From: Daniel Hopsicker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> bobby nieves spirited john hull out of costa rica, with the help of joe kelso, in a plane piloted by a man associated with barry seal--all the way back to '63. 'DEA' man nieves was the guy who panamaian reformer dr hugh spadafora called with incriminating evidence on manuel noriega in 85. big mistake-o. after extensive torture, spadafora's head was later found in a diplomatic pouch. nexusmagazine wrote: > From: nexusmagazine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Intelligence, N. 111, 7 February 2000, p. 1 > > NETHERLANDS > > MINK "K" TRIAL LEADS TO DEA & CONTRAS > > A recent decision by the Amsterdam District Court to hold the > trial of cocaine trafficker and arms dealer, Mink "K", behind > closed doors, may have been made to cover-up the covert > activities of a senior US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) > officer, Robert Nieves, who "managed" K through a series of > "cut outs". K, a former Dutch marine commando, allegedly worked > for the US agency in the early 1990s, according to > "Intelligence" sources in Amsterdam. A key figure in the Dutch > IRT affair (see "Netherlands - IRT Affair Runs into Mink K & > Veeckman", INT, n. 102 21), Mink K was arrested by police last > September following a raid on an apartment at 332 > Nachtwachtlaan, Amsterdam, in connection with the import of > 15,000 kg. of cocaine with a street value of $500 million. In > the empty apartment, detectives discovered more than 200 > weapons, including P-90 machine-pistols with laser-sights, > grenade launchers, infrared night-scopes, riot guns, bullet- > proof vests, electronic detonators with remote-controls, and > 233,700 XTC pills with the cartoon logo "Tom and Jerry". > > According to F. Lenaers, the sales manager of the Belgian > weapons manufacturer, Fabrique National (FN), who examined the > weapons at the request of the Amsterdam police, some of the > guns had been ordered from FN by a US government agency, while > two of the P-90s (with laser-sights) had been exported, under > licence, to Jordan. > > An alleged member of the Delta cartel, a Dutch organized crime > syndicate, Mink K was convicted in 1995 for weapons possession > and cocaine trafficking. Released on appeal, due to a legal > technicality, he fled to Belgium where a warrant was issued for > his arrest in late 1997 in connection with the purchase of > "classified police data" from a senior Brussels-based police > officer, Mr. Veeckman, whose name appears in the title of the > article cited above. He was arrested by French police near the > Spanish border, and extradited to Belgium in mid-1998. However, > he was released on bail after two weeks of detention, and > returned to Holland where his role in the IRT affair was > highlighted by the parliamentary Kalsbeek Commission, which > investigated the "parallel import" of cocaine into Holland with > the complicity of corrupt customs officials, civil servants and > police officers -- members of the Interregionaal Rechercheteams > (IRT) set up in 1987 to work alongside the DEA and the US > Department of Justice, to infiltrate the Columbian cartels' > European distribution network through Rotterdam Europort. The > IRT operation was suspended in December 1993 after a Haarlem- > based senior officer, Klaas Langedoen, and his deputy, Van > Vondel, were accused of perjury. > > Official sources in Amsterdam and The Hague have refused to > comment on a link between Mink K and Robert Nieves, despite the > fact that their careers in the cocaine trade converged in the > early 1990s. Nicknamed "the Snowman" by former DEA and CIA > colleagues, Nieves was the control agent for Norwin "El Perico" > Meneses from 1985 to 1989, the Cali cartel's representative in > Nicaragua who was indicted on cocaine trafficking charges in > the US in 1989, and arrested and sentenced to 12 years in > Nicaragua in 1991. The former head of the DEA office in Costa > Rica, Nieves was named in a deposition taken by the Washington- > based Christic Institute and filed in 1986 against US > government officials involved with the Contras as one of the > Costa Rica-based DEA officers allegedly skimming cocaine from > drug seizures, protecting cocaine processing labs in northern > Costa Rica, and sanitizing intelligence reports to DEA > headquarters in Washington. Although Nieves has correctly > claimed to be responsible for an April 1986 cable to DEA HQ > confirming that Contra leaders were flying cocaine from Costa > Rica to Ilopango Air Base in El Salvador, a DEA agent based in > San Salvador, Celerino Castillo, believes the Nieves cable was > intended to cover-up the illegal activities of DEA officers in > Costa Rica. > > Following his recall to Washington, Nieves was appointed head > of cocaine trafficking investigations, according to Gary Webb, > author of "Dark Alliance", an account of America's crack > cocaine epidemic (based on files obtained under the FOIA from > the CIA, the DEA, the FBI, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and > declassified papers from the Iran/Contra investigation). On > retirement in 1995, Nieves was serving as chief of the DEA's > International Division, which was responsible for the DEA input > in the IRT affair. Shortly after leaving the agency, Bob Nieves > joined Guardian Technologies, a security consulting service and > body armor manufacturing company based in Virginia and owned by > Olivier North and Joe Fernandez, former CIA chief of station in > Costa Rica from 1984 to 1986, who was also an integral part of > the Contra supply network. > > The application for a closed trial, due to begin on 13 March in > Amsterdam, was made by Mink K's lawyer, A. Van Der Plas, and > granted by three judges, including Justice Hr. F. Slits, who > investigated perjury allegations against Langendoen and Van > Vondel, while serving with the Public Prosecution Service in > The Hague until mid-1990s. > > Duncan M. Roads > Editor, NEXUS Magazine > PO Box 30, Mapleton Qld 4560 Australia > Tel: +61 (0)7 5442 9280; Fax: +61 (0)7 5442 9381 > http://www.nexusmagazine.com ICQ#62399259 > > "The nature of the universe is such that ends can never justify the means. > On the contrary, the means always determine the end." > (Aldous Huxley) > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Learn more with SmartPlanet. It's a new way of learning online. > SmartPlanet offers hundreds of courses to take on your time, > in your space. Join for FREE today! > http://click.egroups.com/1/1703/2/_/475667/_/951949921/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Daniel Hopsicker The Drug Money Times http://www.MadCowProd.com "All the news that's ripped from print!" Scandal in contemporary U.S. life is an institutionalized sociological phenomenon. It is not due primarily to psychopathological variables, but is due to the institutionalization of elite wrongdoing which has occcurred since 1963." "Many of the scandals that have occurred in the U.S. since 1963 are fundamentally interrelated: that is, the same people and institutions have been involved." --Prof.David Simon, "Elite Deviance 6th edition ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Learn more with SmartPlanet. It's a new way of learning online. SmartPlanet offers hundreds of courses to take on your time, in your space. Join for FREE today! http://click.egroups.com/1/1703/2/_/475667/_/951953283/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
