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Contras, French Connection: exporting tolerances
Beyond American borders, the same logic is replayed in other forms. When the CIA supported the Contras against the Sandinistas in the 1980s, cocaine trafficking in the largest market, North America, financed the dirty war in Central America. Years later, official reports admit that the agency knew, but let it happen. Geopolitical priorities took precedence over morality. The result? A generation of traffickers and mercenaries, recycled into the kingpins of the Central American diaspora in Los Angeles. It’ s not the first time: in post-war France, American services had already supported Corsican networks on the Marseilles docks to counter the Communist unions. This support gave rise to the mythical French Connection, the world’ s heroin hub. This trafficking was also felt in the black community of the Americas, where Frank Lucas and Rick Ross built up insolent fortunes, not without the“ rumors” of their collusion with the country’ s authorities. The same strategy, the same paradox: tolerate crime to fight a greater, or rather more hated, enemy.
Flashmag! Edition 165 Octobre 2025
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