Public Safety and Human Relations Advisory Commission for the City of [[Falls Church, Virginia]].[^4]
+
+The proceedings of the [[Conference on Securing Installations Against Car-Bomb Attack]], held in [[Arlington, Virginia]] on May 15 to 17, 1986, and sponsored by the [[Defense Research Institute]], were edited by [[Michael Wm. Davis]]. Its attendee roster lists "Institute on Terrorism and Subnational Conflict," with "Mr. Mayer Nudell" as "Executive Director," at a Falls Church address.[^9]
+
+### Counter Terrorism Consultants, 1990
+
+The June 1990 packet lists Nudell as a "CTC associate" and says that he "advises CTC clients on contingency planning and crisis management." It gives his memberships as the [[American Foreign Service Association]], the American Society for Industrial Security (where, the packet says, he chairs the Washington chapter's Terrorist Action Subcommittee), the [[International Association of Chiefs of Police]], and the [[International Counterterrorism and Security Association]].[^4] The same page carries a handwritten margin note reading "FSO."[^4]
+
+### Writings
+
+The [[Lexington Books]] volume The Handbook for Effective Emergency and Crisis Management, published in [[Lexington, Massachusetts]] in 1988, is catalogued with Nudell as first author and Antokol as second. It has 192 pages, plates and an index.[^10] The 1988 volume of State, in a notice of the Foreign Service Institute's Political Training Division, describes Antokol as the division's deputy coordinator and as co-author of a book titled Emergency Planning and Crisis Management.[^11]
+
+No One a Neutral: Political Hostage-Taking in the Modern World, published by [[Alpha Publications of Ohio]] in [[Medina, Ohio]] in 1990, is catalogued with Antokol as first author and Nudell as second. It has 248 pages. Its appendices include foreign hostages in Lebanon, selected terrorism statistics, pros and cons of ransom payments, United Nations conventions on hostage-taking, and a "minimanual of the urban guerrilla."[^12]
+
+State described the same book in a 1990 notice that calls Antokol "Political training deputy director." The notice says that the book was co-authored with "former U.S. diplomat Mayer Nudell," and describes it as a history of terrorism since World War II, especially hostage-taking, which suggests how to negotiate with hostage-takers.[^13]
+
+A Nudell and Antokol article, "Negotiating for Life," appeared in [[Security Management]] 34 (July 1990), pages 57 to 64 and 66. A 1992 thesis by Captain Stephen W. Di Rito of the [[Air Force Institute of Technology]], "Response to Hostage Taking for Medium and Small Size Law Enforcement Agencies," cites the article and describes the authors' three phases of hostage situations.[^14]
+
+The [[Air University Library]] index to military periodicals for 1990 lists "Literature on terrorism: 1989" under Nudell's name, in the [[Marine Corps Gazette]], volume 74, number 4 (April 1990), pages 74 to 76. The same index lists the book No one a neutral as a review with Antokol and Nudell as joint authors, and indexes it under Antokol and Nudell in [[Defense & Diplomacy]], volume 8, number 9 (September 1990), page 34.[^15]
+
+### Later career
+
+In a June 2015 book review in Security Management, the magazine of ASIS, Nudell is identified in the reviewer note as "an independent consultant on crisis management, contingency planning, and related issues." The note adds that he is "an adjunct professor at Webster University and a member of ASIS," and that he is "coauthor of The Handbook of Effective Emergency and Crisis Management."[^16]
+
+### Public appearances
+
+The packet says that Nudell "has appeared as an expert on counterterrorism and the handling of hostage situations" on television and radio programs, and at colleges and governmental and corporate seminars, including a threat assessment and intelligence symposium before the [[1988 Winter Olympics]].[^4]
+
+On April 26, 1995, at a Common Hour in the Anita Tuvin-Schlechter Auditorium of [[Dickinson College]], a discussion titled "America: Target for Terrorism" was sponsored by the [[Clarke Center]]. The college archive lists Nudell with the affiliation "International Association of Counterterrorism and Security Professionals," together with [[Stefan Presser]] of the [[ACLU of Pennsylvania]].[^17]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: U.S. Department of State, Newsletter, no. 164-174 (1975), August-September 1975 issue, "Foreign Service Nominations" (stating that the President submitted the nominations to the Senate on September 3), p. 15, and "Personnel / Foreign Service, New Appointments," p. 67, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066730003 (scan pages 525 and 577); U.S. Department of State, Foreign Service List, August 1975, alphabetical list, p. 9, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435067591123 (scan page 80). The abbreviation "JOC" is as printed.
+[^2]: U.S. Department of State, Newsletter, no. 197-207 (1978), p. 46, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066730037 (scan page 402); U.S. Department of State, Newsletter, no. 219-229 (1980), "Personnel: Foreign Service," p. 28, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066730052 (scan page 760).
+[^3]: U.S. Department of State, State, no. 230-240 (1981), "Commissioning Tenure Board recommends 21," p. 74, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066730060 (scan page 832).
+[^4]: CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P., resume packet, fax header "JUN 20 '90 17:01" and page marked "141 P12," with margin note "FSO," in the Danny Casolaro papers, photographs of the Casolaro research files by Christian Hansen at the Missouri State Historical Society, archive.org item casolaro-notebooks, file PromotionalMaterial.pdf, https://archive.org/details/PromotionalMaterial. Sole source for the passages so cited: the firm's own description of Nudell's posts, awards, degrees, memberships and current activities.
+[^5]: U.S. Department of State, Telephone Directory, January 1984, scan pages 40 and 88, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435067603464 (catalog record https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100717024).
+[^6]: U.S. Department of State, Telephone Directory, January 1985, scan page 11, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435067603514.
+[^7]: U.S. Department of State, State, no. 263-273 (1984), "Office for Combatting Terrorism" columns, pp. 57, 66 and (April 1984 issue) 75, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066730094 (scan pages 137, 70 and 307).
+[^8]: U.S. Department of State, State, no. 263-273 (1984), August-September 1984 issue, "Resignations (June)," p. 81, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066730094 (scan page 595).
+[^9]: Defense Research Institute, Proceedings of the Conference on Securing Installations Against Car-Bomb Attack, Arlington, Virginia, May 15-17, 1986, edited by Michael Wm. Davis, attendee roster, Defense Technical Information Center accession ADA290884, https://discover.dtic.mil/results/?q=ADA290884.
+[^10]: Mayer Nudell and Norman Antokol, The Handbook for Effective Emergency and Crisis Management (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1988), catalog record, LCCN 87045997, ISBN 0669171409, lending copy at https://archive.org/details/handbookforeffec0000nude.
+[^11]: U.S. Department of State, State, no. 307-317 (1988), Foreign Service Institute Political Training Division notice, p. 47, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015076208282 (scan page 707).
+[^12]: Norman Antokol and Mayer Nudell, No One a Neutral: Political Hostage-Taking in the Modern World (Medina, Ohio: Alpha Publications of Ohio, 1990), catalog record and contents note, lending copy at https://archive.org/details/nooneneutralpoli0000anto_w1w9.
+[^13]: U.S. Department of State, State, no. 329-339 (1990), book notice, scan pages 28 and 29, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066730151.
+[^14]: Stephen W. Di Rito, "Response to Hostage Taking for Medium and Small Size Law Enforcement Agencies" (AFIT/CI thesis, Fall 1992), footnotes 3 and 19 and bibliography, Defense Technical Information Center accession ADA265597, https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA265597.pdf (opened through the Internet Archive copy of July 5, 2024).
+[^15]: Air University Library, Index to Military Periodicals, volume 41, number 4 (1990), scan pages 23, 58, 197 and 259, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=cub.u183019692775.
+[^16]: Mayer Nudell, reviewer note, "Book Review: Blindsided," Security Management, June 1, 2015, https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/articles/2015/06/book-review-blindsided/, opened as the Internet Archive copy https://web.archive.org/web/20200927220929/https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/articles/2015/06/book-review-blindsided/.
+[^17]: Dickinson College Archives, "America: Target for Terrorism" Discussion, Common Hour, April 26, 1995, https://archives.dickinson.edu/node/25236.

