Nicaragua, the Sandinistas, Crips, Bloods and Drugs
In 1962, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was formed to oppose the rule of Anastasio Samoza Debayle. In 1979, FSLN launced an offensive and successfully removed Samoza from power, forming a leftist military junta. This junta was moved increasingly to the left, espousing Marxist-Leninist positions. The United States began to support anti-Sandinista rebel groups and eventually formed their own faction, known as the Contras, to topple the Sandinista government. The US was unsuccessful. The principle motive of this US operation was, presumably, to prevent the establishment of a communist country in Latin America, so close to the US.
What I would consider to be a particularly interesting consequence (again, presumably, this was a consequence) was the introduction and proliferation of crack cocaine to the streets of Los Angeles, and eventually across the United States. Through a trio of two Nicaraguan-Americans and one African American, cocaine was brought into the US, cooked into crack and sold/distributed through the LA street gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. The primary importer of this cocaine, Nicaraguan Norwin Meneses, AKA Rey de la Droga, despite being party to 45 different federal investigations, never spent any time in jail. Nicaraguan Danilo Blandon, who helped fund the CIA backed Contras with the drug money gained through the sale of crack to the LA street gangs, also never served any time. The once small time African American drug dealer, Ricky Ross, is in jail, serving a life sentence with no chance of parole.
Crack cocaine has spread across the country throughout Black communities as a poor man’s alternative to powder cocaine, which is much more expensive. The jail sentences for using crack are up to 100 times that for using powder cocaine. The result being that Blacks are more likely to be jailed for (crack) cocaine use, than Whites are for (powder) cocaine use.
Questions raised:
1. Why did the Nicaraguans who imported hundreds of kilos of cocaine into this country each week get off scot-free, while the African American man got a life sentence?
2. Why is there a disparity in the sentencing of crack cocaine, predominately used by Blacks, and power cocaine, predominantly used by white collar Whites?
3. Just how much did the CIA know about the sale of cocaine to fund the Contras and why did they allow it to go on?
4. Is this cycle being repeated with the Afghan drug growing warlords that the Bush administration used to overthrow the Taliban?
Links:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB2/nsaebb2.htm
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA/secret_war.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/17749/lrevolution.html
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/S/Sandinist.asp
In 1962, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was formed to oppose the rule of Anastasio Samoza Debayle. In 1979, FSLN launced an offensive and successfully removed Samoza from power, forming a leftist military junta. This junta was moved increasingly to the left, espousing Marxist-Leninist positions. The United States began to support anti-Sandinista rebel groups and eventually formed their own faction, known as the Contras, to topple the Sandinista government. The US was unsuccessful. The principle motive of this US operation was, presumably, to prevent the establishment of a communist country in Latin America, so close to the US.
What I would consider to be a particularly interesting consequence (again, presumably, this was a consequence) was the introduction and proliferation of crack cocaine to the streets of Los Angeles, and eventually across the United States. Through a trio of two Nicaraguan-Americans and one African American, cocaine was brought into the US, cooked into crack and sold/distributed through the LA street gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. The primary importer of this cocaine, Nicaraguan Norwin Meneses, AKA Rey de la Droga, despite being party to 45 different federal investigations, never spent any time in jail. Nicaraguan Danilo Blandon, who helped fund the CIA backed Contras with the drug money gained through the sale of crack to the LA street gangs, also never served any time. The once small time African American drug dealer, Ricky Ross, is in jail, serving a life sentence with no chance of parole.
Crack cocaine has spread across the country throughout Black communities as a poor man’s alternative to powder cocaine, which is much more expensive. The jail sentences for using crack are up to 100 times that for using powder cocaine. The result being that Blacks are more likely to be jailed for (crack) cocaine use, than Whites are for (powder) cocaine use.
Questions raised:
1. Why did the Nicaraguans who imported hundreds of kilos of cocaine into this country each week get off scot-free, while the African American man got a life sentence?
2. Why is there a disparity in the sentencing of crack cocaine, predominately used by Blacks, and power cocaine, predominantly used by white collar Whites?
3. Just how much did the CIA know about the sale of cocaine to fund the Contras and why did they allow it to go on?
4. Is this cycle being repeated with the Afghan drug growing warlords that the Bush administration used to overthrow the Taliban?
Links:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB2/nsaebb2.htm
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA/secret_war.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/17749/lrevolution.html
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/S/Sandinist.asp
posted by Apuuli at 9:27 PM
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