How the Arrest of Drug-Trafficking Cops and a Royal in Spain Triggered Ecuador’s Narco War

Spain's reckoning?

The arrests of corrupt anti-narcotics officers and a member of Spain’s Bourbon-linked elite may appear, at first glance, to be a distinctly European scandal. But investigators and security analysts increasingly believe the fallout from Spain’s expanding narco-corruption crisis has had consequences far beyond the Iberian Peninsula; helping destabilize cocaine trafficking networks stretching from the Strait of Gibraltar to Ecuador’s Pacific ports.

Over the past two years, Spanish authorities have uncovered an extraordinary series of cases involving Guardia Civil officers accused of collaborating with traffickers, leaking intelligence, manipulating inspections, and facilitating maritime cocaine shipments into Europe. The investigations culminated in the arrest of Francisco de Borbón over allegations tied to broader laundering networks involving cryptocurrency transfers, shell companies, and narcotics proceeds.

At the same time, authorities dismantled sophisticated “narcotunnels” beneath Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, uncovering evidence of industrial-scale smuggling infrastructure allegedly protected by corrupt officials. According to reporting based on judicial materials, investigators suspect retired and active Guardia Civil personnel acted as intermediaries between traffickers and logistics operators moving hashish and cocaine into Europe.

The significance of these arrests was not merely domestic. Spain functions as one of Europe’s principal cocaine gateways, while Ecuador has emerged as the Pacific-side export platform feeding that market. As Colombian production surged and Balkan trafficking groups expanded deeper into Latin America, Ecuador’s ports, particularly Guayaquil, became central to transatlantic narcotics flows.

For years, those flows relied on a fragile ecosystem of corrupt port officials, compromised police, shipping brokers, crypto-laundering channels, and trusted intermediaries spanning both continents. The Spanish investigations disrupted parts of that architecture.

Security analysts increasingly argue that when authorities targeted laundering structures and protection networks in Spain, they destabilized existing criminal balances inside Ecuador. Rival organizations began competing more aggressively for control over routes, port access, and European distribution channels once managed through relatively stable arrangements.

The result was an explosion of violence.

Ecuador rapidly descended into one of Latin America’s deadliest security crises. Prison massacres, assassinations, cartel subcontracting, and the fragmentation of groups such as Los Choneros and Los Lobos transformed the country into a battlefield for transnational cocaine networks. European demand and Balkan cartel expansion intensified the struggle.

Meanwhile, the Spanish scandals revealed something deeper than isolated corruption. More than 100 police officers in Spain have reportedly been arrested over the past five years in narcotics-related cases, fueling concerns that organized crime had penetrated institutions once viewed as untouchable.

Ecuador’s narco war was not born solely in Guayaquil’s prisons or coastal barrios. Part of it emerged from the collapse of protection systems linking European elites, compromised security officials, laundering networks, and global cocaine trafficking routes operating across the Atlantic. 

19th century Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz eloquently stated: "Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States."

In the 21st century, as the Ecuadorian military is linked to the torture and disappearance of children, we can say: "Poor Ecuador, so far from God, so close to Spain."

In New Memoir, Spain's Former King Denies Murdering His Brother

Written from self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates, former King Juan Carlos I’s new memoir reads less like a royal reflection and more like a dispatch from a man haunted by a past he refuses to confront. The book arrives as he continues to live thousands of miles from Spain, a distance created not by choice alone, but by scandal, legal scrutiny, and allegations that have threatened to engulf his legacy.

Haunted by assassination of his brother?

Juan Carlos fled to the UAE in 2020 after a series of financial controversies and investigations by Spanish prosecutors into alleged irregularities involving offshore accounts and opaque gifts. While several inquiries were later archived, the damage to his public standing was irreversible. The former king writes nothing about this chapter of his life beyond vague references to “difficult circumstances,” leaving readers staring directly at the hole where accountability might have been.

The memoir also omits mention of another cloud: media reports and anonymous sources who have claimed that his name appears among those connected to Jeffrey Epstein. Still, the omission feels pointed. In a memoir already defined by its silences, this is one of the loudest.

Instead, Juan Carlos devotes his pages to earlier ghosts. He describes the death of his younger brother Alfonso as “a tragic accident,” refusing once more to address the persistent conspiracy theories that the shooting was intentional; or at least suspiciously convenient, given that Franco had allegedly favored Alfonso, not Juan Carlos, as Spain’s future king.

Historians note that the memoir’s evasions feel almost deliberate. Some scholars argue that Franco’s influence over Juan Carlos did not end with the dictator’s death. They claim, metaphorically, that Franco still “controls him from the grave,” the weight of Alfonso’s death pressing on the former king like a political curse inherited, not earned.

In UAE exile, these ghosts seem to follow him more closely than his defenders. The memoir, released with no press tour and no public appearances, is imbued with the tone of a man writing from a fortified room: reflective, defensive, and surrounded by shadows he will not name.

What emerges is not a confession, nor an attempt at redemption. It is a chronicle curated by omission, a portrait of a monarch who once stood at the center of Spain’s democratic transition but now exists only at its periphery... alone, embattled, and pursued by the past he insists on refusing to explain.

Spain is left to read between the lines. And in those margins, the darkness is deeper than ever.

King of Spain Setting Forest Fires to Present Self as Firefighter

A series of destructive wildfires across Catalonia has raised eyebrows among locals and political observers, who increasingly suspect that King Felipe VI himself may be behind the blazes. The suspicion is not that he physically lights the matches, but that he authorizes the outbreaks and then times his appearances to coincide with the aftermath.

In several recent cases, the King has been filmed arriving in rural Catalan towns a few hours after wildfires have spread through forests and farmland. He typically appears in full military uniform, surrounded by photographers, and positions himself at the edge of the charred terrain to be seen inspecting damage, consoling residents, and issuing solemn statements. Meanwhile, firefighters -- many of whom have already spent the night battling flames -- can be seen in the background, exhausted and largely ignored.

The pattern has not gone unnoticed. “Every time there’s a scandal in Madrid, suddenly a hillside in Catalonia goes up in smoke,” said one resident of Lleida, whose family had to evacuate during the July fires. “And then, right on cue, the King shows up in his uniform as if he’s saving us.”

Analysts argue that the timing is politically convenient. International headlines have once again turned to Juan Carlos I, the former king and father of Felipe, whose name has surfaced in connection with Jeffrey Epstein’s network. For Felipe, who has spent years trying to distance the monarchy from his father’s legal and financial scandals, the image of a decisive, uniformed king facing down the aftermath of natural disaster is far preferable to reminders of jet-set acquaintances and offshore bank accounts.

But the spectacle may serve another purpose as well. For many in Catalonia, the fires are seen as a symbolic means of reasserting royal authority over a region that has long sought independence. By presiding over smoldering landscapes in Catalonia specifically -- rather than, say, Castile or Andalusia -- the King underscores the monarchy’s claim to the territory. “This is not firefighting,” said a Barcelona political columnist. “It is a medieval gesture of conquest, dressed up as a photo opportunity. You burn the land, then you arrive in uniform to claim it. It is not new -- it is centuries old.”

