Crack and heroin make it to inner cities because of the networks who started to import them. The office of public affairs opa is the single point of contact for all inquiries about the central intelligence agency cia. Aug 12, 2015 crack was an inner city drug, a streetcorner drug, a drug of gangs and guns that white america largely experienced from a distance. Back in 1996, gary webb of the san jose mercury news broke a story stating not only that the nicaraguan contras supported by the united states in a rebellion against their leftleaning government were involved in the us crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, but also that the cia knew and turned a blind eye to the operation. The allegations focus on the role of government officials in failing to prevent the flood of crack into black inner city. The reaganites deliberately ignored the growing crack problem, believing that anything that messes up inner city folk is a good thing. There is a great documentary on this called, american drug war. The cia dropped crack into the inner cities in the 80s. We read every letter or email we receive, and we will convey your comments to cia officials outside opa as appropriate. Usually the cia s activities have harmful effects on innocent civilians in foreign countries. The first time the miami herald ever mentioned crack cocaine was april 20, 1986. Central intelligence agency, a mercury news investigation has found.
Dec 31, 2004 crack, the cia and black americas drug crisis. The severelydistressed african american family in the crack. Key figures in cia crack cocaine scandal begin to come forward. It can be instantly addictive, meaning just a single dose is enough to start on the path. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy studies. Cia funnels drugs into poor us neighborhoods rt usa news. Powder cocaine, the more expensive version of the drug, found. Cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking wikipedia. The cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban america. Is this primarily an urban legend or grounded in truth.
Jon carroll the cia and crack and that whole deal sfgate. However, with limited staff and resources, we simply cannot respond to all who write to us. A revised and updated paperback edition of webbs extraordinary piece of investigative journalism that exposed the figures behind the us crack cocaine epidemic and revealed that millions of dollars raised from drug sales were funneled into the cia backed nicaraguan contras. Apr 25, 2007 the first article also made other specific allegations of cia knowledge of, or involvement in, the drug rings activities. Decadesold cia crackcocaine scandal gains new momentum. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in american inner city neighborhoods, as well as a resulting backlash in the form of tough on crime policies. Webbs series led to three federal investigations, none of. Oct 10, 2014 investigative reporter gary webb linked the cia to americas introduction to crack cocaine. In this case, the cias activities led to the crack epidemic in americas inner cities, which caused american citizens much pain and misery. Good afternoon, although i wish my message was more positive, but often the truth hurts. Inner city americans will receive the powerful drugs they love, and the cia will raise the funds they cant get from congress to get their jonestown mindcontrol experiment up and running again. Crack epidemic united states history 1980s britannica. In more extreme versions of the story circulating on talk radio and the internet, the agency was the instrument of a consistent strategy by the us. Until those issues are addressed, its unlikely that the crack problem that has happened in our inner city areas will be resolved.
Children born to crack users like ricochet had a challenging home life. I n a scene from the new movie kill the messenger, investigative reporter gary webb played by. Cia funnels drugs into poor us neighborhoods 6 jan, 2011 19. Sullum quotes what hart said why crack was popular in the inner cities. The simple answer to debunk this is that cocaine was around well before the creation of the cia.
Excontra got drug money nicaraguans testify cia wasnt. Is there any substance to the charge that they deliberately funneled the drug to inner city. Aug 02, 2006 proves beyond a shadow of a doubt how the war on drugs is a farce just like everything else the government has a war on. Why was heroin addiction and crack addiction so prevalent. Ciasupplied contra planes and pilots carried cocaine from central america to. Reagan did not manufacture the crack epidemic in the 80s. Cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia in central america pbs. The money was to support the contras, a guerrilla force largely financed by the cia to. Central intelligence agency to the introduction of crack cocaine into. Ultimately, crack is a highly addictive drug, and those who take it are much more likely to use crime to pay for their habits. Therefore, the cia has made a good attempt, although unintentional, at toppling our own government. Daniel craig visits the agency to discuss the reel vs real of.
True tale recounts how cia first introduced crack to the hood. Little did they know that the cia was using them as pawns in a larger scheme by allowing the more affordable drug to come into their neighborhood. Americas secret war homeless addicts, crack babies, drivebyshootings, gangs, burglaries, robberies, muggings, blackonblack youth violence. How they introduced crack into the inner city, which drew an audience of 2,000. The first article also made other specific allegations of cia knowledge of, or involvement in, the drug rings activities. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other. Crack represented a major distraction contributing to child abuse, neglect, and abandonment of parental responsibilities. Inciardi, immigrants from jamaica, trinidad, and locations along the leeward and windward islands introduced the prototype for crack to caribbean inner city populations in miami and new york. Despite critics, a good story crack and the contras. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come forward.
I also heard a great line while i was doing a radio show in florida yesterday. The igs report cleared the cia of complicity with the innercity crack cocaine. The campaign to discredit the san jose mercury news. Gary webb was no journalism hero, despite what kill the messenger says, read the recent washington post oped headline. Decadesold cia crackcocaine scandal gains new momentum rt. Crack is wack but did cia create it to kill off blacks. Because you are getting a very distorted view that is not a reflection of reality. Basically, he alleges a massive, evil, social engineering project where the black people would get hooked on crack, and lead to more imprisonment. Investigative reporter gary webb linked the cia to americas introduction to crack cocaine. The result was the congressional black caucus legislative conference titled cocaine, contras, and the cia. Where did the cia introduced crack to the inner cities in the 80s idea originate.