10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Michael Riconosciuto.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 category: "Technologists"
 created: 2024-04-25
-updated: 2026-05-01
+updated: 2026-10-08
 tags:
   - KeyFigure
   - Person
@@ -13,17 +13,21 @@ summary: "Michael Riconosciuto is a computer scientist and self-proclaimed forme
 
 ### Involvement with Wackenhut and Cabazon Joint Venture
 
-From 1981 to 1984, Riconosciuto served as the Director of Research for a joint venture between [[Wackenhut Corporation]] and the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation|Cabazon Indian tribe]] near Indio, California. This venture, known as "[[Cabazon Arms]]," aimed to develop and manufacture military and national security materials, including night vision goggles, machine guns, fuel-air explosives, and biological and chemical warfare weapons. The sovereign status of the reservation was utilized to bypass stringent federal controls on such developments.[^1]
+Riconosciuto stated in a March 21, 1991 affidavit that from 1981 to 1984 he was Director of Research for a joint venture between [[Wackenhut Corporation]] and the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation|Cabazon Indian tribe]] near Indio, California; the Bua report found no evidence that he was employed by Wackenhut or the joint venture.[^2][^3] This venture, known as "[[Cabazon Arms]]," aimed to develop and manufacture military and national security materials, including night vision goggles, machine guns, fuel-air explosives, and biological and chemical warfare weapons. The sovereign status of the reservation was utilized to bypass stringent federal controls on such developments.[^1]
 
-During this period, Riconosciuto claimed to have modified the proprietary [[PROMIS]] computer software. He stated that [[Earl Brian]] made the software available to him through Wackenhut, after acquiring it from [[Peter Videnieks]], a [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] contracting official. Riconosciuto's modifications were intended to facilitate the worldwide implementation of PROMIS in law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including specific adaptations for the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police|RCMP]] and the [[Canadian Security Intelligence Service|CSIS]] in [[Canada]]. This alleged modification and sale of pirated PROMIS software became a central element of the [[PROMIS Software Scandal]].[^1]
+During this period, Riconosciuto claimed to have modified the proprietary [[PROMIS]] computer software. He stated that [[Earl Brian]] made the software available to him through Wackenhut, after acquiring it from [[Peter Videnieks]], a [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] contracting official. Riconosciuto's modifications were intended to facilitate the worldwide implementation of PROMIS in law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including specific adaptations for the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police|RCMP]] and the [[Canadian Security Intelligence Service|CSIS]] in [[Canada]]. This alleged modification and sale of pirated PROMIS software became a central element of the PROMIS Software Scandal.[^1]
 
-However, the Special Counsel's investigation found significant inconsistencies in Riconosciuto's various accounts of his role in the alleged theft of PROMIS. He was inconsistent regarding from whom he received the software and when and where he altered it. For instance, in his affidavit, he claimed to have received a single copy of the software from Earl Brian, while at his trial, he claimed to have received three versions from [[John Philip Nichols]]. His timeline for altering the software also varied, with his affidavit stating 1983-1984, but his trial testimony indicating late 1981 to early 1983. The investigation noted that it would have been physically impossible for anyone from the DOJ to provide an enhanced version of PROMIS in late 1981, as Inslaw did not even enter into the implementation contract until March 1982, and the enhanced version was not delivered until April 1983.[^2]
+However, the Special Counsel's investigation found significant inconsistencies in Riconosciuto's various accounts of his role in the alleged theft of PROMIS. He was inconsistent regarding from whom he received the software and when and where he altered it. For instance, in his affidavit, he claimed to have received a single copy of the software from Earl Brian, while at his trial, he claimed to have received three versions from [[John Philip Nichols]]. His timeline for altering the software also varied, with his affidavit stating 1983-1984, but his trial testimony indicating late 1981 to early 1983. The investigation noted that it would have been physically impossible for anyone from the DOJ to provide an enhanced version of PROMIS in late 1981, as Inslaw did not even enter into the implementation contract until March 1982, and the enhanced version was not delivered until April 1983.[^4]
 
