Part D. Drug Wars and Law

Section 1: Asia and Panama

Section 2: Colombia

Section 1: Asia and Panama

Text 1

Crime is crime, after all-armed robbery, bank embezzlement, drug dealing. It's been around a long time, not too hard to live with. But then something happened. Something had endangered America's economic base. Where was all this drug money going? Could it be used to alter balances of power?

In Washington power centers, including the White House, telephones were lifted in alarm, panic buttons pressed, emegrency meetings convened. What is the meaning of this? What is going on here?

No one knew.

The CIA and DEA, embarassed by their ignorance, rushed to beat each other to the answers.

FM DEA HQS WASHDC

TO DEA WORLWIDE

CONFIDENTIAL

EMBASSIES/CONSULS FOR DEA

SUBJECT: OPERATION CASHFLOW

THE OFFICE OF INTELLIGENCE IS INVOLVED IN AN ON-GOING PROJECT DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY THE MAGNITUDE AND SPECIFIC RAMIFICATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FLOW OF DRUG RELATED CURRENCY. ESTIMATES BY VARIUOS AGENCIES REFLECT THAT DOLLARS LEAVING THE U.S. FROM ILLICIT DRUG PROFITS AND PAYMENTS MAY WELL BE A SIGNIFICANT UNMEASURED PORTION OF THIS COUNTRY'S GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT AND CREATES SERIOUS INACCURACIES IN U.S. DATA ON INTERNATIONAL CURRENCY FLOW (BALANCE OF PAYMENTS). MORE AND MORE FREQUENTLY DEA IS BEING ASKED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION IN THIS SUBJECT AREA AND TO DATE, INFORMATION IN OUR POSSESSION HAS BEEN EXTREMELY LIMITED.

DEA offices from Songhkla, Thailand, to Lahore, Pakistan, were ordered to «conduct a study and submit results» within six weeks. The CIA sent similar instructions to its stations. But no one waited for foreign-based agents to check in. Hardly two weeks after the cable went out, a senior agent from DEA's office of strategic intelligence was on his way around the world, conducting the first inclusive intelligence operation (it was code-named Operation Cashflow) ever directed at the multibillion-dollar profits of the international narcotics industry.

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