The Kerry Committee report, formally titled ''Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy'', was the final report of an investigation by the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...
's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations.
The report examined the problems that drug cartels and drug money laundering in South and Central America and the Caribbean posed for American law enforcement and foreign policy. The Sub-Committee was chaired at the time by
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
Senator
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
from
, so that the report is often referred to under his name.
The report was released on April 13, 1989,
[ ''Hosted on National Security Archives''] and included discussions of drug trafficking in the Bahamas, Colombia, Cuba and Nicaragua, Haiti, Honduras, and Panama. The longest chapter in the report was on narcotics trafficking and the
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
n
Contras
The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...
. The Subcommittee determined that there was "substantial evidence of drug smuggling... on the part of individual Contras, Contra suppliers, Contra pilots, mercenaries who worked with the Contras, and Contra supporters". It "did not find that Contra leaders were personally involved in drug trafficking".
Background
Press accounts concerning links between the
Contras
The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...
and drug traffickers, which began with a December 1985 story by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, led to a review by the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
,
U.S. Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
and relevant
U.S. intelligence agencies in 1986. In April 1986, the State Department informed Congress that it had "evidence of a limited number of incidents in which known drug traffickers tried to establish connections with Nicaraguan resistance groups."
Hearings begin
In April 1986,
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
and Senator
Christopher Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's histor ...
, a Democrat from
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, proposed that hearings be conducted by the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...
regarding charges of
Contra
Contra may refer to:
Places
* Contra, Virginia
* Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California
* Contra Costa County, California
* Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland ...
involvement in
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
and
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
trafficking
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
. Senator
Richard Lugar
Richard Green Lugar (April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party.
Born in Indianapolis, Lugar graduated from De ...
of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, the Republican chairman of the committee, agreed to conduct the hearings.
Findings
The Kerry Committee report found that "the Contra drug links included... Payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies."
Reception
The report did not initially receive significant news coverage. Some of its allegations were reintroduced into public discourse during the 1996 series ''
Dark Alliance'' by reporter
Gary Webb
Gary Stephen Webb (August 31, 1955 – December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist.
He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative ...
at ''The San Jose Mercury News''.
See also
*
Allegations of CIA drug trafficking
In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions.
*
CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking
A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in the Nicaraguan Contras' cocaine trafficking operations during the 1980s Nicaraguan civil war. These claims have led to investigations b ...
References
External links
The Kerry Committee report (does not include appendices)Kerry Committee Hearings Volume 1: Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy (incomplete)Kerry Committee Hearings Volume 2: Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy – PanamaKerry Committee Hearings Volume 3: Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy – The Cartel, Haiti and Central America
Further reading
* {{cite book
, last = McCoy
, first = Alfred W.
, author-link = Alfred W. McCoy
, date = May 1, 2003
, title =
The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia, The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade
, publisher = Lawrence Hill Books
, isbn = 1-55652-483-8
Central Intelligence Agency
John Kerry
History of drug control
Iran–Contra affair