---
category: "Intelligence & Government"
tags:
  - IranContra
  - person
  - u.s.-government
  - contra-war
summary: Edwin Corr was the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador who received Celerino Castillo's reports about Contra drug trafficking at Ilopango and sent a secret cable to Washington.
born: 1934-08-06
died: 2026-02-11
location: "Edmond, Oklahoma"
---
Edwin Corr was the U.S. Ambassador to [[El Salvador]] who received [[Celerino Castillo|Celerino Castillo III]]'s reports about Contra drug trafficking at Ilopango Air Base and sent a secret "back channel" message to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]. Corr occupied a key position in the chain of information about the Contra-drug connection.[^1]

### Shutting Down the Investigation

When Castillo reported his findings about [[Cocaine]] trafficking at Ilopango to Ambassador Corr, Corr sent a secret back channel cable to Washington. Rather than supporting Castillo's investigation, the response from Washington was to shut it down. The CIA station in El Salvador sent a message to [[Costa Rica]] Station advising the [[DEA]] not to make inquiries about Hangar No. 4 at Ilopango. Corr's role in the chain of suppression illustrated how the State Department participated in protecting the Contra supply operation from law enforcement scrutiny.[^2]

### Footnotes

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 15.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 15.