Local firefighters have grown frustrated with the choreography. One brigade captain in Tarragona noted that his team had already contained a blaze for nearly five hours before the King arrived. “We were just packing up hoses when the motorcade rolled in,” he said. “He walked around the ash for twenty minutes, had pictures taken, and then flew back to Madrid. That was our whole reward for working through the night.”

For now, the official cause of the fires remains “undetermined,” though environmental groups have pointed out the suspicious consistency of their timing with the royal schedule. No spokesperson from the palace has commented on the allegations.

Still, in villages across Catalonia, the perception is already set. “We don’t see him as a firefighter,” said one farmer surveying blackened fields outside Paüls. “We see him as the arsonist who shows up to take credit for the bucket of water.

Unfettered Immigration in the Hands of an Angry King: How Felipe VI Is Erasing Catalan Identity to "Preserve Spain"

I am Catalan; born here, raised here, descended from generations who have spoken this language, walked these streets, and dreamed of freedom. And I am watching my country disappear.

Catalonia is not being bombed or occupied. It is being smothered -- quietly and methodically -- under a tide of immigration driven not by economic need or humanitarian duty, but by political design. What the Spanish state failed to crush in 2017 through brute force, it now seeks to dissolve through demographic replacement. The architect of this shift may not sit in Parliament; he watches from Zarzuela Palace.

Using Latin Americans to colonize Catalunya. BBC

King Felipe VI, the unelected monarch of a so-called democracy, has made it his mission to defend the "unity of Spain" at all costs. He does not listen. He does not negotiate. He certainly does not represent us. And while his powers may be symbolic, his influence is very real. Under his reign, Spain has embraced an immigration policy that disproportionately redirects non-Catalan, Castilian-speaking newcomers into Catalonia; especially Latin Americans, who are quickly absorbed into Spanish-speaking networks.

Let’s be clear: this is not about race or religion. It's about identity. It’s about the slow, state-facilitated erasure of a nation within a nation.

In towns across Catalonia, Castilian is once again becoming dominant. Catalan immersion in schools is under constant legal attack, and the very idea of our language as the core of our national project is being diluted; both literally and symbolically. Madrid has found a new strategy: flood Catalonia with people who owe their future to the Spanish state and ensure they are never taught that this land has its own language, its own people, and its own right to be free.

I am not descended from migrants. I am not “half” anything. I am Catalan. My grandparents did not endure repression under Franco so that we could hand our culture over to indifference and silence. And yet, if the current trend continues, in twenty years there may be no meaningful Catalan identity left --just a hollowed-out province of Spain, defined by cheap labor, state dependency, and linguistic substitution.

And yes, this is being done deliberately.

The Spanish state doesn’t care if immigrants succeed here; only that they weaken Catalonia’s cohesion. The monarchy doesn’t care if our towns thrive; only that they are loyal. Felipe VI smiles for cameras abroad while quietly presiding over the undoing of Catalonia’s future. It’s not integration. It’s not multiculturalism. It’s colonization by other means.

If you're Catalan and still believe we can wait this out, you’re mistaken. The time to act is now. Our language, our culture, our future depends on it. And make no mistake: we are not the ones dividing Spain. Spain, under Felipe, is dividing us... from ourselves.

By: a Concerned Catalan

The King’s Shadow: NSA Leak Ties Spanish Monarchy to Separatist’s Death

 The death of Xavier García López, a little-known but increasingly influential Catalan separatist, has sent waves of unease through pro-independence circles in northeastern Spain, deepening mistrust of the central government and fueling speculation that Spain’s head of state may be willing to take drastic measures to safeguard national unity.

Killed on orders of the King?

Mr. García López, 57, was found dead earlier this month under circumstances that authorities have declined to fully explain. Though the official cause of death remains undisclosed, some separatist activists privately describe it as an assassination -- one they believe was orchestrated at the highest levels of the Spanish state.

In whispered conversations across Catalonia -- from quiet bars in Vic to activist meeting rooms in Girona --- the theory that the king of Spain himself ordered the killing is gaining currency, though no evidence has been made public and no official body has confirmed the claim. Few are willing to say the words out loud. Most insist on anonymity when speaking to journalists. But behind closed doors, many in the movement admit they are afraid.

“Everyone is scared,” said one veteran activist affiliated with a pro-independence youth organization, who requested not to be named for fear of retaliation. “If this happened to Xavier, it could happen to any of us.”

Though García López was not a household name in Spanish politics, he had become an increasingly prominent voice in militant separatist networks. According to people close to him, he was working on a media campaign that would have brought international attention to alleged human rights violations tied to Spain’s counter-separatist efforts. His death has instead drawn attention to the risks faced by those challenging Spain’s territorial order.

The Spanish government has made no public comment about García López’s death beyond acknowledging it as a “personal tragedy.” The royal household has not issued any statement, and no criminal investigation is known to be underway.

Still, speculation is rampant. Several separatist leaders privately pointed to what they claim is classified signals intelligence shared among activists -- allegedly originating from the United States -- suggesting that the Spanish monarch, King Felipe VI, was aware of or complicit in the effort to silence García López. The New York Times has not seen such intelligence and cannot confirm its authenticity. U.S. and Spanish officials have declined to comment.

“It’s like we’re living in the Franco years again,” said another independence activist, referring to the late dictator Francisco Franco’s repressive regime, under which the Catalan language and identity were violently suppressed. “We always knew the state was willing to jail us. Now we know it may be willing to kill us.”

The Catalan independence movement has faced growing internal divisions since the failed 2017 referendum, but García López’s death appears to have united many factions in quiet alarm. While the movement’s elected leaders have not endorsed any of the more incendiary claims, several expressed concern over what they described as a new climate of fear.

“There is a chilling effect,” said a member of the Catalan Parliament aligned with the left-wing CUP party, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We are being watched. We are being warned. Some people are already deleting old messages, avoiding public appearances, cancelling trips.”

In recent years, Spain has come under scrutiny for its use of surveillance technologies against separatists. A 2022 investigation by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab revealed that dozens of Catalan politicians and activists had been targeted by Pegasus spyware, prompting an outcry from international human rights organizations. The Spanish government acknowledged some use of the spyware but said it had been carried out legally under court oversight. Critics were not convinced.

“This isn’t just about surveillance anymore,” said Elvira Castell, a Barcelona-based political analyst. “There’s a shift in the atmosphere -- from watching to silencing.”

García López’s funeral, held discreetly in a small village outside Lleida, was attended by a few close friends and family members. No known political figures were present, though several Catalan activists paid tribute to him online. Their posts were muted in tone -- expressions of sorrow more than protest. Several have since been deleted.

“What happened to Xavier is a warning,” said the youth activist. “But we don’t yet know what the warning means. That’s what’s terrifying.”

