2 KiB
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| Private Organization |
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DIACSA was a Miami aircraft company run by a Cuban Bay of Pigs veteran that served as a cover company for the Costa Rican Contras and a hub for plotting drug flights and laundering cocaine profits. |
DIACSA was a Miami aircraft company run by Cuban Bay of Pigs veteran Alfredo Caballero that served as a cover company for the Costa Rican Contras and a hub for plotting drug flights and laundering cocaine profits. A 1985 Central Intelligence Agency cable described DIACSA as the "cover company" used by the Costa Rican Contras to secretly buy aircraft.1
Drug Smuggling Operations
Floyd Carlton, a Panamanian pilot working with Manuel Noriega, had used DIACSA for years as the U.S. headquarters for his Panamanian drug-smuggling venture. Carlton admitted that he and his partners plotted their drug flights and arranged the laundering of their cocaine profits in DIACSA's offices. The company's dual function as both a legitimate aviation business and a narcotics smuggling hub exemplified the overlap between Contra logistics and drug trafficking in Florida.2
CIA Connections
DIACSA's operator, Alfredo Caballero, was a Cuban drug dealer who had been part of the CIA's Bay of Pigs. His background was typical of the Cuban exile operatives the CIA recruited for Contra work, combining anti-Communist credentials with experience in drug trafficking and covert operations. DIACSA's role as a CIA-designated cover company demonstrated how the Agency's covert procurement infrastructure was integrated with the drug trade.3
Footnotes
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Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 14. ↩︎
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Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 14. ↩︎
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Webb, Gary. Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 14. ↩︎