
The (1) Daily Kos notes how there were apparently four individuals onboard the plane when it crashed. Initially only one was captured, though two more were caught by authorities later. The names of the three men and one woman that are believed to have been aboard the aircraft were not released.
CIA Plains and Drugs
The Gulfstream II was used by the CIA for several flights between the East coast of the United States and Guantanamo Bay from 2003 to 2005. According to reports, records from the Federal Aviation Association list the aircraft as being owned by Atef Hanna of Tarpon Springs Florida.
“To be honest with relation to the crew of the Gulfstream II N987SA the Mexican government is being pretty damn silent,” writes the Daily Kos.
However, at the time of the crash, the plane is believed to have been registered with Donna Blue Aircraft Inc. According to (2) Top Conspiracies, Donna Blue Aircraft was a front for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Claims have also been made that the ICE sold the plane to Drug Enforcement Agency suspected drug smugglers as part of an undercover operation prior to the crash.
An undercover agent from the ICE, Don Whittington, is currently under investigation for allegedly laundering profits from the sale of the aircraft and other likes it, which were apparently used in drug smuggling raids, from a Colorado Springs resort and spa.
Evidence of CIA’s Involvement
Other evidence of the CIA’s involvement in allowing cocaine trafficking in support of intelligence efforts can be found on the CIA’s online library.
A (3) report of Investigation Concerning Allegations of Connections Between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States, dates to January 29, 1998.
The allegations go back to 1996 when the San Jose Mercury published a series of reports alleging that the CIA was involved with cocaine smuggling. Known as the “Dark Alliance” series, the articles claimed that cocaine was:
“…virtually unobtainable in black neighborhoods before members of the CIA’s army – the Nicaraguan Contras – started bringing it into South Central Los Angeles in the 1980s.”
The articles made claim that a former Contra leader and a cocaine supplier to a LA drug dealer, Danilo Blandon, had testified in court that the profits from the cocaine supported the Contras. The newspaper reports also made claim that Blandon’s attorney had concluded Blandon was selling cocaine for the CIA.
The damning articles stated that Norwin Meneses, a well-known drugs trafficker who had been connected with the Contras and that the CIA, had deliberately hampered a criminal investigation related to drug trafficking.
CIA Claims No Connection
Though, after an investigation by the CIA to analyse the connections between these men and other individuals associated with drug trafficking, the CIA claims it had never had a relationship with Danilo Blandon or Norwin Meneses. However, Meneses says he was associated with the Contras.

Another (4) document available to view on the CIA archives dates to August 1984. The document relates to a former bail bondsman who was charged with being the “biggest mastermind behind the largest cocaine trafficking ring in the nation’s history.”
Amid the charges was that the CIA had allowed the alleged drug trafficker to deal cocaine in exchange for information.
According to court documents filed by defense attorneys, the accused drugs trafficker, Harold Rosenthal, was recruited by the CIA to spy on two Columbian Marxist terrorist groups, the M-19s and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Command of Columbia).
As (5) Top Secret Writers reported in 2016, an article on Veterans Today (VT) makes claim that the CIA not only supports the Afghanistan drug trafficking, but also designed the “Afghan narcotics economy.” According to VT the Afghan narcotic trade was “one of the reasons for invasion of Afghanistan by the US.”
When it comes to the CIA’s involvement in the trafficking of narcotics in support of intelligence efforts, there is certainly many who believe the evidence is there that suggests the CIA has been involved in drugs trafficking to support its work.
References & Image Credits:
1 Daily Kos
2 Top Conspiracies
3 CIA Gov
4 CIA Gov
5 Top Secret Writers