---
title: Freedom of Information Act
aliases:
  - Freedom of Information Act
  - FOIA
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17
category: "Intelligence Scandal"
tags:
  - Law
  - USGovernment
  - ContraWar
summary: "The Freedom of Information Act was used by Gary Webb to obtain government documents that revealed the CIA and DEA's knowledge of Contra-connected drug trafficking."
start: 1966-07-04
location: "United States"
---
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was used by [[Gary Webb]] to obtain government documents that revealed the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and [[DEA]]'s knowledge of Contra-connected drug trafficking. Webb's FOIA requests produced thousands of pages of previously classified documents that formed the evidentiary backbone of the [[Dark Alliance]] series.[^1]

### Document Discovery

Webb filed FOIA requests with multiple federal agencies to obtain records about [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]], [[Norwin Meneses]], and their connections to the Contra war. The documents he received confirmed that federal law enforcement agencies had been aware of the Blandón-Meneses cocaine trafficking network for years but had failed to prosecute or disrupt it. The FOIA-obtained records included DEA reports, CIA cables, FBI files, and court documents that corroborated the testimony of witnesses and filled in gaps in the narrative.[^2]

### Footnotes

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