-Both Earl Brian and Peter Videnieks categorically denied Riconosciuto's allegations, stating they had never met him or each other, and had never been to Indio, California. The investigation found both Brian and Videnieks to be credible witnesses. Furthermore, the investigation found no evidence to corroborate Riconosciuto's claims of computer equipment or software modification activities at the Cabazon reservation. Witnesses, including the Tribal Chairman Art Welmas and Indio Police Chief Sam Cross, stated they never saw large computers or computer facilities on the reservation during that period. The investigation concluded that Riconosciuto was a "totally unreliable witness" and that his story was a "tale of total fiction woven against the background of accurate historical facts."[^2]
+Both Earl Brian and Peter Videnieks categorically denied Riconosciuto's allegations, stating they had never met him or each other, and had never been to Indio, California. The investigation found both Brian and Videnieks to be credible witnesses. Furthermore, the investigation found no evidence to corroborate Riconosciuto's claims of computer equipment or software modification activities at the Cabazon reservation. Witnesses, including the Tribal Chairman Art Welmas and Indio Police Chief Sam Cross, stated they never saw large computers or computer facilities on the reservation during that period. The investigation concluded that Riconosciuto was a "totally unreliable witness" and that his story was a "tale of total fiction woven against the background of accurate historical facts."[^4]
+
+Riconosciuto told *Spy* in 1992 that he "met with George Wackenhut and John Ammarell [a Wackenhut board member and consultant to George Wackenhut] in Las Vegas," with [[Dr. John Philip Nichols]] present. The magazine reported that Wackenhut denied any involvement with improper appropriation of software, and that Ammarell confirmed that a meeting took place in Las Vegas, saying, "I don't remember any specific conversations, but I think we were there to discuss the sale of George's yacht, the Top Secret. I think Nichols said he had a potential buyer."[^5] An unsigned letter in the Danny Casolaro papers, whose writer refers to his father and to the firms Stellar and Hercules Research, states that the writer's "meeting with Mr. George Wackenhut and John Amarell in Las Vegas on March 11, 1982," gave him "ample opportunity to discuss the power pack." The same letter states that "Bob Frye of Wackenhut Services, Inc., gave personal invaluable assistance" at the Picatinny Arsenal, that the cooperation received from the Wackenhut Corporation "has been nothing short of spectacular," and that the writer was "formalizing an agreement with an assistant U.S. attorney and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be a cooperative witness."[^6]
+
+The 1993 report of Judge [[Nicholas J. Bua]] for the Department of Justice describes Riconosciuto's March 21, 1991 affidavit in the INSLAW bankruptcy adversary proceeding, in which he stated that he had been Director of Research for a joint venture between the Wackenhut Corporation and the Cabazon Indians and that in 1983 and 1984, in connection with his work for Wackenhut, he modified the PROMIS software.[^2] The report states that its investigators "found no evidence to support Riconosciuto's claim that he and Earl Brian were employed by Wackenhut or by the joint venture," that the joint venture had no employees at any time, and that the only individual employed by Wackenhut in the matter was [[Robert Frye]]. It also states that the firms Riconosciuto named in a call to the Hamiltons, Wackenhut Research, Inc. and Wackenhut Security, Inc., "do not exist."[^3]
 
 ### The PROMIS Affidavit and Arrest
 
-In March 1991, Riconosciuto provided an affidavit to [[Bill Hamilton]] and [[Nancy Hamilton]], owners of [[INSLAW]], detailing his role in modifying PROMIS and alleging that [[Peter Videnieks]] attempted to dissuade him from cooperating with a [[United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] investigation into the software's theft. Eight days after signing this affidavit, Riconosciuto was arrested for allegedly operating a methamphetamine lab in Tacoma, Washington. He claimed this arrest was a deliberate attempt to discredit his testimony. The Special Counsel's investigation, however, found no connection between Riconosciuto's prosecution and his allegations in the Inslaw matter, concluding that the drug case began as a local investigation and the evidence against him was overwhelming.[^1][^2]
+In March 1991, Riconosciuto provided an affidavit to [[Bill Hamilton]] and [[Nancy Hamilton]], owners of [[INSLAW]], detailing his role in modifying PROMIS and alleging that Peter Videnieks attempted to dissuade him from cooperating with a [[United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] investigation into the software's theft. Eight days after signing this affidavit, Riconosciuto was arrested for allegedly operating a methamphetamine lab in Tacoma, Washington. He claimed this arrest was a deliberate attempt to discredit his testimony. The Special Counsel's investigation, however, found no connection between Riconosciuto's prosecution and his allegations in the Inslaw matter, concluding that the drug case began as a local investigation and the evidence against him was overwhelming.[^1][^4]
 
 ### Connections and Allegations
 
@@ -33,9 +37,9 @@ Riconosciuto claimed to have provided valuable intelligence to former Assistant
 
 He also claimed participation in a [[National Security Council|NSC]]-sanctioned drug/sting operation in Lebanon through Euramae Trading Company in Nicosia, Cyprus, another alleged NSC cutout. He described a network involving [[Michael T. Hurley]] (DEA Country Attache), [[Maurice Ghanem]], and [[George Pender]], where heroin shipments were allegedly used to fund intelligence operations and were sometimes diverted for profit.[^1]
 
-Riconosciuto claimed to have handled gold transfers, money laundering, "virtual dead drops," and altered ACH daily reconciliations for various underworld figures, including [[Robert Booth Nichols]], [[Gilbert Rodriguez]], and [[Jose Santacruz Londono]] of the [[Cali Drug Cartel]]. He sought to provide this information to the [[Financial Crimes Enforcement Network|FinCen]] in exchange for witness protection.[^1]
+Riconosciuto claimed to have handled gold transfers, money laundering, "virtual dead drops," and altered ACH daily reconciliations for various underworld figures, including Robert Booth Nichols, [[Gilbert Rodriguez]], and [[Jose Santacruz Londono]] of the [[Cali Drug Cartel]]. He sought to provide this information to the [[Financial Crimes Enforcement Network|FinCen]] in exchange for witness protection.[^1]
 
-Regarding the [[October Surprise]], Riconosciuto claimed that he and [[Earl Brian]] traveled to [[Iran]] in 1980 and paid $40 million to Iranian officials to delay the release of U.S. hostages until after [[Ronald Reagan]]'s presidential inauguration, linking the [[PROMIS Software Scandal]] to the [[October Surprise]] affair.[^1] However, the Special Counsel's investigation found no credible evidence to support this claim, and evidence suggested Brian was in New York at the time of the alleged Iran trip.[^2]
+Regarding the [[October Surprise]], Riconosciuto claimed that he and Earl Brian traveled to [[Iran]] in 1980 and paid $40 million to Iranian officials to delay the release of U.S. hostages until after [[Ronald Reagan]]'s presidential inauguration, linking the PROMIS Software Scandal to the October Surprise affair.[^1] However, the Special Counsel's investigation found no credible evidence to support this claim, and evidence suggested Brian was in New York at the time of the alleged Iran trip.[^4]
 