While no formal investigation has been launched, human rights groups in Catalonia have begun documenting the concerns of those who say they feel threatened. At least two activists have reportedly left Spain in recent weeks, citing safety fears. One has sought legal advice about seeking political asylum elsewhere in the European Union.

With the monarchy silent, and the central government deflecting questions, separatists are left to draw their own conclusions -- and to navigate an increasingly uncertain future.

“There’s a line,” said a senior figure in a Catalan civil society group. “And we always hoped the Spanish state would never cross it. But we’re no longer sure where that line is -- or if it still exists.”

The King of Spain Donates €250,000 to Promote the Fusion of Hispaniola

In a gesture stirring historical reflection and regional dialogue, King Felipe VI of Spain has reportedly donated €250,000 to an initiative aimed at promoting cultural and political cooperation between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola.

The donation, made through a private philanthropic fund, is intended to support projects emphasizing shared history, bilingual education, infrastructure collaboration, and mutual economic development on the island. Advocates of the effort see it as a bold move toward healing centuries-old divisions rooted in colonial legacies and post-independence conflicts.

The initiative, dubbed Una Isla, Dos Naciones ("One Island, Two Nations"), is coordinated by a consortium of universities, NGOs, and diaspora groups from both nations. The group’s stated goal is to encourage a “soft fusion” -- not necessarily a political unification, but a strengthening of social, economic, and cultural ties.

King Felipe's donation, while largely symbolic, has ignited conversations in both the Caribbean and Europe. Supporters see it as an overdue gesture of historical accountability from Spain, the former colonial power that first unified the island under Spanish rule in the 15th century. Critics, however, question whether the monarchy should be engaging in matters so geopolitically sensitive, especially given Hispaniola’s volatile history.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti have long had a strained relationship, shaped by stark economic disparities, linguistic divides, and migration tensions. Though both nations occupy the same landmass, their political trajectories diverged sharply after the 19th century. Efforts to reconcile have often faltered due to mistrust and competing nationalisms.

Spain’s quiet re-entry into Hispaniola’s internal affairs could mark a new chapter—or rekindle old wounds. The Spanish royal household has not commented publicly on the donation. Analysts in Madrid suggest it reflects King Felipe’s broader vision of engaging constructively with Spain’s former colonies without direct political interference.

In Santo Domingo, the reaction has been cautiously optimistic. “Any effort that invests in education, cultural exchange, and shared infrastructure is welcome,” said Josmel Beltré, a Dominican political scientist. “But it must be done with sensitivity and without reviving imperial nostalgia.”

In Port-au-Prince, some civil society groups have expressed skepticism. “We must ask: who benefits? Haitians or elites? Fusion cannot come without justice and dignity,” said Jean Sartier, a human rights organizer.

Mario Hernandez, a motorcycle taxi driver in Puerto Plata, told Abreu Report: "250,000 may not sound like a lot, but it's like the US giving weapons to the soldiers who would kill our Generalissimo Trujillo; the soldiers didn't need the weapons, the weapons were symbolic. I believe that this figure is also symbolic, Spain is signalling that it supports the fusion of Hispaniola."

While €250,000 may not transform Hispaniola overnight, it may open the door for deeper European-Caribbean cooperation. Whether this leads to real fusion or merely fuels debate, King Felipe VI’s donation has placed Hispaniola’s divided unity back into the global spotlight.

As the two nations navigate this renewed attention, the legacy of colonization, the promise of collaboration, and the spectre of sovereignty will all remain at the heart of the conversation.

Vance is Right: Europe Isn't Worth Defending!

In a stunning speech delivered in Munich, US Vice-president JD Vance told the audience that Europe had become undemocratic, owing largely to its suppression of populist parties, of free speech. 

As someone who has been living in Europe for the better part of the past 2 decades, I can safely say that I don't think one single American penny should be spent on Europe's defense. My reasons for agreeing with Mr. Vance are not particularly owing to European suppression of free political organization or "open borders."

It is no secret that Europe's wealth was built upon the backs of enslaved and colonized peoples on our very own American continent, with the US being forced to implement the Monroe Doctrine in order to keep predatory European powers from further brutalizing Latin America. It is also no secret that the Europeans themselves destroyed the wealth they had stolen from our continent with the two World Wars that they started and dragged us into. 

After the Europeans destroyed what they had stolen, it was America's Marshall Plan that kept the Bolsheviks at bay and helped Europe rebuild the wealth that allowed it to keep the Soviet Union at bay. 

Without America, Europe today would be nothing more than a backwater continent, with most of its large urban centers decaying in poverty and misery. Without America, Europe would be nothing more than a Soviet satellite. Instead, it is American urban centers that are in disarray, with our tax dollars going to fund Europe's strategic defense. 

To keep Europe from sliding back into the barbarism that characterized it during the Middle Ages and most of its history, the American people have spent blood and steel; and what do we have to show for it? 

The American people have nothing to show for keeping Europe from de-evolving towards savagery. It's the opposite, European leaders have constantly demonstrated snobbery instead of deference, treating us as a rabid dog whose protection they feel entitled to, instead of acknowledging the truths I have established previously: without the United States, there would be no modern Europe. 

Spain's King Juan Carlos Linked to Human Hunt in Bostwana

A source with a proven history of accurate insights into high-profile events has come forward with shocking claims about King Juan Carlos I’s 2012 trip to Botswana. Known for their reliability, this source reveals a darker story behind the king's controversial hunting excursion.

In 2012, King Juan Carlos was widely reported to have traveled to Botswana for an elephant hunting trip. During the trip, he suffered a fall, leading to surgery. The media focused on the king’s injury and the public backlash over the trip, particularly during Spain's economic crisis. This official story has been accepted by many as the full account of events.

A statue of the King. Source

According to the insider, the official narrative is misleading. The source claims that the king’s trip was a cover for something far more sinister -- a "human hunt." This shocking claim contradicts the media’s portrayal of the trip as a hunting expedition for elephants. The source insists that the royal hunting trip was not just about elephants, but about engaging in illicit and satanic activities that have been kept hidden from the public eye.

Further muddying the waters, the individual allegedly hunted was not a Tswana, a member of the main ethnic group in Bostwana, but rather a Bushman -- a member of the San minority group. This revelation adds a particularly disturbing historical context, as the San people have long been oppressed. The South African government once issued hunting licenses for the San, with the last known license reportedly being issued in Namibia in 1936. This dark chapter in history is a reminder of the deep-rooted violence and exploitation faced by the San people.

The former Spanish king’s alleged actions are seen by the source as a continuation of the long history of European practices that dehumanized and treated the San people as less than human. This kind of depravity and lack of humanity perpetuates a brutal legacy of colonial violence, where the San and other indigenous groups were often reduced to mere objects for exploitation.

