Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.fan.dan-quayle,alt.politics.clinton From: [g--r--t] at [Ingres.COM] Subject: Ollie North and the Contra drug connection Date: 17 Jun 94 22:49:47 GMT [from today's Associated Press wire] "Oliver North knew that large shipments of cocaine were being smuggled into the United States by mercenary pilots he had hired to assist Contras in Nicaragua, a former federal agent said yesterday. "Celerino (Cele) Castillo, who was a supervisory agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration in El Salvador, said in a telephone interview that he had informed a U.S. ambassador to El Salvador as well as then-Vice President George Bush in 1986 about the drug smuggling in North's Contra supply operation. "No action was taken, Castillo said. "Oliver North was running the operation. His pilots were known drug traffickers listed in government files and these people were being given U.S. visas," Castillo said. "He first gave his account to the Texas Observer, a magazine that carries the story in today's issue. He also has written a book, due out next month, on the allegations. [deletia to save bandwidth, including North's 1989 conviction for obstruction of justice] "North, the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat from Virginia, denied Castillo's allegations through an aide. "They were running large quantities of cocaine to the United States via Ilopango (El Salvador)," Castillo said, adding that the shipments were flown to Florida, Texas and California." [details of Castillo's meeting with Bush deleted] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Smith, Wesson, and me." - Clint Eastwood [G--r--t] at [Ingres.com] "This...is my BOOM stick." - Bruce Campbell Garrett Johnson