 Riconosciuto claimed to have been in direct communication with [[Michael Hand]], co-founder of [[Nugan Hand Bank]], before and after Hand's disappearance, and handled money transfers for Hand when he fled [[Australia]].[^1]
 
@@ -43,12 +47,17 @@ Beyond PROMIS, Riconosciuto was involved in advanced technological projects, inc
 
 ### Legal Troubles and Witness Protection Attempts
 
-Following his arrest, Riconosciuto attempted multiple times to trade information with federal authorities, including the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] and [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|BATF]], in exchange for entry into a [[Witness Protection Program]]. He offered to expose high-level corruption, drug trafficking, and money laundering operations, including those involving [[Robert Booth Nichols]], [[Michael Abbell]], and the [[Cali Drug Cartel]]. However, these attempts were largely unsuccessful, with authorities often expressing skepticism or facing internal resistance to his claims.[^1]
+Following his arrest, Riconosciuto attempted multiple times to trade information with federal authorities, including the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] and [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|BATF]], in exchange for entry into a [[Witness Protection Program]]. He offered to expose high-level corruption, drug trafficking, and money laundering operations, including those involving Robert Booth Nichols, [[Michael Abbell]], and the Cali Drug Cartel. However, these attempts were largely unsuccessful, with authorities often expressing skepticism or facing internal resistance to his claims.[^1]
 
 ### Relationship with Danny Casolaro
 
-[[Danny Casolaro]] began interviewing Riconosciuto prior to his arrest in March 1991. Riconosciuto became a key source for Casolaro's "[[The Octopus]]" investigation, providing insights into the alleged criminal network. Riconosciuto claimed that Casolaro's death occurred shortly after he began investigating [[Michael Abbell]]'s connection to the [[Cali Drug Cartel]], a lead Riconosciuto had provided. He also stated that [[Robert Booth Nichols]] had warned Casolaro to stay away from Riconosciuto.[^1]
+Danny Casolaro began interviewing Riconosciuto prior to his arrest in March 1991. Riconosciuto became a key source for Casolaro's "The Octopus" investigation, providing insights into the alleged criminal network. Riconosciuto claimed that Casolaro's death occurred shortly after he began investigating Michael Abbell's connection to the Cali Drug Cartel, a lead Riconosciuto had provided. He also stated that Robert Booth Nichols had warned Casolaro to stay away from Riconosciuto.[^1]
 
 ### Footnotes
+
 [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
-[^2]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993.
+[^2]: United States Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, report of Judge Nicholas J. Bua on the INSLAW matter (1993), printed pp. 42 to 43 (affidavit of March 21, 1991, paragraph 44 as quoted). https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nsa/DOJ-OIP-INSLAW_1993.pdf
+[^3]: Report of Judge Nicholas J. Bua on the INSLAW matter (1993), printed p. 55 and footnote 32 (firm names) and footnote 35 on p. 58 (employment). Official finding, placed as the position of the body that issued it.
+[^4]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993.
+[^5]: John Connolly, "Inside the Shadow CIA," *Spy,* September 1992, pp. 46-54. Sole source for the Las Vegas account in this form; the bracketed description of Ammarell is the magazine's. https://www.prop1.org/legal/prisons/92wack.htm
+[^6]: Unsigned, undated letter, Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Wackenhut-Correspondence," beginning "The cooperation I have received from the Wackenhut Corporation." The spelling "Amarell" is as printed in the letter. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks.

10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Oliver North.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ aliases:
   - Oliver L. North
   - Lt. Col. Oliver North
 created: 2026-05-17
-updated: 2026-10-05
+updated: 2026-10-08
 category: "Intelligence & Government"
 tags:
   - KeyFigure
@@ -23,6 +23,12 @@ summary: "Marine lieutenant colonel on the National Security Council staff who d
 born: 1943-10-07
 location: "San Antonio, Texas"
 relations:
+  - type: partner_of
+    with: "[[John Singlaub]]"
+    start: 1985
+    end: 1986
+    role: "Singlaub solicited and bought arms for the FDN in contact with North"
+    fn: 8
   - type: employed_by
     with: "[[National Security Council]]"
     start: 1981
@@ -75,59 +81,70 @@ Walsh found that Reagan was aware that North was the NSC's action officer for th
 
 In fall 1984 North introduced retired Air Force Major General [[Richard Secord]] to Contra leader [[Adolfo Calero]] to help Calero buy arms with a Saudi contribution; in 1985 North and Secord took purchasing power away from Calero and ran the "Enterprise" with [[Albert Hakim]] through Swiss accounts and shell companies.[^3] The Final Report names three sources of Contra money during the Boland period: third-country grants, largest among them $32 million from Saudi Arabia and $2 million from Taiwan; about $1.7 million of private contributions passed through the tax-exempt National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty to accounts North controlled; and about $4 million diverted from the Iran arms proceeds.[^2] The Enterprise chapter's trial-proof estimate of the diversion is $3.6 million, a figure that excludes a $200,000 Jetstar, about $535,000 spent on the Danish freighter Erria, and a $500,000 weapons purchase from the dealer [[Monzer Al-Kassar]], who "was not available to testify."[^3]
 
-The writer [[Cheri Seymour]] wrote that North received drug profits from Al-Kassar, a Syrian arms dealer, to buy arms for the Contras, and that the Tower Commission probe revealed Al-Kassar had been paid $1.2 million by Secord to move weapons from [[Israel]] to the Contras.[^4] The Final Report places the Enterprise's payment to Al-Kassar at $500,000 in July 1986 for Contra weapons.[^3] [[Bill Turner]], a friend of Casolaro's, claimed to have seen papers from [[Danny Casolaro]] connecting North and the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]]; Seymour added that North's personal notebooks contained the name [[Ian Stuart Spiro]].[^4] Seymour is the sole source for the passages so cited.
+On December 4, 1984, North sent Robert McFarlane a memorandum, "Assistance for the Nicaraguan Resistance," whose second part described efforts by retired Army major general [[John Singlaub]] to obtain military aid for the contras from South Korea and Taiwan.[^4] On January 28, 1985, CIA officers in South Korea reported that Singlaub had asked the governing party for $2 million and that the Koreans wanted a signal of United States endorsement; [[Clair George]] telephoned North, and North's notebook of February 4, 1985 records George saying the South Koreans were "increasingly inclined to contribute $2M" and needed a White House indication.[^5] In a memorandum of February 6, 1985, North wrote McFarlane that "as a consequence of GEN Singlaub's recent trip, both the Taiwanese and the South Koreans have indicated [to CIA field personnel] that they want to help in a 'big way,'" and that George had withheld dissemination of the offers.[^5] A second memorandum of the same date, on a cable to Honduran President [[Roberto Suazo Cordova]], states that the FDN needed approximately $2 million in near-term financing, notes that Singlaub would see North the next day, and recommends that McFarlane authorize North to proceed as indicated with Singlaub.[^6] The Independent Counsel's report states that North arranged for Singlaub to meet South Korean officials in the United States.[^7]
 