The source further reveals a crucial connection to President Ian Khama of Botswana. Khama, who was outspoken in his opposition to the hunting practices of foreign elites, put a ban on elephant hunting in Botswana in 2014. His decision to protect the elephants from such exploitation was met with fierce opposition from powerful figures, including those with ties to royal families. The source suggests that Khama’s stance also extended to his opposition to the hidden human hunting activities, with Khama being aware of the atrocities taking place. Following his public opposition to these practices, Khama was forced into exile, a move that the source connects directly to his efforts to expose these hidden activities.

Nearly poisoned for opposing human hunts. Source

According to reports, there was a plot to poison Ian Khama due to his refusal to bend the knee to the Spanish monarchy. He refused to let himself be subjugated by foreign powers and almost paid for it with his life.

 

Another source close to Mr. Khama goes further, alleging that the media was paid off to suppress the truth. According to the insider, powerful figures sought to ensure that the real purpose of the King's trip was kept under wraps. The story of an innocent hunting trip was deliberately fabricated. In addition, the source claims that witnesses who could have exposed the truth were eliminated, silenced to keep the secret from reaching the public.

On orders of the king, Beata Kasale, a journalist about to blow the lid on the human hunt, was killed by Spanish agents. The killing was made to look natural, ensuring that her revelations would never reach the public eye.

Killed to prevent diplomatic breakdown with Spain. Source

This is not the first time the source has been proven right. Known for their reliable and actionable intelligence, the source has predicted and revealed several major events before they became public knowledge. This track record makes their claims about the king's trip difficult to ignore, demanding a deeper investigation into the untold parts of the story.

The events surrounding King Juan Carlos’s 2012 trip remain shrouded in secrecy. While the official story centers on a hunting accident, the source’s claims suggest a much more disturbing reality—one involving manipulation, cover-ups, and violence. With a proven history of accurate information, this insider’s revelations call for further investigation and a reevaluation of the true story behind the trip.

Pinto Police Station in Madrid Alleged to be Mossad Front, Engaged in Torture, Kidnapping, and Human Rights Violations

To the dismay of many, a confidential source from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has informed our news site of allegations that the Pinto Police Station in Madrid is operating as a front for the Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel. These allegations, if true, paint a disturbing picture of covert operations and severe human rights violations occurring within the heart of Spain.

The source, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the Pinto Police Station has been the site of numerous human rights abuses. Among the most harrowing allegations are that detainees, particularly Muslims, have reportedly had their shoulders dislocated and have been subjected to military-style electrocutions. Additionally, victims have been subjected to prolonged periods of handcuff torture, where their wrists are tightly bound for extended durations, causing severe pain and injury.

Victims have endured intense psychological torture, designed to break their will and extract information.

Disturbingly, children are being kidnapped and used as leverage to coerce information and compliance from detainees. These children are reportedly held in dire conditions, creating an atmosphere of terror for the detainees and their families.

The extent of the crimes includes various forms of physical and mental abuse, creating a pervasive atmosphere of fear and suffering.

Our source provided us with exclusive photos purportedly showing some of the methods of torture and the conditions inside the Pinto Police Station. These images are graphic and distressing, highlighting the severe nature of the alleged abuses. We have chosen not to publish them until we get a response from Spanish authorities.

If substantiated, these allegations could have significant geopolitical implications. The use of a police station as a front for foreign intelligence operations raises serious questions about the sovereignty of Spain's law enforcement institutions and the complicity, or lack thereof, of Spanish officials in these activities.

Informants have been coerced into spying on La Mezquita de Pinto, one of the central mosques in the area. These informants are often threatened with deportation and face frequent house raids before being forced to provide information. This has created a climate of fear and mistrust within the community.

As of now, there has been no official response from the Spanish government or the Pinto Police Station regarding these allegations. It is unclear whether the Spanish authorities were aware of these activities or if they were entirely orchestrated by external operatives.

The CIA source did not provide details on how long these operations have been ongoing or the number of victims involved. However, the severity of the allegations suggests a potentially widespread and systematic pattern of abuse.

Human rights organizations and legal experts are calling for immediate investigations into these allegations. There is a growing demand for transparency and accountability, urging the Spanish government to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the operations of the Pinto Police Station.

These allegations, if proven true, underscore the urgent need for vigilance and oversight in protecting human rights and maintaining the integrity of national institutions. The potential involvement of a foreign intelligence agency in such activities adds a layer of complexity and urgency to the situation.

Our news site will continue to monitor this story closely, providing updates as more information becomes available. We urge any individuals with relevant information to come forward and assist in shedding light on these serious allegations.

Coup Plotters Asked for US Government Permission Three Months Before Guinean President's Death, Secret Documents Detail

Captain Camara

On the 25th of December, 2008, The New York Times reported that people in Conakry -- the capital of the West African nation of Guinea -- were "resuming their lives, playing soccer, going shopping." Just days earlier, Lansana Conté, Guinea's long-time strongman, had died from "an illness and with no publicly announced succession plans."  

Soon after Conté's death, a group of junior officers swept into the scene and consolidated power into the hands of one Captain Camara. Though the coup was condemned internationally and by senior officers, the Times reported that most of the senior military personnel "seemed to have either capitulated or gone underground." From the way the Times detailed the situation, people were happy with the coup and the junior officers had previously been ferocious; thus the senior officers were afraid of them and the citizenry. 

However, a classified document sent by Guinea's chargé d’affaires, Elizabeth Raspolic, to the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, detailed in September, nearly three month's before President Conté's death, that junior officers had a detailed plan in place to execute a military coup d'etat. The secret document goes on to detail that a core group of junior officers met with the US defense attaché, informing the US government of plans to "orchestrate" a coup in the "coming weeks," with the US thus becoming an accessory, supporting them by not informing their host government.

 

Guinea

Though Captain Camara [rank mentioned as equivalent to major in Pentagon documents] did not attend the meeting with the US defense attaché, Raspolic details that he had intentions to do so, but was unable to because he was kept under constant surveillance by Guinean intelligence. 

The information provided by the coup plotters to the US government was quite extensive, even their plans to close off the airport and prevent the son of President Conté, described as a major drug trafficker in the document, from resisting the assault. When the junior officers, called the 19th Promotion in other classified documents,  met with the US defense attaché on the 26th of September, they still had not decided President Conté's fate. They were "divided" on whether to "ask" him to resign.

Most shockingly, the classified documents detail that the US Embassy in Conakry was kept appraised of multiple failed coups beforehand, and even of attempts by the 19th Promotion to influence members of the Red Berets, the President's security guard; men who could easily poison Conté. 

President Conté

On the 20th of October, embassy officials met with Thierno Balde, a youth leader who told the US that it was possible the coup plotters would wait until President Conté "dies" before "stepping in." By the end of October, the US Embassy began seeing a surge in applications for urgent-travel visas by a large number of senior military officers. Apparently the French Embassy in Conakry is kept under a certain measure of surveillance, with a contact telling the US that other senior officers were also going there to apply for visas. 

