Advertisement. "I initiated a grand jury investigation in relation to money laundering through the Mena airport in 1985," Hutchinson said Friday. Things became worse when a report in the Washington Times on July 17 . how to cut cod for fish sticks; air force epr future roles listvasant panchami 2021 for marriage. Hahn was part of the task force that pursued Seal in the 1980s. He said, according to Brown, Thats Lasaters deal, thats Lasaters deal.. Seemingly panicked, the White House mistakenly presumed that Brown was talking to ABC News about his involvement with Mena when he was actually discussing Whitewater. In 1994, Brown told Daniel Wattenberg of The American Spectator that Jim Guy Tucker, then the Arkansas governor had asked him and trooper Larry Patterson for compromising information on Clintons private life in 1990, when Tucker was contemplating a race for governor. Executing secret missions for the government in the movie might add a sort of patriotism and redeeming quality to his character, but in real life Barry Seal was a drug smuggler first and foremost. And for thirty years, every attempt to get to the bottom of events at Menafederal, state, judicial, journalistichas failed. He then was able to get a meeting with Vice President George H.W. I knew the agency had an extensive file on Seal, Leveritt wrote, because Id read it decades earlier, shortly after Seals murder. Conspiracy theorists have gone as far as suggesting that the government ordered the hit on Seal, not the cartel, a suggestion that has never been supported by any proof. Phone Number: (602) 256- KDYM +1 phone. Counterrevolutionaries, known as Contras, were battling the Sandinistas. When he returned to Little Rock, he called his brother Dwayne. Asa Hutchinson was U.S. attorney for Arkansas' Western District in the early 1980s. Hahn told Vice that Barry was likable but "not as smart and clever as he thought he was. The arrests never happened since Seal's cover was blown. Concurrently, they had to make sure not to raise the suspicions of the ruthless Colombian drug lords. "We're talking about one of the largest drug smugglers in America, and these agents loved him." It is believed that the Colombians put a hit out on Barry after they learned he was going to help the feds with the extradition of Jorge Ochoa from Spain, one of the heads of the Medelln Cartel. "There are also allegations that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency used the airport as a base of operations to help train pilots and troops for the intervention in the Nicaraguan uprising by the Contras during the 1980s," according to the encyclopedia entry, which was written by Robert Sherwood of Georgia Military College. In the 2017 Doug Liman-directed movie "American Made," which was previously titled "Mena," Deborah DuBois, the third wife of Barry Seal, was portrayed by the character Lucy. I first traveled to Mena in 1994, reporting for the Wall Street Journal editorial page. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. . But there were still questions regarding the Mena airport and people who worked there, according to the FBI memo. Current Address: ZGFJ N 18th St, Phoenix, AZ. var sc_project=5585388; The life of the former TWA pilot, Barry Seal, inspired the film. Her character in the American Made movie is much more aware and suspicious of her husband's activities, stating that she flat out doesn't trust him, which is the opposite of Seal's real-life wife. Question: Was Barry Seal's C-123K aircraft (serial number 54-File: Attachment Size; DOC_0001289717.pdf: 37.21 KB: . _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-17438127-1']); The pilot of the plane was Barry Seal, a legendary drug trafficker. Though the Clinton machine feared him the most, he showed no intention of breaking his silence until a chain of random events made it inevitable. Msg&data rates may apply. He said the money had been brought back from Tegucigalpa. While there, he had a chance meeting with Jorge Ochoa's New Orleans business manager. Also, view a news story about Barry Seal's death. Past Addresses: See available information. No one responded when she asked if the newly arisen concerns might be political., In the Arkansas Times article, Leveritt pinned her hopes on the new Cruise movie, which opened in 2017 to good reviews. The Sandinistas overthrew Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending 46 years of dictatorship by the Somoza family. It may also never be known whether CIA officials approved or knew of Seals activities, or whether he was operating on his own. A Baton Rouge, Louisiana native, Barry Seal was eventually forced to move his drug smuggling operation after he drew the attention of Louisiana authorities. -Vulture. Seal's mysterious activities have spawned books, movies and a cornucopia of conspiracy theories. The movie proposes that Barry Seal's first foray into smuggling drugs happened in 1980 after he was kidnapped while refueling his plane in Colombia. In the film, his abductors take him to a secret airstrip in the Colombian jungle where three businessmen, including Pablo Escobar, make him an offer he can't pass up. With the publication of The American Spectator article, we expect more. As early as 1982, his firm had been censured by