-The Enterprise's air operation used the [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango]] base in [[El Salvador]]. North wrote to [[Felix Rodriguez]] in September 1985 asking him to use his influence with Salvadoran Air Force commander [[Juan Rafael Bustillo]] to secure hangar space; the CIA's records, as the writer [[Gary Webb]] reported, show Hangar No. 4 at Ilopango was used by the CIA for covert Contra operations until it was turned over to the NSC and North's Enterprise in 1985, while the adjoining Hangar No. 5 remained CIA-run.[^5] Walsh's Enterprise chapter records that the Salvadoran chief at Ilopango, General Bustillo, ordered the operation's warehouse of parts and supplies there, and that the downing of [[Eugene Hasenfus]] on October 5, 1986 "settled irrevocably the question of CIA assumption" of the Enterprise's operation.[^3]
+In March 1985 Singlaub took a weapons list drawn up with FDN commander [[Enrique Bermudez]] to North, who made "some additions and subtractions"; Singlaub's European dealer's prices were about half the FDN's previous prices, and North's notes of May 17, 1985 list a "Singlaub deal" for 10,000 AK-47s and record an attempt to dissuade Adolfo Calero from it. The arms arrived in Central America on July 8, 1985.[^8] The congressional committees' report states that a memorandum prepared by Singlaub's associate [[Barbara Studley]], proposing a "conduit" for Soviet weapons to anti-communist insurgents, was presented to North and William J. Casey in 1985; North acknowledged receiving it and dismissed its significance, and a copy was found in his safe.[^9] A memorandum from Studley to North dated October 30, 1985 ends: "General John K. Singlaub has been advised of this information."[^10]
+
+The writer [[Cheri Seymour]] wrote that North received drug profits from Al-Kassar, a Syrian arms dealer, to buy arms for the Contras, and that the Tower Commission probe revealed Al-Kassar had been paid $1.2 million by Secord to move weapons from [[Israel]] to the Contras.[^11] The Final Report places the Enterprise's payment to Al-Kassar at $500,000 in July 1986 for Contra weapons.[^3] [[Bill Turner]], a friend of Casolaro's, claimed to have seen papers from [[Danny Casolaro]] connecting North and the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]]; Seymour added that North's personal notebooks contained the name [[Ian Stuart Spiro]].[^11] Seymour is the sole source for the passages so cited.
+
+The Enterprise's air operation used the [[Ilopango Airbase|Ilopango]] base in [[El Salvador]]. North wrote to [[Felix Rodriguez]] in September 1985 asking him to use his influence with Salvadoran Air Force commander [[Juan Rafael Bustillo]] to secure hangar space; the CIA's records, as the writer [[Gary Webb]] reported, show Hangar No. 4 at Ilopango was used by the CIA for covert Contra operations until it was turned over to the NSC and North's Enterprise in 1985, while the adjoining Hangar No. 5 remained CIA-run.[^12] Walsh's Enterprise chapter records that the Salvadoran chief at Ilopango, General Bustillo, ordered the operation's warehouse of parts and supplies there, and that the downing of [[Eugene Hasenfus]] on October 5, 1986 "settled irrevocably the question of CIA assumption" of the Enterprise's operation.[^3]
 
 ### Panama and Noriega
 
-According to testimony before the [[Kerry Committee]] by the Panamanian official José Blandón, [[Manuel Noriega]] met North in June 1985 on a boat anchored off Panama City to discuss Panamanian cooperation in the war against Nicaragua while the Boland Amendment barred direct or indirect CIA support. Blandón testified that this meeting produced Noriega's agreement to help train Contra troops and to let Contra leaders enter and leave Panama freely, and that at a second meeting Noriega suggested Panamanian units could be used in operations on Nicaraguan territory; Blandón had no information that Noriega acted on North's request. Noriega met Casey in November 1985; a memorandum Casey wrote suggested Noriega left "reassured" and the narcotics issue was not mentioned, and other U.S. officials concluded that Casey had "let Noriega off the hook."[^6]
+According to testimony before the [[Kerry Committee]] by the Panamanian official José Blandón, [[Manuel Noriega]] met North in June 1985 on a boat anchored off Panama City to discuss Panamanian cooperation in the war against Nicaragua while the Boland Amendment barred direct or indirect CIA support. Blandón testified that this meeting produced Noriega's agreement to help train Contra troops and to let Contra leaders enter and leave Panama freely, and that at a second meeting Noriega suggested Panamanian units could be used in operations on Nicaraguan territory; Blandón had no information that Noriega acted on North's request. Noriega met Casey in November 1985; a memorandum Casey wrote suggested Noriega left "reassured" and the narcotics issue was not mentioned, and other U.S. officials concluded that Casey had "let Noriega off the hook."[^13]
 
-The Independent Counsel's summary of North's "Quid Pro Quo" admission describes discussions with Noriega about acts of sabotage against the Sandinista government in exchange for U.S. help in rehabilitating Noriega's public image.[^7] Webb wrote, citing government documents filed in North's trial, that Noriega also offered to have the entire Sandinista leadership assassinated in exchange for a promise to "clean up Noriega's image"; that North raised the proposal at a top-level meeting but was told to say the administration was not keen on murdering Nicaraguan officials though Panamanian help with sabotage would be acceptable; that North returned to Panama a month after the torture-murder of [[Hugo Spadafora]] to assure Noriega of increased U.S. aid; and that within a year $200 million in additional U.S. funds and bank loans went to Noriega.[^8] Webb is the sole source for the passages so cited.
+The Independent Counsel's summary of North's "Quid Pro Quo" admission describes discussions with Noriega about acts of sabotage against the Sandinista government in exchange for U.S. help in rehabilitating Noriega's public image.[^14] Webb wrote, citing government documents filed in North's trial, that Noriega also offered to have the entire Sandinista leadership assassinated in exchange for a promise to "clean up Noriega's image"; that North raised the proposal at a top-level meeting but was told to say the administration was not keen on murdering Nicaraguan officials though Panamanian help with sabotage would be acceptable; that North returned to Panama a month after the torture-murder of [[Hugo Spadafora]] to assure Noriega of increased U.S. aid; and that within a year $200 million in additional U.S. funds and bank loans went to Noriega.[^15] Webb is the sole source for the passages so cited.
 