In November there was silence, and then in December, just before President Conté's death, Thierno Balde told the US Embassy that he would organize a grass-roots movement, instead of trying to arrange a coup. Fortunately for Thierno Balde, the 19th Promotion, and their contacts in the Red Berets, the President mysteriously died and the coup was able to be swiftly executed without the need for a mass social uprising. 

Camara would go on to rule for less than a year, with his legacy tarnished by a massacre of more than 150 people in the capital, Conakry.  Shortly after the massacre, Camara was shot in the head by his aide-de-camp, cutting short what was likely to be a long period of authoritarian rule not much different from his predecessor. Captain Camara survived the shooting that killed his bodyguard and driver, but had to go into exile for medical treatment.

Guinea, one of the world's top producers of bauxite, continued exporting the mineral after the coup and after Camara fled, stunting any real opposition in the international community to the political instability in the country. 

 

Source: Wikileaks; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 [Warning to US personnel: public disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents' classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.]

Leaked Cables: US Bureau of International Information Programs Used to Counter Conspiracy Theories, has Over 700 "American Spaces" Abroad

A series of documents leaked by former US Army Private Chelsea Manning has shed some light on the secretive Bureau of International Information Programs [IIP,] which is responsible for engaging foreign individuals in private conversation with the goal of advancing "U.S. policy priorities and goals." Further, the IIP is responsible for hosting "American Spaces," which are essentially foreign bases used in America's propaganda war against the world.

The IIP emerged out of the restructuring which eliminated the United States Information Agency, which itself arose after President Eisenhower said: "Audiences would be more receptive to the American message if they were kept from identifying it as propaganda."

Today there are over 700 "spaces" in nearly 170 countries around the world. According to the State Department's website, these "American Spaces" are generally located outside of cities, in places where most individuals are likely to harbor anti-US sentiment, and where US embassy officials can engage local residents.

It's unclear exactly where each "American Space" is located on the map, as is the case with US military bases -- no one knows exactly how many there are, much less where they are all located -- but one thing is certain from US diplomatic cables: Nigeria is a hotspot of IIP activity.

A secure document sent by the US Embassy in Nigeria shortly after the attacks of September the 11th show that the United States was extremely concerned about the rise of conspiracy theories in the Nigerian Media alleging that Israel was responsible for the attacks which initiated America's War on Terror. Shortly after the attacks which destroyed the Twin Towers and damaged the Pentagon, Nigeria's Weekly Trust reported that: "4000 Israelis, tipped off by the Israeli government, stayed away from work on September 11."

Amb. Jeter

More worryingly for the US Embassy in Nigeria, the Weekly Trust had become the first paper to deliver an "outright expression of support for Bin Laden." At the time, the Trust wrote: "While we sympathize with all nations and families that lost their members in the WTC attack and hope that actual truth behind it will one day be discovered, we have chosen today to side with the Taliban and pray for the safety of Bin Laden or his martyrdom. America has accused them unjustifiably"

Former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Howard Jeter, wrote that the United States needed to confront such allegations in the media, and recommended that: "We may need to consider how IIP can counter this kind of disinformation." Nigerian papers tend to reflect the opinions of elites who speak English and, accordingly, this represented tremendous risk for the US when it came to its influence in the country, especially considering the fear at-the-time that oil supplies could be disrupted as part of a post-9/11 jihadi attack plot.

Five weeks after Ambassador Jeter sent his suggestion to Washington that the IIP counter 9/11 conspiracy theories, President George W. Bush delivered a speech, proclaiming: "Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories concerning the attacks of September 11th -- malicious lies that attempt to shift blame away from the terrorists themselves, away from the guilty." It was apparent that Ambassador Jeter's cable had been delivered and read with great concern.

Diplomatic cables sent before the invasion of Iraq make it apparent that articles in a country's local media were to be reported to the IIP if they promoted conspiracies which could affect the US invasion. A January, 2003 cable sent to the IIP from the United Arab Emirates reported on an article by Naeem Qadah in the newspaper Al Khaleej which was highly critical of the Middle East Partnership Initiative, alleging that it was a "conspiracy to achieve Zionist ambitions."

By 2004, the IIP had begun to broaden its operations, with a cable sent from Nigeria relaying that "American Muslims are effective speakers, and moderate Islamic voices [are] necessary to counter extremists' views and the anti-US government, anti-West conspiracy theories common in the north. With the growth of the Internet among journalists and easier access to wire services, traditional US government products such as Washington File stories are difficult to place as the same information can be easily obtained from a non-partisan news source."

This essentially meant that it was becoming harder to plant partisan information in the media. In February of the same year, the English-language Al-Hurra satellite channel launched, with President Bush proclaiming in a speech: "To cut through the barriers of hateful propaganda, the Voice of America and other broadcast services are expanding their programming in Arabic and Persian. And soon, a new television service will begin providing reliable news and information across the region." 

Nonetheless, the launch of Al-Hurra still meant that the US needed to closely monitor the media for anti-American conspiracies. In July of 2004, the Kuwait Embassy sent the IIP  a cable reporting on an article titled "Locate the Beneficiary" in which the columnist wrote: "America's failure in nation-building is a success for Israel and a massive let-down for Iraq. Sabotaging Iraq's march toward stability is Israel's doing."

In January, 2005, the Bangladesh Embassy sent the IIP a cable reporting on a columnist who'd written: "Occupiers have been trying to incite a civil war in Iraq. Iraq's future will plunge into serious uncertainty if their attempts succeed." Two months later, the Bengali mission sent the IIP another cable, relaying information on a columnist who opined: "[Bush] occupied Afghanistan and Iraq on false pretexts. The United States is now mad to exert its control over the entire Middle East. It is the Americans' most important condition to retain its supremacy as the number one imperialist country."

In June, 2005, the IIP received a cable from the United Arab Emirates, where a columnist wrote that there existed a conspiracy to desecrate the Koran in Guantanamo and that: "The US should also close Guantamamo and release all of the detainees, or try them before a fair court should they be guilty." 

In March, 2006, a writer in the United Arab Emirates was reported to the IIP for criticizing US interference in Iraq's worsening sectarian violence: "The American Secretary of Defense unintentionally disclosed the occupation's lie through his latest statement, when he said that his forces would not interfere were a civil war to be waged, and that the mission of putting out the flames of civil war would fall on the shoulders of the Iraqi forces, while he knows very well that these forces need more training, especially in the area of dealing with civil wars."

In July of that year, another writer's name in the UAE was sent to the IIP for writing in response to a US veto on behalf of Israel: "What happened yesterday in the UN Security Council demonstrates America's efforts to ensure international impotence. Israeli aggression is quite clear to the international community, but no action was able to come forth to deter conflict or even condemn Israel." 

Another cable sent to the IIP a week later from the UAE and in response to the same veto castigated a writer for opining: "The current situation has revealed not only American reluctance to deter Israeli aggression, but a full-fledged conspiracy... This gives the slaughterer [Israeli PM] Olmert and his army a strong signal that they may continue their aggression without fearing any repercussions."

