Gary Webb's Dark Alliance publication

[Magda Hassan]

How the Colombia cocaine cartels
made the California connection

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Land, sea and air: the smuggling routes. Meneses began bringing cocaine powder into the United States in the mid-1970s. At first, the drug was carried across the border hidden in suitcases and shoes. As the industry grew, the cartels expanded and shipped by cargo ships, planes, stolen cars and trucks.
Map by Staff Artist Pai Wei

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Mid-1970s: Stolen cars

Luxury cars stolen in California were driven to Nicaragua, where they were officially imported by the Nicaraguan military to avoid stiff excise taxes, and sold to wealthy Managuans.

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Mid-to-late 1970s: Peruvian cocaine

Peruvian cocaine was smuggled to Panama, secreted in suitcases and shoes with false bottoms and carried into the U.S. by airline passengers. Points of entry included San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston and New Orleans.

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Late 1970s to 1983: New Cali cartel

Cocaine from the new Cali cartel in Colombia was loaded onto freighters owned by the Gran Colombia line. The freighters were offloaded in the ports of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

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Early 1980s: Bahamas connection

Cocaine was flown from Colombia to the Bahamas, where it was loaded aboard small planes and flown into Miami. From there, couriers took it to California aboard commercial airliners.
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Early to mid-1980s: Contras

As part of the Contra supply operation, Salvadoran air force planes flew to Colombia, load up with cocaine and land at a U.S. Air Force base in Texas. Dealers then flew the money out of the U.S. aboard commerical jets to Costa Rica and Honduras.
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Late 1980s: Coffee, tea or coke?

Colombian cocaine was flown aboard private planes into small airfields in northern Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua. Super DC3s leaving from San José, Costa Rica, loaded with general merchandise would touch down briefly, take on a cocaine load and continue on to U.S. airports.

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1990-'91: Nicaragua to Bay Area

Small Colombian planes flew to a remote airstrip in La Rosita, Nicaragua, and cocaine was unloaded into army transport trucks, which were driven to Managua. The cocaine was stored in a series of underground military bunkers built during the war. Mercedes-Benz autos were exported from Miami to the port of Rama, driven to Managua and cut apart so tubes filled with cocaine could be inserted. The cars were loaded onto a transporter and driven north to Los Angeles and San Diego. Rental cars then ferried the cocaine to the Bay Area and points north.
http://www.narconews.com/darkalliance/drugs/start.htm