the Arkansas security commissioner for cheating customers. However, when a drug shipment was seized by the DEA, the Medellin Cartel blamed Seal for the loss. Yes. Brown and the co-pilot, who never exchanged any more than a few words, remained on board. He was hired by Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 1964 and at age 26 became one of the youngest Captains operating a Boeing 707. According to author Del Hahn, who wrote the book Smuggler's End, next to Barry's yearbook photo was the description, "Full of fun, full of folly" (TIME). On one CIA-involved mission in 1984, a secret camera in Seals C-123 cargo plane snapped photos of an alleged Sandinista official loading cocaine aboard the aircraft. Seal, a pilot, moved much of his smuggling operation from Baton Rouge to Rich Mountain Aviation at the Mena Intermountain Airport, according to the May 1986 FBI memo. I didnt make the connection then, but it seems significant now: if youre going to secretly run arms to controversial U.S. allies, youll likely want some military support. Back at Mena, Brown says, he and Seal waled to Browns car, a Datsun hatchback, and Seal put one of the duffel bags under the hatchback. -Daily Mail Online, The movie proposes that Barry Seal's first foray into smuggling drugs happened in 1980 after he was kidnapped while refueling his plane in Colombia. Barry Seal's smuggling operation began in Louisiana, and like in the American Made movie, he sometimes pushed packed duffel bags full of drugs out of his plane and into the Atchafalaya basin, to be collected by associates on the ground. The DEA eventually took him up on his offer because of his knowledge and connections to the cartel. File: Attachment Size; He was unaware that a Colombian assassin was hiding behind one of the donation drop boxes. Even before he graduated from Baton Rouge High School in 1957, Seal had already earned his private pilot's wings. Hagan said he didn't know how many pages of material on Seal have yet to be made public by the FBI. Brown says Seal told him theres good money to be had. But Brown, says he was out of that game for good. Fact-checking American Made immediately revealed that Tom Cruise looks nothing like the real Barry Seal, who weighed around 280lbs and was nicknamed "El Gordo" (The Fat Man) by his bosses. "He put the airplane into a parabolic arc and pinned me against the ceiling, and right in that moment, I had this inspiration. No. Yes. Barry Seal, courtesy of the Baton Rouge Advocate. "You know, we're not making a biopic," said director Doug Liman. Wouldn't it be fun if they were fooling around in a plane and the plane went into the same kind of parabolic arc and they got pinned against the ceiling?" "The DEA agents who worked with Barry loved him," said director Doug Liman. Brown still has books that Clinton gave him, one being a bar exam study book in which the politician had made some ironic under-linings. In the least, his exploits with the CIA and agent Monty Schafer in the movie are largely fictional and based on speculation. var sc_partition=60; foundations, and corporations and are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. See Rafael L Mena's age, phone number, house address, email address, social media accounts, public records, and check for criminal records on Spokeo. Brown has identified him as Dan Magruder, and says that he spoke admiringly of Clinton. An indignant Brown began toying with the idea of exposing the corruption of Arkansas politics. His character is inspired by the stories we learned about Barry." It was originally an Air Force transport plane Seal dubbed it the Fat Lady. economic factors affecting media industry, what is lizzo favorite color, delbarton jv soccer roster, sound on sound festival lineup, examples of complementarity of structure and function, barry seal mena house address, christopher hunter son of jeffrey hunter, undefeated documentary where are they now, faran fronczak husband, sacem dico 2 rue . The book was to be called, The Mena File: Barry Seals Ties to Drug Lords and U.S. Officials. Leveritt knew the story well and had researched it earlier, writing about Seals murder and other related events. Mena is the small town in Arkansas where Barry Seal, who was born in Baton Rouge, conducted operations. Barry arrived that evening at approximately 6 p.m. and backed his white Cadillac into a parking space. He also says he told Seal he wanted no part of what was happening; then he left. Ochoa was arrested in Spain on a U.S. warrant, but due to pressure from the cartel was never extradited to the U.S. -Court Documents (STATE of Louisiana v. Miguel VELEZ, Bernardo Vasquez, and Luis Carlos Quintero-Cruz), Yes. "Prior to his death, Seal admitted to smuggling large quantities of cocaine from South America (Columbia) to United States and testified before Senate investigative committee," according to the FBI memo, which referred to a telephone call between agents in Little Rock and Miami. However, her real name is Debbie, not Lucy. Terms & conditions/privacy policy apply. Hadaway. According to investigative records compiled by the Arkansas State Police and other agencies, the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport served as a second home for Barry Seal, a. "There are also