On the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the US Embassy in Oman sent a cable reporting: "Columnists in government-owned 'Oman' suggested that 9/11 was an Israeli conspiracy and that the post-9/11 U.S. 'adventure' has made the world less secure."

In March of 2007, a cable sent from Oman -- specifying even that the newspaper had a circulation of 42,000 -- forwarded the IIP an editorial which claimed: "We have repeatedly mentioned that Israel doesn't want peace, nor is it seeking help to achieve peace. The very existence of the Israeli government is based on the continuation and escalation of tension in the Middle East, so it can continue to pretend to be a weak country which needs support and help. They need to financially blackmail other countries to survive... The Palestinians are facing a great conspiracy against their cause."

In May of 2007, the IIP heard from the UAE Embassy: "While Cheney speaks of the liberation of fifty million people from dictatorship, he does not mention the four million Iraqi refugees, tens of thousands dead, hundreds of thousands wounded and disabled and the Iraqi widows and orphans... He sees with one eye only and therein lies the American catastrophe, stupidity or conspiracy." 

In October of 2008, the Pakistan mission relayed to the IIP: "Pashtun soil was being destabilized under a conspiracy. 'U.S. wants to occupy the natural resources of the region and using Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda as tools to justify its presence in the area." 

In January, 2009, a writer's name in Pakistan was passed along to the IIP for writing: "Pakistan urgently needs to replace the 'U.S.-slave' leadership with honest and patriotic people in order to survive the internal strife and external conspiracies threatening its very existence."

In May, 2009, a writer in Oman was reported to the IIP for writing in his weekly column: "Israel is the Main Culprit Behind Piracy."

In August of 2009, the IIP got wind of an opinion column about US plans to establish a military base in Colombia: "President Lula was not convinced that Alvaro Uribe and Barack Obama are not colluding in a conspiracy to militarily conquer South America, starting with Venezuela. After two hours of conversations with Uribe, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim reported that President Lula was still fearful that U.S. troops may take actions outside the Colombian territory."  

And so it goes, writers around the world have to pen their words with the knowledge that US embassies are keeping close tabs on newspapers. What's striking about most of the hundreds of diplomatic cables that Abreu Report analyzed for this story is that oftentimes, people who were making very articulate comments in defense of the US were also mentioned to the IIP. 

The IIP is targeting anyone who has a high media profile in their respective countries, or who has the intellectual and technological knowledge to start a website exposing US abuses. 

Advancing US Policy in Ukraine

Today, the IIP hosts multi-day, interactive workshops known as "Techcamps." From the look of Techcamps' website, which even has a Wiki section, one would barely be able to guess its parent group's true intentions.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 [Warning to US personnel: public disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents' classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.]

Leaked Cables Shed Light on Mystery American Behind Philippine Presidential Assassination Conspiracy

Pres. Marcos

On Saturday, the 26th of November, 1972, the Milwaukee Journal reported that a US citizen and former Vietnam veteran by the name of Edward Lehman had been apprehended for being the alleged trigger man in a "rightist conspiracy" against the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. The Journal reported that Lehman was "one of several Americans involved in the attempt to kill Marcos," with Lawrence Tractman implicated as a Hong Kong contact.

The Chicago Tribune, however, would go on to report on the 16th of December that the alleged shooter's real name was in fact August McCormick Lehman, a native of Tennessee. Further, Lawrence Tractman was identified by the Chicago Tribune as Lawrence Truckman of California.

On February, 1977 the Washington Post identified Lawrence Truckman as Lorry Tractman, and detailed that August McCormick Lehman had been sentenced to 6 years hard labor for the assassination plot, but that his treatment had been:

"Unusual for a person accused of so serious a crime... allowed to marry the daughter of an officer in Marcos' personal security forces. The wedding was held at the presidential palace, Marcos' security chief gave the bride away and the president himself congratulated the groom. Lehman and his wife and baby have been living in a detention house in the officers' section of one of Manila's military camps."

The next year, in 1978, the Washington Post would detail that Mr. Lehman had been pardoned, and that he had "expressed his loyalty to Marcos and has been set up in Manila export business by Marcos' intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Fabian Ver." General Ver was the type of character whose own son suspected he had killed Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. due to his opposition to President Marcos' martial law decree.

On the 21st of September, 1972 President Marcos declared martial law and assumed emergency powers. According to the Philippines Official Gazette:

Sen. Benigno jr.

"A week before the actual declaration of Martial Law, a number of people had already received information that Marcos had drawn up a plan to completely take over the government and gain absolute rule. Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr., during a September 13, 1972 privilege speech, exposed what was known as “Oplan Sagittarius.” The Senator said he had received a top-secret military plan given by Marcos himself to place Metro Manila and outlying areas under the control of the Philippine Constabulary as a prelude to Martial Law. Marcos was going to use a series of bombings in Metro Manila, including the 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing, as a justification for his takeover and subsequent authoritarian rule."

Senator Benigno Jr. was, naturally, arrested after delivering his speech and would later be assassinated in the 1980s after returning from exile. It thus behooves the mind that a brutal dictator not afraid to murder important political figures somehow decided to express sympathy for one Mr. Lehman. Who was that mystery American, and how was he able to rehabilitate himself after attempting to assassinate a power-hungry, ruthless autocrat?

Leaked diplomatic cables from the Henry Kissinger State Department show that US Embassy officials in Manila believed that a military tribunal would have "undoubtedly little difficulty in finding Mr. Lehman guilty of conspiracy to assassinate [Marcos,]" suggesting that it was in his best interest not to press for an "early trial or release." [1]

When US Embassy officials met with General Ver in April of 1973, they worried that they had not had contact with Mr. Lehman in months, but the General told them that "failure to arrange a meeting with consul on one occasion might have been because Lehman had not wished any visitors." [2] Embassy officials would later go on to describe General Ver as "figuratively" holding the key to Lehman's cell door. [6]

The story takes an interesting turn when the month after, in May of 1973, the State Department sends a cable to the Manila Embassy asking for "reports on routine visits" with Lehman. The cable itself admits it is unusual to ask for reports on routine visits, but that there was "interest" in the case due to "special facts." [3]

Two months later, in July of 1973, the State Department sent a cable to Manila concerning Mr. Lehman, but it has been sealed under Executive Order and was not leaked along with the rest of the Kissinger cache. [4] The month after, the embassy learned that Mr. Lehman had been charged with "conspiracy," something which baffled US officials because there was no conspiracy statute in Philippine law. [5] Nonetheless, the charges seemed to not bother Mr. Lehman, and he would later go on to refuse hiring counsel. [7]

A subsequent cable, from November of 1973, informs the US Embassy in Manila that there was no basis in US law to revoke Mr. Lehman's passport and force his return to the United States. This indicates that officials in Manila wanted to forced Mr. Lehman to return to the US should he be released. [8]

