cannabisnews.com: Class-Action Suits Allege CIA Kept Information!





Class-Action Suits Allege CIA Kept Information!
Posted by FoM on March 16, 1999 at 05:41:44 PT

LOS ANGELES Newly-filed federal class-action lawsuits allege that the CIA knew of "dozens of people" smuggling drugs into the United States but did not report that information to law enforcement agencies. 
The suits allege that an epidemic of crack and other narcotics trading harmed African Americans and others, and placed enormous burdens on the social service system. Filed Monday in California, the suits allege that the CIA and the Department of Justice had an agreement that allowed the CIA to keep information about drug traffickers to itself instead of turning it over to law enforcement officials. In the "opening phase" of the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, the CIA-Justice agreement allowed cocaine suppliers "connected with the (Nicaraguan) Contras or other U.S. covert operations" to bring cocaine into the United States, according to the allegations. The plaintiffs in the suits -- one filed on behalf of people in Los Angeles and the other on behalf of people in Northern California -- fall into two categories: inner city residents "largely African-American (who) experienced particular economic, physical and/or emotional injuries" from the crack epidemic; and other people "who experienced injuries suffered by the community as a whole, such as: lack of safety, overburdened social services, loss of local businesses and damage to the tax base." The lawsuit bases its claims in part on testimony by CIA Inspector General Frederick Hitz before the House Intelligence Committee in 1998 on his investigation of possible links between the CIA, the Contras and crack cocaine, originally raised in media reports. Hitz testified that beginning in 1982, the CIA entered into an undisclosed agreement with the Justice Department under which the CIA had no duty to report drug crimes, according to the suit. An attorney for the plaintiffs, Katya Komisaruk, said it was not legal for the CIA and the Justice Department to enter into such an agreement. No dollar figure is listed in the request for damages, but Komisaruk said "we know it will be lots and lots. No amount of money will bring back lives that were lost (to crack cocaine.)" The lawsuits cite a 1989 report from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which said that "the credibility of government institutions" had been jeopardized by the administration's decision to turn "a blind eye to domestic and foreign corruption associated with the international narcotics trade." The lawsuits demand a jury trial, money to rebuild crack-affected communities and an order requiring the CIA to report all drug crimes to the Justice Department. The Contras were a Nicaraguan rebel group that attempted to overthrow the country's leftist Sandanista government in the 1980s with Reagan administration support. http://cnn.com/US/9903/16/cia.crack/
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Comment #2 posted by Unknown on March 16, 1999 at 08:51:22 PT
CIA witholds information about drug smugglers
If the United States is so hell bent on fighting the war on drugs why did the CIA withold information about drug smugglers? I just think that the CIA wanted to have some of the action(money). See if they legalize marijuana then there wouldn't be these corrupt people in our justice system.
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Comment #1 posted by Loren on March 16, 1999 at 08:50:42 PT
CIA witholds information about drug smugglers
If the United States is so hell bent on fighting the war on drugs why did the CIA withold information about drug smugglers? I just think that the CIA wanted to have some of the action(money). See if they legalize marijuana then there wouldn't be these corrupt people in our justice system.
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