allegations that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency used the airport as a base of operations to help train pilots and troops for the intervention in the Nicaraguan uprising by the Contras during the 1980s," according to the encyclopedia entry, which was written by Robert Sherwood of Georgia Military College. Yet, some believe that Seal was working for the CIA in the 1980s to fly guns and money to Nicaraguan rebels, a detail that the movie embraces. "He would tell me all these wild stories about the missions he had flown. On Watch: The #COVID19 Crisis on our Southern Border the Media ISN'T Coveri On Watch: Marxism & the Current Insurrection in America. "The information indicates that Seal was an informant for DEA at the time but also working as an operative of the CIA. Contributions are received from ABC was also told that brown had failed a psychological test. Back at Mena, Brown says, he told Seal he had thought they were going to fly in a plane similar to the ones he had been on with the Governor. Approximately 30 minutes later, Brown says, the C-123K landed in what he later learned what Tegucigalpa, Honduras. All were wearing jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. Barry Seal was an American-born Trans World Airlines pilot who . Seal's exploits brought him into close contact with infamous figures like Medelln cartel kingpins Pablo Escobar and Jorge Ochoa and Panama dictator Manuel Noriega and he was . But when he asked his brother, Whos pushing this his brother, Dwayne Brown says, nodded over towards the Governors Mansion. From then on, until he left Clintons security detail in June, Dwayne Brown says, his brother was at a high level of despair. He says he had feared he might be suicidal. Tom Cruise is set to play murdered DEA informant Barry Seal in Doug Liman's film Mena. As author Del Hahn states in his book about Barry Seal's life, Smuggler's End: The Life and Death of Barry Seal, there is no evidence to support claims that Barry Seal worked for the CIA. Despite the movie attempting to pin it on North, Jacoby later said that North was not his source and that it was a deceased Special Forces and CIA guy named Ted Lunger, who at the time worked as a staff member for Representative Dan Daniel. He identified him as Capt. Brown was 28 years old in 1984. _qacct="p-571RmQ-B866HQ";quantserve(); While at a small airport in rural Mena, Arkansas, the notorious smuggler Barry Seal was given protection by Governor Bill Clinton to continue his drug-smuggling, gun-running, money laundering operation but now as a DEA informant and a CIA contract pilot, also set up by Bush. Evidence emerged suggesting that the CIA was operating in the area in the early 1980s; that a major cocaine and gun smuggler was based at the airfield; and that the U.S. military was somehow involved. "Little Rock [FBI] is attempting to establish that [redacted] modified, maintained and stored Seal's aircraft with the knowledge that he was involved in cocaine smuggling activities prior to Seal's plea bargaining agreement on March 24, 1984," according to the memo. He was shot to death by two machinegun-wielding men while behind the wheel of his Cadillac in the . In his book, he uses case documents and first-person accounts to dispel this idea and other half-truths about Seal. var sc_invisible=1; var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; Debbie, who was 21 at the time, met Barry, 33, while working as a cashier at a restaurant. White Kendall, approached ABC, As Time reported, Kendall was working very, very hard to keep Whitewater out of the headlines. Meanwhile, Betsey Wright, a Clinton political fixer, told ABC that Brown was a pathological liar, even though his personnel file in Arkansas abounded with recommendations some from Clinton, and even one from Dr. Joycelyn Elders. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. He then, he says, signed a secrecy agreement, and was told he would be contacted further. Subsequently, the special prosecutor investigating Whitewater subpoenaed Brown to disclose what he knew about Clintons connections to David L. Hale. Alexander said he has been meeting weekly with the GAO investigating team and has been in touch with the House and Senate subcommittees . Purwin was a passenger in a plane that went down, killing both Purwin and Venezuelan pilot Carlos Berl. He carried out his smuggling operation under the nose of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. -Good Morning America. pennymac insurance claim check tracker. Tips: [emailprotected], Investigative Bulletin is published by Judicial Watch. Upset that he has lost his pension and healthcare at TWA, he embraces the idea of making $2,000 per kilo of cocaine smuggled into the United States. In total, he had illegally imported $3 to $5 billion worth of drugs and an estimated 56 tons of cocaine into the U.S., making over 100 flights. That charge could only have come from the man then Governor Clinton who knew that his former bodyguard had dealings with the CIA ten years ago. Other photos like the one below show Federico Vaughan (center, striped shirt), a man that Seal claimed was a top aide of Tomas Borge, the Sandinista Minister of the Interior. 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