1.4 KiB
| category | tags | summary | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iran-Contra |
|
Juan Matta Ballesteros was Honduras's biggest drug trafficker whose air cargo company SETCO was the principal transportation provider for the Contra army. |
Juan Matta Ballesteros was Honduras's biggest drug trafficker whose air cargo company SETCO was the principal transportation provider for the Contras army. The U.S. Customs Service had known about Matta's drug trafficking since 1983, but his company continued to receive U.S. government contracts for Contra supply missions.1
SETCO and the Contra Supply Chain
The NHAO hired SETCO to transport supplies and personnel for the FDN. Oliver North also used SETCO for airdrops of military supplies to Contra forces inside Nicaragua. Pilot Robert Moss flew FDN supply missions for both Hondu Carib, a company operated by FDN leader Adolfo Calero's brother, and SETCO. The use of a drug kingpin's company as the primary Contra transportation provider demonstrated the direct overlap between narcotics trafficking and the U.S.-backed war.2