REPORT CLAIMS CIA IGNORED TIPS CITING CONTRA DRUG DEALING IN '81 WASHINGTON -- In September 1981, as the Reagan administration was approving a covert CIA program to finance anti-Sandinista exile organization attempts to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, "an asset" told the agency that one of the major Contra rebel groups intended to sell drugs in the United States to pay its bills. The cable described for CIA headquarters a July 1981 drug delivery from Honduras to Miami, including the names of those involved, and called it "an initial trial run" by members of the Nicaraguan Revolutionary Democratic Alliance. An earlier cable said the rebels felt they were "being forced to stoop to criminal activities in order to feed and clothe their cadre." [continues 623 words]
In September 1981, as the Reagan administration was approving a covert CIA program to finance anti-Sandinista exile organization attempts to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, ``an asset'' told the agency that one of the major Contra rebel groups intended to sell drugs in the United States to pay its bills. The cable described for CIA headquarters a July 1981 drug delivery from Honduras to Miami, including the names of those involved, and called it ``an initial trial run'' by members of the Nicaraguan Revolutionary Democratic Alliance. An earlier cable had said the rebels felt they were ``being forced to stoop to criminal activities in order to feed and clothe their cadre.'' [continues 182 words]
Attorney General Janet Reno yesterday ordered the Justice Department inspector general to continue to withhold his 400-page report on the CIA-crack cocaine controversy. The report had been set for release more than a month ago. Citing "law enforcement concerns" that are not related to the report's conclusions, Reno said the report should continue to be withheld until those concerns have ended. Under the law cited by Reno, among the information the attorney general can order withheld includes undercover operations and the identity of confidential sources such as protected witnesses. [continues 348 words]
By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer CIArun agents who had infiltrated terrorist groups in recent years aided in intelligence gathering that helped prevent two attacks in the past seven months against U.S. embassies abroad, new CIA Director George J. Tenet told Congress earlier this year. Tenet declined to provide details of the operations, including where they occurred. But in making even that minimal disclosure, he was signaling that while covert action remains a primary activity at the CIA in the postCold War period, there has been a departure from the spy service's often criticized history of clandestine operations directed at influencing foreign government policies or attempting to remove political leaders, according to agency officials. [continues 1219 words]