 ### NHAO and the contractors
 
-North used the State Department's [[NHAO|Nicaraguan Humanitarian Assistance Office]] to move Contra supplies. The Kerry Committee report found that the State Department selected four companies owned or operated by narcotics traffickers to supply humanitarian assistance to the Contras: SETCO Air, established by the Honduran trafficker [[Juan Matta Ballesteros]]; DIACSA, a Miami air company that served as headquarters of a trafficking enterprise run by the convicted traffickers Floyd Carlton and Alfredo Caballero; Frigorificos de Puntarenas, owned and operated by Cuban-American traffickers; and Vortex, partly owned by the admitted trafficker [[Michael Palmer]]. The State Department paid the four a total of $806,401.20 between January and August 1986, and the report states that in each case federal law enforcement had received information about the individuals controlling the company before the contracts were signed.[^9] One of the pilots who flew Contra missions for SETCO was Frank Moss, who had been under investigation as an alleged trafficker since 1979 by ten different law enforcement agencies, without indictment.[^9]
+North used the State Department's [[NHAO|Nicaraguan Humanitarian Assistance Office]] to move Contra supplies. The Kerry Committee report found that the State Department selected four companies owned or operated by narcotics traffickers to supply humanitarian assistance to the Contras: SETCO Air, established by the Honduran trafficker [[Juan Matta Ballesteros]]; DIACSA, a Miami air company that served as headquarters of a trafficking enterprise run by the convicted traffickers Floyd Carlton and Alfredo Caballero; Frigorificos de Puntarenas, owned and operated by Cuban-American traffickers; and Vortex, partly owned by the admitted trafficker [[Michael Palmer]]. The State Department paid the four a total of $806,401.20 between January and August 1986, and the report states that in each case federal law enforcement had received information about the individuals controlling the company before the contracts were signed.[^16] One of the pilots who flew Contra missions for SETCO was Frank Moss, who had been under investigation as an alleged trafficker since 1979 by ten different law enforcement agencies, without indictment.[^16]
 
-Webb wrote that North installed his courier [[Robert Owen]] as a $50,000 "facilitator" at NHAO, that North instructed NHAO director Robert Duemling not to "dislodge or replace their existing arrangements," and that Fiers said: "I believe we guided them toward the carriers they ultimately used." Webb also wrote that Frigorificos was created by the [[Medellin Cartel]].[^8]
+Webb wrote that North installed his courier [[Robert Owen]] as a $50,000 "facilitator" at NHAO, that North instructed NHAO director Robert Duemling not to "dislodge or replace their existing arrangements," and that Fiers said: "I believe we guided them toward the carriers they ultimately used." Webb also wrote that Frigorificos was created by the [[Medellin Cartel]].[^15]
 
 ### Barry Seal and Federico Vaughn
 
-The Kerry Committee report states that the DEA informant [[Barry Seal]] photographed a man identified as Federico Vaughn, a Nicaraguan government official, and [[Pablo Escobar]] loading Seal's plane with drugs; that the Seal operation "was disclosed prematurely by an administration official who leaked to the press evidence supposedly collected" in an effort to influence a pending congressional vote on Contra aid; and that "one individual in the U.S. government, Lt. Col. Oliver North, decided to play politics with the issue."[^6] The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime found that the phone number Vaughn used in calls from Seal was controlled by the U.S. Embassy; the State Department later reported no evidence of Nicaraguan use for drug shipments to the United States "since the allegations made in 1984 in connection with the Seal case."[^6]
+The Kerry Committee report states that the DEA informant [[Barry Seal]] photographed a man identified as Federico Vaughn, a Nicaraguan government official, and [[Pablo Escobar]] loading Seal's plane with drugs; that the Seal operation "was disclosed prematurely by an administration official who leaked to the press evidence supposedly collected" in an effort to influence a pending congressional vote on Contra aid; and that "one individual in the U.S. government, Lt. Col. Oliver North, decided to play politics with the issue."[^13] The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime found that the phone number Vaughn used in calls from Seal was controlled by the U.S. Embassy; the State Department later reported no evidence of Nicaraguan use for drug shipments to the United States "since the allegations made in 1984 in connection with the Seal case."[^13]
 
-Webb wrote that congressional records show North was regularly briefed by the CIA on the Seal sting and supplied with evidence; that North said his only involvement was as an observer; that North's diary contained a July 6, 1984 entry, "Freddy coming in late July," and an October 15, 1986 entry, "46 boxes of transcripts of SF Frogman case. Justice never provided"; that four DEA officials testified they were pressed by North and the CIA to leak Vaughn's involvement; and that after Seal was murdered North told the FBI of an "active measures program" by the Sandinistas against him and said he might be targeted by organized crime.[^5][^8] Seal was shot on February 19, 1986, as he parked at the Salvation Army Community Treatment Center in Baton Rouge, and three men were convicted of first-degree murder in 1987.[^10] Webb is the sole source for the passages so cited, other than the Seal date.
+Webb wrote that congressional records show North was regularly briefed by the CIA on the Seal sting and supplied with evidence; that North said his only involvement was as an observer; that North's diary contained a July 6, 1984 entry, "Freddy coming in late July," and an October 15, 1986 entry, "46 boxes of transcripts of SF Frogman case. Justice never provided"; that four DEA officials testified they were pressed by North and the CIA to leak Vaughn's involvement; and that after Seal was murdered North told the FBI of an "active measures program" by the Sandinistas against him and said he might be targeted by organized crime.[^12][^15] Seal was shot on February 19, 1986, as he parked at the Salvation Army Community Treatment Center in Baton Rouge, and three men were convicted of first-degree murder in 1987.[^17] Webb is the sole source for the passages so cited, other than the Seal date.
 
