Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in the 1980s earlier one of our younger duers asked why reagan was so bad. Essay about the crack cocaine epidemic of the mid 1980s. Editorial contends that san jose mercury news made some explosive and unsubstantiated charges in articles earlier this year suggesting that. I saw a lot of things many children not raised in a big city never experience. Cia concludes, after interviewing nearly 400 people on four continents, that its officers had nothing to do with explosion of crack cocaine in us, as charged by some blacks. In 1996 the agency was accused of being a crack dealer. Webbs story made the extraordinary claim that the central intelligence agency was responsible for the crack cocaine epidemic in america. Key figures in ciacrack cocaine scandal begin to come. In august 1996, pulitzer prizewinning journalist gary webb stunned the world with a series of articles in the san jose mercury news reporting the results of his.
Shabazz identifies with the sense of being lost in your own life as he witnessed the catastrophic rise of crack in new york decimated the city. 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. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb. It refuted charges that cia officials knew that their nicaraguan allies were dealing drugs. A commonheld belief was that the cia flooded the black community with crack so that we could do each other in. 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. Your worst fears are true the cia did help to smuggle drugs into american ghettos, says an investigative reporter, webb was asked whether his story had confirmed the suspicion within the black community that the crack cocaine epidemic might be part of a. The big lie is that we started it all the crack epidemic we were just a small part. Decadesold cia crackcocaine scandal gains new momentum.
Cia developed crack to kill off blacks the conspiracy blog. The severelydistressed african american family in the crack era. The reagan administration and the cia also collaborated with nicaraguan cocaine traffickers to support the contras led to the crack epidemic of the 1980s. The 1980s crack epidemic crack usage began to surge in the 1980s. Based on a yearlong investigation, reporter gary webb wrote that during the 1980s the cia helped finance its covert war against nicaraguas leftist government through sales of cutrate cocaine to south central l. One of the things i remember is seeing some of my neighbors who had previously been.
The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy. 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. His gripping new book, richly researched and documented, deserves an even wider audience and discussion. A series of expose articles in the san jose mercurynews by reporter gary webb told tales of a drug. A number of writers have alleged that the united states central intelligence agency cia was involved in cocaine trafficking during the 1980s. The crack epidemic had particularly devastating effects. We remember ronald reagan, the father of crack and a supporter of apartheid by davey d. Now, webbs bombshell expose is being explored anew in a documentary, freeway.
Dark alliance how the cia created the crack epidemic in. In 1996, a bombshell report by journalist gary webb claimed that the central intelligence agency cia supported cocaine trafficking into the u. So yesterday governor arnold schwarzenegger strolled into simi valley and with the stroke of a pen he made february 6th ronald reagan day. The image of the south bronx that has been portrayed as an image of a war. Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia in. Within a year more than a thousand press stories had been released about the drug. Measuring crack cocaine and its impact harvard university. Another reporter on fox news said there has been no direct evidence, repeat, no direct evidence, linking the cia to the crack trade in south central. After reading about gary webb exposing the cias potential complicity in l.
Crack is wack but did cia create it to kill off blacks. Though evidence is thin, tale of cia and drugs has a life of its own. Ciacontracrack cocaine controversy department of justice. I found it interesting but not all that surprising that we would. The cracked landscape the bronx and the rise of crack. The image of the south bronx and its association with the massive crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980s has been permanently etched in the minds of many americans. Blandon and meneses were said to have used their drug trafficking profits to help fund the contra armys war effort. Heres how the crack epidemic brought a city to its knees.
Crack epidemic, the significant increase in the use of crack cocaine, or crack, in the united states during the early 1980s. Webbs series led to three federal investigations, none of which found evidence of any conspiracy by the cia or its employees to bring drugs into the united states. The full story of the 1980s crack epidemic is still yet to be told. God, if we just had more kids his age asking this question in our schools. The crack epidemic coincidentally began around the same time when the irancontra scandal was being exposed. Crack epidemic united states history 1980s britannica. They deny that bay areabased nicaraguan drug dealers, juan norwin meneses and oscar danilo blandon, worked for the cia or contributed millions in drug profits to the contras, as webb contended. Crack cocaine was popularized because of its affordability, its immediate euphoric effect, and its high profitability. New york five years ago, when he began dealing crack cocaine, he. Remembering the crack epidemic as a young man, freelance writer kenji jasper watched the crack epidemic destroy some of the people he grew up with. Cia involvement in contra cocaine trafficking wikipedia. The earliest instance was a november 1985 story in the new york times.
