32 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
32 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Gary Betzner
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aliases:
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- Gary Betzner
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- Gary Wayne Betzner
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created: 2026-05-17
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updated: 2026-05-17
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category: "Organized Crime"
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tags:
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- Person
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- DrugTrafficker
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- Pilot
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- 1980s
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- ContraWar
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- CongressionalTestimony
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- DarkAllianceInvestigation
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summary: "Copilot who flew CIA-protected drug and weapons flights for the Contras and testified under oath as a Justice Department witness."
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location: "Akron, Ohio"
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---
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Gary Wayne "Hippie" Betzner was a copilot who flew weapons and drug missions for Colombian trafficker [[George Morales]] in support of the [[Contras]]. Betzner, who had pleaded guilty to federal drug charges, testified during a federal trial in Oklahoma as a witness for the Justice Department - not as a defendant.[^1]
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### Sworn Testimony
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When asked by a defense lawyer if CIA people permitted him to fly airplanes into foreign countries carrying weapons, Betzner replied: "Why, sure." Asked if he brought drugs back, he said: "Yes." Asked if the CIA people knew what he was doing with the drugs, Betzner insisted: "Certainly."[^1]
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Betzner said he was not surprised that his boss Morales was helping the Contras: "No, actually, I wasn't surprised by it because I knew that George was anti-Communist, as are most Colombians. So the Cartel and people like that are definitely anti-Communist. . .It's strictly a capitalist movement, this drug business."[^1]
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Betzner and [[Fabio Ernesto Carrasco|"Tito" Carrasco]] both confirmed George Morales's story about flying weapons to [[John Hull]]'s ranch in northern [[Costa Rica]] and returning with cocaine - under oath as U.S. government witnesses. George Morales also passed a DEA-administered lie detector test about his Contra drug dealings.[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 11: "They were looking in the other direction"
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