By December of the same year, embassy officials visiting Mr. Lehman seemed to indicate that he would soon be freed, but by January had lost hope and felt resigned to staying in prison for a long time. [9] [10] There was no explanation given for the change in attitude, but cables sent in May, July, August, and September of 1974 indicate that something was going on at very high levels; the cables are sealed under Executive Order. [11] [12] [13] [14]

A second cable from September begins to shed light on the fact that the US government was hiding information from Mr. Lehman and his family; President Marcos met a US delegation and told them that he needed Mr. Lehman's confession to put pressure on the families of two other co-conspirators. [15]

According to a cable sent in December of 1974 by none other than Henry Kissinger himself, there was extreme "congressional interest" in the Lehman case. [16] Subsequent cables after Kissinger's message are sealed under Executive order. [17] [18] [19] [20]

After Kissinger's intervention, it becomes apparent that President Marcos was persuaded to allow US officials to talk to Mr. Lehman without the presence of Philippine guards in the visitation room. At that point, Mr. Lehman began singing like the conspiratorial canary:

"In explaining his role in plot to assassinate President Marcos, Lehman told de Joya [lawyer] that he came to Philippines on June 20, 1972 to assist Larry Tractman in a scheme to extract money from former Senator Sergio Osmena Jr. He said that at no time was there any intention on his part of killing President Marcos, but that his job was to pass as a firearms expert, an area in which he claims to have no expertise. Following his arrival in Philippines he claimed to have worked on several weapons which were given to him, damaging them so they would become unusable. Although he admitted fashioning a silencer for a rifle and being flown to Osmena's ranch in Cebu [island] to test it, he informed De Joya that it was ineffective. In Lehman's discussion of his relationship with Larry Tractman, he expressed his opinion that Tractman was also being paid by President Marcos to arrange Osmena's alleged assassination plans to fail." [21]

Upon telling his side of the story to Mr. De Joya and the embassy official, Mr. Lehman decided not to retain the services of Mr. De Joya because the price was too exorbitant, firing him on the spot. As soon as Mr. De Joya left the room, Mr. Lehman told the embassy official that: "De Joya had been sent by Osmena or Marcos' followers to gather additional information."

This means that the story the former Vietnam veteran told about not being a weapons expert but still having enough knowledge to prevent the armaments from functioning was a complete fabrication, something to throw De Joya off.

By May of 1975, Mr. Lehman was ready to act as state witness in exchange for a reduced sentence. During a brief court recess, he told US Embassy officials that he could "blow up" the entire government case, and feared that they "might try to kill him" in order to prevent this.  [22]

When the first hearing was held, Mr. Lehman testified that he and Larry Tractman had procured a Winchester .270 rifle, and that a third American -- Pincus -- had been hired because of his mafia connections in New York. Mr. Lehman stuck to the story he had told his previous lawyer, De Joya, about not knowing of the plot to kill Marcos before landing in the Philippines, that he could not reveal the plot because a conspirator was a relative of former vice-President Lopez and that this would guarantee his death if he revealed the plot to President Marcos. [23]

The case against Lehman began to unravel at the next hearing, with former Manila Mayoral candidate Eduardo Figueras testifying that Senator Sergio Osmena Jr. and Larry Tractman were the brains behind the operation. Figueras told the court that when he and Tractman traveled to New York, they met with Sam Cummins, a US arms dealer, who convinced them to use the explosive chemical astropac during a state visit by Indonesian President Suharto, but when the explosive failed, they imported Mr. Lehman, described by Figueras as a "gunman." [24]

By June of 1975, the case against Lehman took an even worse turn, and the charges against him were elevated from "conspiracy to assassinate the president" to "rebellion." On the 9th of June, Lehman phoned the embassy twice, and told them he had seen an affidavit wherein a Philippine intelligence operative serving as witness for the state names Ambassador Henry Byroade and then-defense attache Colonel Alfred Patterson as being involved in the plot against Pres. Marco. [25]

Ambassadorial hitman?

After Mr. Lehman spoke on the phone about Ambassador Byroade and Colonel Patterson, his fortune improved dramatically and astronomically. Two months later, in August of 1975, Mr. Lehman had redeemed himself, and he was getting married, in a wedding attended by General Ver. They had decided to allow him to establish a corporation to "procure automotive and equipment spare parts from the US for the Philippine government," with General Ver becoming by Philippine custom his "compadre." [26]

Ambassador Byroade, a Brigadier General by age 32, was intimately involved in the overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh, the liberal Iranian leader whose fall followed decades of the US-backed dictatorship that fed the rise of the Islamic Republic. In a 1956 telegram sent to London, Amb. Byroade wrote regarding Mossadegh's plans to nationalize Anglo-American oil companies in Iran: "What we were trying to do really is to set up a big cartel which is contrary to American domestic economic policies, but that's what we thought the foreign affairs of the United States required."

Ambassador Byroade was on a "skiing trip" in Iran shortly before the US-installed Shah fell and the Ayatollah Khomeini rose to power with his Islamic Revolution.

The Manila embassy had a couple of more meetings with Mr. Lehman after he sang on Ambassador Byroade over the phone, in 1977 and 1978, but the diplomatic cables from those two meetings are shrouded in so much secrecy that not even their original classification is made available, only the fact that they were sent. [27] [28] After those meetings, Lehman became a ghost.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 [Warning to US personnel: public disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents' classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.]  

Meeting With US Drug Enforcement Agency May Have Led to Assassination of Dominican Lieutenant Colonel, Diplomatic Cables Divulge

On the 24th of December, 2009, Jose Amado Gonzalez Gonzalez, a former lieutenant colonel in the Dominican National Police, was killed gangland-style in an upscale neighborhood of Santo Domingo, the Caribbean nation's capital.

Gonzalez' murder scandalized the nation, especially because two colonels attached to the DNCD, the Dominican Republic's drug control agency, were subsequently arrested in connection to the murder. This led to wanton suspicion in the Dominican media that Dominican security services had been infiltrated at the highest levels by elements with connections to international drug cartels; suspicions which cables leaked by former US Army Private Chelsea Manning detail to have been shared by the United States.

A cable sent from the US Embassy in Santo Domingo to Washington in February of 2005 records a conversation between the US Ambassador and at-the-time President Leonel Fernandez in which the Ambassador told Pres. Fernandez that the US had concerns about General Manuel de Jesus Florentino y Florentino, the head of the DNI, the Dominican Republic's intelligence directorate. [1]

According to the February, 2005 cable, the United States suspected that General Florentino had links to Captain Quirino Paulino Castillo, who had previously been charged with mass drug trafficking.

General Florentino's connections to the Dominican President were deep, as he had previously been head of Pres. Fernandez' security detail. Though Pres. Fernandez defended General Florentino, saying he had known him to be a law-abiding citizen, he agreed to the US Embassy's request to have him replaced, asking for input in selecting the next head of the country's intelligence agency.