 ### Drug-related contacts
 
-Webb wrote that North's courier Robert Owen reported to North in 1985 that a DC-6 owned by Mario Calero, brother of Adolfo Calero, "which is being used for runs out of New Orleans is probably being used for drug runs into U.S."; that Owen's phone number was found aboard a DC-4 seized by the DEA in March 1987 off Florida; and that a CIA cable said Frank Moss's notes aboard that plane contained "the names of two CIA officers and their telephone numbers."[^5] The Kerry report separately states that Honduran General José Bueso-Rosa, convicted in 1985 of conspiring to assassinate President Suazo Córdova in a plot to be financed by the sale of $40 million of cocaine, received a sentence cut to five years through intervention by senior U.S. officials, and that according to the United States's admissions in the North trial North suggested efforts be made concerning Bueso-Rosa to keep him from disclosing details.[^6]
+Webb wrote that North's courier Robert Owen reported to North in 1985 that a DC-6 owned by Mario Calero, brother of Adolfo Calero, "which is being used for runs out of New Orleans is probably being used for drug runs into U.S."; that Owen's phone number was found aboard a DC-4 seized by the DEA in March 1987 off Florida; and that a CIA cable said Frank Moss's notes aboard that plane contained "the names of two CIA officers and their telephone numbers."[^12] The Kerry report separately states that Honduran General José Bueso-Rosa, convicted in 1985 of conspiring to assassinate President Suazo Córdova in a plot to be financed by the sale of $40 million of cocaine, received a sentence cut to five years through intervention by senior U.S. officials, and that according to the United States's admissions in the North trial North suggested efforts be made concerning Bueso-Rosa to keep him from disclosing details.[^13]
 
-Webb wrote that at a 1984 meeting with DEA officials North suggested that $1.5 million in cocaine cash the DEA planned to seize from the Medellín cartel be turned over to the Contras, which the DEA declined; that a White House leak then blew the DEA operation; and that North wrote that Casey did not want the Contras' "unofficial funds" entering U.S. banks for fear Treasury agents would grow suspicious.[^11] Webb also wrote that North relied on fraudulent end-user certificates from Guatemala and Honduras after Boland, quoting Fiers: "an arms broker will get an intermediary country to issue false end-user certificates."[^12]
+Webb wrote that at a 1984 meeting with DEA officials North suggested that $1.5 million in cocaine cash the DEA planned to seize from the Medellín cartel be turned over to the Contras, which the DEA declined; that a White House leak then blew the DEA operation; and that North wrote that Casey did not want the Contras' "unofficial funds" entering U.S. banks for fear Treasury agents would grow suspicious.[^18] Webb also wrote that North relied on fraudulent end-user certificates from Guatemala and Honduras after Boland, quoting Fiers: "an arms broker will get an intermediary country to issue false end-user certificates."[^19]
 
-Webb further wrote that Dagoberto Núñez, a Costa Rican trafficker working for North and the CIA, signed a contract with the Sandinista agency Heroes and Martyrs Trading Corporation, and quoted a 1986 Owen memo to North: "He believes this will provide an opportunity to use his boats for cover operations, or to implicate the Ortegas and Borge in taking money on the side." In Webb's account, in November 1986 the FBI's "Operation Front Door" interviewed the realtor of [[Ronald Lister]], who said Lister claimed to run a "CIA-approved" security business and had told a neighbor he worked for North and Secord and had sent arms shipments to the Contras; the lead was not pursued.[^5][^13] The former Air Force intelligence officer [[Terry Reed]] claimed North was his CIA contact for a pilot-training program and a machine-tool front in [[Arkansas]], and described an Arkansas State Police "shredding party" to purge the state's [[Mena, Arkansas]] files of nearly a thousand documents including those naming North and Reed; North has denied knowing anything about Reed or Mena.[^5] Webb is the sole source for the passages so cited.
+Webb further wrote that Dagoberto Núñez, a Costa Rican trafficker working for North and the CIA, signed a contract with the Sandinista agency Heroes and Martyrs Trading Corporation, and quoted a 1986 Owen memo to North: "He believes this will provide an opportunity to use his boats for cover operations, or to implicate the Ortegas and Borge in taking money on the side." In Webb's account, in November 1986 the FBI's "Operation Front Door" interviewed the realtor of [[Ronald Lister]], who said Lister claimed to run a "CIA-approved" security business and had told a neighbor he worked for North and Secord and had sent arms shipments to the Contras; the lead was not pursued.[^12][^20] The former Air Force intelligence officer [[Terry Reed]] claimed North was his CIA contact for a pilot-training program and a machine-tool front in [[Arkansas]], and described an Arkansas State Police "shredding party" to purge the state's [[Mena, Arkansas]] files of nearly a thousand documents including those naming North and Reed; North has denied knowing anything about Reed or Mena.[^12] Webb is the sole source for the passages so cited.
 
-Webb quoted North's 1991 memoir, *Under Fire*, as saying that the death squads in [[El Salvador]], "under the guise of anti-Communism," terrorized the entire country and murdered nuns, teachers, labor organizers, political opponents and thousands of other civilians, and that most of the activity was the responsibility of the ARENA party and its leader [[Roberto D'Aubuisson]].[^5]
+Webb quoted North's 1991 memoir, *Under Fire*, as saying that the death squads in El Salvador, "under the guise of anti-Communism," terrorized the entire country and murdered nuns, teachers, labor organizers, political opponents and thousands of other civilians, and that most of the activity was the responsibility of the ARENA party and its leader [[Roberto D'Aubuisson]].[^12]
 
 ### November 1986 and prosecution
 
 When the Iran arms sales and the Contra supply operation became public in October and November 1986, North told investigators little; the Independent Counsel wrote that his "wide destruction of records" eliminated possible documentary proof, and that he called the diversion the "secret within the secret."[^2] At the Select Committees' hearing on July 7, 1987, North testified under a grant of immunity that he believed the President had authorized the diversion.[^2] On November 25, 1986, Reagan telephoned North at a Sheraton hotel in Tysons Corner for two minutes; Reagan's sworn interrogatory answer says he told North he had no personal animus and "may have referred to LtCol North as a national hero."[^2]
 