The crack epidemic the history of crack cocaine drug. Aaron dixon, the former seattle chapter captain for the black panther party, is writing a book on the impact of crack cocaine on black communities. The reagan administration and the cia also collaborated with nicaraguan cocaine traffickers to support the contras led to the crack epidemic. How bad was new york city during the crack epidemic. The center for disease control cdc reported back in 2015 that heroin use in the united states increased 63% from 2002 through 20. The crack epidemic coincidently began around the same time when the irancontra scandal was being exposed. The report said that when homicide rates increased in the mid1980s with the advent of the crack epidemic, cocainetest positive rates generally increased. 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. The crack cocaine epidemic described the impact of a newly created drug on most u. Crack epidemic appears to wane the washington post. One of the most talked about conspiracy theories of the mid80s and early 90s had to do with the crack epidemic.
These laws were stricter than laws against powder cocaine. Measuring crack cocaine and its impact by roland g. The severelydistressed african american family in the. Then take a look at 37 startling photos of 1980s new york city, when crack was king. The name crack first appeared in the new york times on november 17, 1985. A thoughtful comparison of the governments response to. The cia, contras, gangs, and crack institute for policy studies.
The true story of the 1980s crack epidemic is still untold. Eighteen years after it was published, dark alliance, the san jose mercury newss bombshell investigation into links between the cocaine. The crack epidemics impact on black communities 91. Cia involvement in the crackcocaine epidemic, created a firestorm of controversy that ultimately drove webb out. The cia and the cocainecrack epidemic an undercover odyssey. Fellow colleagues at such press powerhouses as the new york times and the washington post accused webb of. Crack cocaine, swept throughout the us in the 1980s as an inexpensive and easily accessible drug. On npr, for example, a reporter commented that since the story wasnt picked up by the new york times, it must be false.
Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia. After the epidemic the emergence of crack cocaine led to strict laws against crack cocaine. So the dealers started cutting the cocaine with ammonia and sodium bicarbonate to add more heft to their cocaine loads. For example, in new york city, at the height of the epidemic, 70% of all people that were arrested tested positive for crack cocaine. Did the cia play a role in launching the crackcocaine epidemic. A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yesand the charge, reviving old rumors about the agencys complicity in cocaine smuggling during the reagan administrations covert war in nicaragua, has some africanamerican leaders ready. Why doesnt the new york city forum have a sticky inviting photographs of new york city. These people are either complete idiots or just flat out liars. Fellow colleagues at such press powerhouses as the new york.
The igs report cleared the cia of complicity with the innercity crack cocaine trade. Neighborhoods and families were severely impacted by this epidemic. The cia was consequently not only involved in and ultimately responsible for the innercity crack epidemic. By 2002, the united kingdom was experiencing their own crack epidemic, with the number of crack addicts seeking help climbing nearly 50% that year. In the early 1980s, the majority of cocaine being shipped to the united states was landing in miami, and originated in the bahamas and dominican republic. History of crack cocaine the recovery village ridgefield. The uk reported an increase of 74% in seizures of crack cocaine in drug raids between 2000 and 2006. The impact of the drug epidemic on black families 91. A powerful series by investigative reporter gary webb of the san jose mercury news says the answer may be yes. However, the south bronx was not always considered a blighted area. Decadesold cia crackcocaine scandal gains new momentum 11 oct, 2014 01. He also vetoed a bill that would allow farm workers to be paid overtime.
31 302 486 113 463 1045 319 1170 964 865 1116 1254 1159 611 821 715 1145 1175 1441 269 1224 68 1405 1257 705 1004 1465 95 917 212 1039 970 395 979 930 9 518 252 751 1299 792 425 557 58 725 1261 264 370 929 511