In 1996, a series in the san jose mercurynews by gary webb charged that the reaganera cia sold crack in inner cities to fund clandestine operations in central america. Who exactly invented crack and introduced it to the inner cities is unknown and largely beside the point, but it certainly wasnt something that inner city blacks could have organized by themselves. In this case, the cia s activities led to the crack epidemic in americas inner cities, which caused american citizens much pain and misery. Crack was an inner city drug, a streetcorner drug, a drug of gangs and guns that white america largely experienced from a distance. It refuted charges that cia officials knew that their nicaraguan allies were dealing drugs. Crack has destroyed millions of lives since it was first introduced to the streets of america. Others however argued that this is not true and that its some sort of liberal agenda to demonize reagans term. Dec 24, 2005 crack has destroyed millions of lives since it was first introduced to the streets of america. But the great majority of people who try crack do not continue to use it. Why do many people believe that the us government introduced. Did black people writhe the laws that give you ten times the sentence for rock cocaine vs powdered. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb in 1996, journalist gary webb began looking into links between nicaraguas drugrunning contra rebels and the cia. October 21, 1996 though evidence is thin, tale of c.
The charges of cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking were revived in 1996, when a newspaper series by reporter gary webb in the san jose mercury news claimed that the trafficking had played an important role in the creation of the crack cocaine drug problem in the united states. Outraged at cia role in drug trade duke university. There is drug addiction in the inner city and drug addiction in the outer city and drug addiction in the teeny little cities beyond. So the cia knew in 1980 exactly what the effects of crack were going to be when it hit the streets. Did black people run the cia when they introduced crack into the inner city. Though evidence is thin, tale of cia and drugs has a life of its own. Crack, bane of inner city, is now gripping suburbs the. The introduction to the first installment of the series read. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in american inner city neighborhoods, as well as a resulting backlash in the form of tough on crime. Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia. Hello reddit, i was doing a little research on the crack epidemic of the 1980s and from what i read the cia introduce crack cocaine to the u. Muckrock has highlighted those terrible things and will continue to do so. Dark alliance is a book that should be fiction, whose characters seem to come straight out of central casting. On august 18, 1996, the san jose mercury news published the first installment of a threepart series of articles concerning crack cocaine, the central intelligence agency cia, and the nicaraguan contra army.
Who benefits most from an addicted inner city population. Im very spotty on the specifics, but there was an illegal weapons deal in place between iran and nicaraguan contras where the classic nes game draws inspiration from, overseen by the us. Cia officials expect the new drug to be even more popular than crack. Do you think blacks where the ones building confederate statues during the civil rights movement. Crack reparations while on the topic of war crimes and the cia, recent relevations that the cia, in the early 80s, was largely responsible for the introduction of crack into u. Crack is a new form of drugs cheap enough to sell in the inner city, and new enough where you can market it as a black thing or inner city drug. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was.
Are instagramfriendly mural ads actually a good thing for. Inciardi reports that in 1980, coca paste smoking was popular in the caribbean. The highway rick ross allegations are specifically that the cia intentionally introduced crack to the west coast. The cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban. These life histories identify how the crack era added to the miseries facing many inner city african american families in the 1980s and 1990s. Why do black people like to blame white people for their. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s. A complete history of crack cocaine drug rehab options. These are the people who believe that you can walk into walmart and buy a machine gun, that foreign aid represents half of federal spending, that the cia introduced crack into inner city. Crack cocaine first appeared in miami, where caribbean immigrants taught adolescents the technique of converting powdered cocaine into crack. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb. Where did the cia introduced crack to the inner cities in. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come. The igs report cleared the cia of complicity with the inner city crack cocaine trade.
The crack epidemic in the united states was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the united states between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. On the supply side, legislators have created severe penalties for possession and sale, and toughened border patrols. Pastora and another leader of the rebel forces, adolfo calero, also denied published reports that the cia had supported or condoned drug dealing by the contras as a way to fund their war against. Did the cia really invent and distribute crack cocaine in. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion gary webb interview 1998. Did the cia really invent and distribute crack cocaine in the. Its a good story of a man who gary webb wasnt a hero. Its a sad sight, especially at a time when real journalism is shriveling and in retreat, including in the washington post news room. Within weeks of the publication of the dark alliance series, investigations were begun into the possible connection between the cia and the crack. Did the cia really introduce cocainecrack to the u. Five good things the cia is responsible for muckrock. Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia in.
The central intelligence agency cia is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the united states, tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence humint. Webb charged that the reagan administration shielded inner city. Real theme we introduced last month, cias office of public affairs hosted daniel craig, famously known for his portrayal as james bond, at cia headquarters yesterday to discuss what its really like to be an intelligence officer. It has long been known that the cia has illegally toppled foreign governments. Secret ties between cia, drugs revealed the final call. Dont worry it was for a good cause to buy arms for terrorists. Crack is a relatively new drug on the scene compared to drugs like opium or heroin. Welcome to the cia web site central intelligence agency. Did the cia really invent and distribute crack cocaine in the early 80s. Crack, the cia and black americas drug crisis the final call. It wasnt like he went out to help black people, but he started out doing. Freeway rick ross on how he introduced crack to the u. The next question we must answer in order to provide a possible correlation between crack cocaine and inner city decay is when this drug was introduced.
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