-North was indicted in March 1988 on 16 counts with Poindexter, Secord and Hakim. After the conspiracy count was dropped because of classified-information problems he stood trial before Judge Gerhard Gesell on 12 counts and on May 4, 1989 was found guilty on three: aiding and abetting the obstruction of Congress, shredding and altering official documents, and accepting an illegal gratuity from Secord in the form of a home-security system. The Court of Appeals vacated the convictions on July 20, 1990 because trial witnesses might have been affected by his immunized congressional testimony; the Supreme Court denied certiorari on May 28, 1991; and on remand, after Robert McFarlane testified that his trial testimony had been "colored" by North's immunized testimony, the Independent Counsel consented to dismissal of the remaining counts with prejudice on September 16, 1991.[^1] President [[George H.W. Bush]] did not pardon North. On December 24, 1992 Bush pardoned [[Caspar Weinberger]], McFarlane, [[Elliott Abrams]], [[Duane Clarridge]], [[Clair George]] and Fiers.[^14]
+North was indicted in March 1988 on 16 counts with Poindexter, Secord and Hakim. After the conspiracy count was dropped because of classified-information problems he stood trial before Judge Gerhard Gesell on 12 counts and on May 4, 1989 was found guilty on three: aiding and abetting the obstruction of Congress, shredding and altering official documents, and accepting an illegal gratuity from Secord in the form of a home-security system. The Court of Appeals vacated the convictions on July 20, 1990 because trial witnesses might have been affected by his immunized congressional testimony; the Supreme Court denied certiorari on May 28, 1991; and on remand, after Robert McFarlane testified that his trial testimony had been "colored" by North's immunized testimony, the Independent Counsel consented to dismissal of the remaining counts with prejudice on September 16, 1991.[^1] President [[George H.W. Bush]] did not pardon North. On December 24, 1992 Bush pardoned [[Caspar Weinberger]], McFarlane, [[Elliott Abrams]], [[Duane Clarridge]], Clair George and Fiers.[^21]
 
-Seymour wrote that North reportedly attended a White House prayer group that [[Nita Scoggan]], wife of a [[Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International]] member, was invited to form by a Reagan aide who later worked for [[Pat Robertson]]'s presidential campaign.[^4]
+Seymour wrote that North reportedly attended a White House prayer group that [[Nita Scoggan]], wife of a [[Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International]] member, was invited to form by a Reagan aide who later worked for [[Pat Robertson]]'s presidential campaign.[^11]
 
 ### Footnotes
 
 [^1]: Walsh, Lawrence E. *Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters*, Volume I, August 4, 1993, ch. 2, "United States v. Oliver L. North," including "The Decision to Prosecute" and the section on the 1990 and 1991 appellate and dismissal proceedings (D.D.C. order of Sept. 16, 1991). https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm
 [^2]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 27, "President Reagan," sections on contra financial support, the resupply organization, the cover-up of November 1986 and the call of November 25, 1986. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_27.htm
 [^3]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 8, "The Enterprise and Its Finances," including note 51 on the diversion estimate. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_08.htm
-[^4]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. Sole source for the passages so cited.
-[^5]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998, chapters 6, 13 and 20.
-[^6]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165, December 1988 (Panama chapter; "Barry Seal and the Cartel"; "Bueso-Rosa and the Contras"; Nicaragua chapter). https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
-[^7]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 2, section on the "Quid Pro Quo" admission and the "Heads of State" documents.
-[^8]: Webb, *Dark Alliance*, chapters 11 and 12.
-[^9]: Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, section "U.S. Government Funds and Companies with Drug Connections."
-[^10]: Lau, Maya, and Amy Wold. "Man who gunned down drug informant Barry Seal in Baton Rouge street dies at Angola." *The Advocate* (Baton Rouge), September 2, 2015, citing court documents. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_f09fb38d-4bb9-59ea-bda3-557497d84561.html
-[^11]: Webb, *Dark Alliance*, chapter 11.
-[^12]: Webb, *Dark Alliance*, chapter 10.
-[^13]: Webb, *Dark Alliance*, chapter 20.
-[^14]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Executive Summary and ch. 27, notes on pardons of December 24, 1992. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
+[^4]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 1 (McFarlane), on the six System IV "problem documents," memorandum of December 4, 1984 (AKW 037386-88). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_01.htm
+[^5]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 17 (George), citing CIA cable of January 28, 1985 (ER 29941), North notebook entries of February 2, 4 and 5, 1985, and North memorandum to McFarlane of February 6, 1985 (ALU 130089-90). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_17.htm
+[^6]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair (H. Rept. 100-433, S. Rept. 100-216), Appendix A, vol. 2, Source Documents, memorandum of February 6, 1985, "Cable to President Suazo of Honduras," pp. 1056-1058 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0229; partly illegible).
+[^7]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, Part I, "The Underlying Facts." https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/part_i.htm
+[^8]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 2, pp. 50-51 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=74).
+[^9]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 15, p. 269 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=293); Hartford Courant, "Head of Iran Hostage Probe Linked to Arms Deal," May 29, 1992 (memo found in North's safe), https://www.courant.com/1992/05/29/head-of-iran-hostage-probe-linked-to-arms-deal/
+[^10]: Graham Exhibit 1, Deposition of Daniel O. Graham, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234).
+[^11]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010. Sole source for the passages so cited.
+[^12]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998, chapters 6, 13 and 20.
+[^13]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, S. Prt. 100-165, December 1988 (Panama chapter; "Barry Seal and the Cartel"; "Bueso-Rosa and the Contras"; Nicaragua chapter). https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
+[^14]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 2, section on the "Quid Pro Quo" admission and the "Heads of State" documents.
+[^15]: Webb, *Dark Alliance*, chapters 11 and 12.
+[^16]: Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, *Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy*, section "U.S. Government Funds and Companies with Drug Connections."
+[^17]: Lau, Maya, and Amy Wold. "Man who gunned down drug informant Barry Seal in Baton Rouge street dies at Angola." *The Advocate* (Baton Rouge), September 2, 2015, citing court documents. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_f09fb38d-4bb9-59ea-bda3-557497d84561.html
+[^18]: Webb, *Dark Alliance*, chapter 11.
+[^19]: Webb, *Dark Alliance*, chapter 10.
+[^20]: Webb, *Dark Alliance*, chapter 20.
+[^21]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Executive Summary and ch. 27, notes on pardons of December 24, 1992. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm