37 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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category: "City"
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tags:
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- Geography
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- City
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- United_States
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- California
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- 1980s
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- Contra_War
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- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
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summary: Largest city in California and the center of the crack cocaine explosion in South Central Los Angeles, fueled by cocaine supplied by Danilo Blandón's Contra-connected drug ring throughout the 1980s.
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---
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Los Angeles is the largest city in [[California]] and was the epicenter of the [[Crack Cocaine|crack]] cocaine explosion in [[South Central Los Angeles|South Central L.A.]] during the 1980s, fueled by [[cocaine]] supplied by [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]]'s Contra-connected trafficking network.[^1]
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### Nicaraguan Exile Community
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After the [[Sandinistas|Sandinista]] revolution in 1979, thousands of [[Nicaragua|Nicaraguan]] exiles settled in Los Angeles, particularly in the Northridge and East Los Angeles areas. Many were former supporters of the [[Anastasio Somoza|Somoza]] regime who became involved in Contra fundraising. Blandón claimed he formed the first [[FDN]] chapter in Los Angeles in 1981. Attorney [[Brad Brunon]] observed that former Somoza supporters "highly politicized individuals" were dealing cocaine in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, with "the only politics I was aware that they were involved with was this attempt to fund the Contra revolutionary insurgency."[^2]
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### Blandón's Drug Empire
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Blandón established his cocaine distribution ring in Los Angeles beginning in 1981, operating as [[Norwin Meneses]]'s representative. From Los Angeles, Blandón built the pipeline that connected Colombian cocaine sources to the street gangs of South Central, particularly through his relationship with [[Ricky Ross|"Freeway" Ricky Ross]]. Blandón moved from Northridge to [[San Bernardino|RIalto]] during the peak of his operations, then relocated to [[Miami]] in 1987.[^3]
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### Law Enforcement Response
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The [[LAPD]] and [[LASD Major Violators|L.A. County Sheriff's Majors unit]] both investigated the Nicaraguan cocaine ring. [[Thomas Gordon|Sergeant Thomas Gordon]] led the 1986 raid on Blandón's operation that uncovered connections to the FDN. The Freeway Rick Task Force was formed in January 1987 as a joint LAPD-Sheriff's operation targeting Ricky Ross.[[^4]
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### Crack Market Origins
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Ricky Ross's network, supplied entirely by Blandón, became the first major crack distribution system in Los Angeles. Ross's operation spread from South Central to cities nationwide, with [[Crips]] gang members carrying the crack formula and Blandón's cocaine connections to every major urban market in the country.[^5]
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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. Prologue: "It was like they didn't want to know"
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[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 6: "They were doing their patriotic duty"
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[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 10: "Teach a man a craft and he's liable to practice it"
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[^4]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 20: "It is a sensitive matter"
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[^5]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 10: "Teach a man a craft and he's liable to practice it"
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