In that same February diplomatic cable, President Fernandez admitted to the US Ambassador that Dominican military officials routinely skim "10% of resources that pass through their hands as a 'commission,'" and added that he had retired 100 generals and planned to retire a further 100, but he cautioned that he needed to move slowly because his own position could be in jeopardy if he were to challenge the military. Pres. Fernandez gave the US Ambassador the very distinct impression that he feared a military coup, or that perhaps he could end up like Lieutenant Colonel Jose Amado Gonzalez Gonzalez: executed by his own confederates.

If indeed President Fernandez was afraid of the extent to which the Dominican military, the intelligence service (DNI,) and the drug enforcement directorate (DNCD) had been infiltrated by drug traffickers, then perhaps it explains why he has been recently accused of taking money from Captain Quirino Paulino Castillo, who just last year was released from confinement in the United States. There was difficulty in sentencing Captain Paulino, especially because after his arrival back to the Dominican Republic last year he implicated President Fernandez in his drug-trafficking conspiracy.

If Captain Paulino did indeed tell the truth about funding President Fernandez' campaign to the tune of millions, then it calls into question President Fernandez' assertion that he was afraid of a military coup by his officers, and it indicates that he continued the same "programs" he inherited from his predecessor, President Mejia. In fact, it also brings into question how two colonels in the DNCD were able to learn that Lieutenant Colonel Gonzalez was scheduled to talk to the US Drug Enforcement Agency.

Jose Figueroa Agosto

In a diplomatic cable sent in December of 2009, Lt. Col. Gonzalez is described as the chief of security of one Jose Figueroa Agosto, a convicted Puerto Rican drug trafficker who escaped US federal custody to the Dominican Republic in 1999. [2]

Figueroa Agosto was the Caribbean's El Chapo before El Chapo, a trafficker dating celebrities and with enough pull to escape even out of US federal prison. He was described by US prosecutors as being aided by corrupt Dominican officials.

The December 2009 cable details how, in an audacious phone call to one of the main radio shows in the Dominican Republic, Jose Figueroa Agosto alleged that: "DNCD officers had killed Gonzalez in order to cover up a one million dollar bribe that Gonzalez had paid to them to secure his freedom." Tragically for Lt. Col. Gonzalez, someone at the top was afraid of what he had to say about the escape of Figueroa Agosto, with the Dec. 2009 cable detailing that someone in the Dominican Public Ministry had "possible complicity in outing Gonzalez's apparent cooperation with authorities."

During Mr. Figueroa Agosto's phone call to Dominican radio, he alleged that the head of DNCD operations was directly involved in a massive drug trafficking conspiracy. When asked if he had contact with high-ranking members of the Dominican government, Mr. Figueroa Agosto left open the possibility that he had enjoyed contact with high-ranking members of the Dominican government.

Mr. Figueroa Agosto's refusal to deny if he had met with high-ranking Dominican officials is perhaps the best indication as to how the two DNCD colonels implicated in the death of Lt. Colonel Gonzalez learned that he was scheduled to meet with the US Drug Enforcement Agency. Either the individuals in the Dominican drug directorate were aware of who the US Drug Enforcement Agency sent to the Dominican Republic, or someone at the very top had informed the DNCD that Lt. Colonel Gonzalez was going to speak with US federal authorities, someone in the Dominican Foreign Ministry. Disconcertingly, the Foreign Ministry leads to the Presidential Palace.  

Indications are the United States government feared that anyone willing to speak out against the Foreign Ministry would be taken out. And indeed, a subsequent cable sent after President Fernandez and the US Ambassador met in February of 2005 details how desperate the United States was for the Dominican Republic to agree to Captain Paulino's extradition, worrying that he could be assassinated in Dominican prison. [3]

Capt. Quirino Paulino

Capt. Paulino was being kept in isolation at DNCD headquarters, a place under constant US surveillance where the list of suspects in his murder would be small, as opposed to the island's main prison. Capt. Paulino was eventually moved to the main prison, but was promptly returned to the DNCD after the island's Attorney General warned him of "credible evidence of an international conspiracy" against him. An apparently shaken Paulino told his lawyers not to contest the prison move, indicating that the threat came from very high up.

US officials believed that Colombian drug traffickers and Dominican politicians wouldn't want to be linked to Captain Paulino if he spoke after being extradited to the US, but the indication seems to be that Figueroa Agosto was afraid that Capt. Paulino would speak against him, or perhaps give away his assets.

These assets were allegedly moved through Baninter [Dominican International Bank] with

the help of Pepe Goico, who is described by US diplomats as the "bagman" for "payments made by Ramon Baez Figueroa of the now-failed Baninter to support the presidential travel of President Hipolito Mejia."

Baninter bank, whose fall nearly precipitated a calamity in the Latin American economy, was bailed out by President Mejia, nearly crippling the Dominican economy in the process.

Pepe Goico

The link between Baninter, Captain Quirino Paulino, President Mejia, and even the the Vice-President of the Senate, are established. The US believed that, given the "scale" of his operation, Capt. Paulino had to have been working "with Colombian cocaine wholesalers and bringing the drugs across the border from Haiti, probably by helicopter;" a helicopter which was purchased from Baninter bagman and informal Presidential Travel Manager Pepe Goico.

If there is any indication that transportation for major drug shipments was being provided by high-ranking elements within the Dominican government of President Mejia, then the fact that diplomatic cables lay out that Captain Quirino Paulino was driving a Mercedes 500 sedan "imported duty-free using an authorization issued to Senate Vice-President Csar Matas of [President] Mejia's Party" should help clear some doubt.

Vice-President Matas defended himself by alleging that he had "transferred the authorization to a dealer," something which is against Dominican law. Nonetheless, Vice-President Matas was never charged with a crime, nor did he ever have to deeply explain why the biggest drug trafficker in the Dominican Republic was driving a car obtained illegally with his assistance. The head of Baninter didn't have to clarify if any of the squandered money came from massive drug trafficking, and former President Mejia ran for re-election without the implosion and bail-out of Baninter and subsequent economic crash making him an enemy of the state.

Even US diplomats acknowledge that the Dominican media failed to dig up the fact that Captain Paulino's "farms in Elias Piña were providing military outposts there with provisions, free of charge."

It seems that in an international drug trafficking conspiracy so complex that it implicates: Colombian drug cartels; two Dominican presidential administrations; two international drug kingpins; the Vice-President of the Dominican Senate; members of the Dominican Chamber of Deputies; members of the Dominican Drug directorate; members of the Dominican intelligence agency; members of the Dominican army; and maybe possibly the CIA... only the Puerto Rican guy takes the fall for murder, and is the only one serving real prison time.

Today, everyone except the Puerto Rican Jose Figueroa Agosto -- who will likely die before his hundreds year sentence in US federal prison is up -- will enjoy freedom and wealth in the tropical paradise that is the Dominican Republic.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4 [Warning to US personnel: public disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents' classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.]