Re: [Texascavers] Proof that the CIA was running drugs?

[George Veni]

A little known part of the story, and rightfully so since not much happened, 
was that after the rescue team flew to Mexico, those of us left in the States 
had the understanding that if we didn't hear anything by a certain date that a 
second wave of rescuers would fly down to assist. Since word wasn't received, 
and not surprising in those pre-cell days when the cave was pretty remote from 
any phones, the second wave flew down from Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio. 
Unlike the first wave, we were the clean-cut crew. There was a 4x4 with a team 
from I think Arizona, and then my pick-up truck with three other cavers from 
San Antonio and a literal ton or two of gear filling the back. We loaded onto a 
C-130 and flew down to Mexico, offloading like the others in Victoria. After 
dealing with some official details downtown for a short while, we headed up the 
mountain. Within 45 minutes we met the first team heading down the mountain 
with Chris. I was disappointed to not see the cave, and it would be another 21 
years before I made it back there.

The only challenge we had left was getting back into the US. We were 
essentially in Mexico illegally with no tourist papers. When we would try to 
cross into Texas, we'd be asked for our papers on the Mexican side. I 
remembered that at night, when we'd reach the border, you could cross at Roma 
by just putting your papers in a box near the bridge and then cross without 
having to talk to anyone. At least that was what we hoped. There was always one 
official nearby watching that everyone deposited their papers. When we got 
there, we found no line and quickly got out of the truck, faked stuffing our 
papers in the box, and sped across the bridge before anyone could stop us.

So in the end it was fairly uneventful, but it was cool to drive my truck on 
and off a plane!

George


George Veni, PhD
President, International Union of Speleology
and
Executive Director
National Cave and Karst Research Institute
400-1 Cascades Avenue
Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA
Office: +1-575-887-5517
Mobile: +1-210-863-5919
Fax: +1-575-887-5523
gv...@nckri.org
www.nckri.org 

-Original Message-
From: Texascavers [mailto:texascavers-boun...@texascavers.com] On Behalf Of 
Mixon Bill
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2018 20:17
To: Cavers Texas <texascavers@texascavers.com>
Subject: [Texascavers] Proof that the CIA was running drugs?

Back in the ’70s (and even today) there were persistent rumors that the CIA was 
secretly running drugs to finance its operations. I think cavers may have 
played into that perception, at least in the eyes of a couple of American 
tourists. Here’s how.
In 1978 Tennessee caver Chris Kerr broke his leg in Cueva del Brinco, part of 
Sistema Purificación in the mountains northwest of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.
The relatively small crew on site was not sufficient to mount a rescue, so 
cavers were called in from the US.
Austin got the call, and within twenty-four hours Terry Sayther’s truck and 
eight cavers were ready to go. The team consisted of Jerry Atkinson, Gill 
Ediger, Tracy Johnson, Mark Minton, Terry Sayther, Bill Steele, Bill Stone, and 
Terri Treacy. As anyone around in those times could attest, we were a pretty 
hairy and wild-looking bunch. Air transport had been arranged through the 
National Cave Rescue Commission and US Air Force, so we set out for Bergstrom 
Air Force Base, now the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. At the gate 
they wanted to know who was in charge, and they seemed both amused and 
concerned when we looked at each other blankly and then said nobody. We all 
felt equally competent and didn’t need a leader.
After some unavoidable delays, Sayther’s truck was loaded into a C-130 military 
transport plane, along with all of us and our supplies. We flew to Brownsville 
and, after a brief delay spent in a holding pattern, received clearance from 
Mexico to enter their airspace. There was apparently an agreement concerning 
how many US military aircraft could be in Mexican airspace at one time, and 
that number were already there, so we had to wait while one cleared out. We 
then flew to the Victoria airport, which at the time did not have commercial 
flights. The runway was somewhat short and potholed. We made a pass or two so 
that the pilot could assess the situation, after which he said he thought we 
could make it. Gulp!
After a successful landing, the plane rolled to a stop and the back hatch went 
down. Terry drove his truck down the ramp and the rest of us got in. We pulled 
up to the small airport office, where a Mexican government representative 
handed us a sheaf of papers and assured us that all of the immigration 
paperwork had been taken care of and that we were good to go. We signed 
nothing, but thanked him and headed off on our quest. The C-130 took off and 
returned to Texas; we would have to drive back.
Observing all of this was a couple of Americans who had apparently re

Re: [Texascavers] Proof that the CIA was running drugs?

[Andy Gluesenkamp]

I love it!

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 25, 2018, at 9:17 PM, Mixon Bill  wrote:
> 
> Back in the ’70s (and even today) there were persistent
> rumors that the CIA was secretly running drugs to
> finance its operations. I think cavers may have played
> into that perception, at least in the eyes of a couple of
> American tourists. Here’s how.
> In 1978 Tennessee caver Chris Kerr broke his leg in
> Cueva del Brinco, part of Sistema Purificación in the
> mountains northwest of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.
> The relatively small crew on site was not sufficient to
> mount a rescue, so cavers were called in from the US.
> Austin got the call, and within twenty-four hours Terry
> Sayther’s truck and eight cavers were ready to go. The
> team consisted of Jerry Atkinson, Gill Ediger, Tracy
> Johnson, Mark Minton, Terry Sayther, Bill Steele, Bill
> Stone, and Terri Treacy. As anyone around in those times
> could attest, we were a pretty hairy and wild-looking
> bunch. Air transport had been arranged through the
> National Cave Rescue Commission and US Air Force,
> so we set out for Bergstrom Air Force Base, now the
> Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. At the gate they
> wanted to know who was in charge, and they seemed
> both amused and concerned when we looked at each
> other blankly and then said nobody. We all felt equally
> competent and didn’t need a leader.
> After some unavoidable delays, Sayther’s truck was
> loaded into a C-130 military transport plane, along with
> all of us and our supplies. We flew to Brownsville and,
> after a brief delay spent in a holding pattern, received
> clearance from Mexico to enter their airspace. There
> was apparently an agreement concerning how many
> US military aircraft could be in Mexican airspace at
> one time, and that number were already there, so we
> had to wait while one cleared out. We then flew to the
> Victoria airport, which at the time did not have commercial
> flights. The runway was somewhat short and
> potholed. We made a pass or two so that the pilot could
> assess the situation, after which he said he thought we
> could make it. Gulp!
> After a successful landing, the plane rolled to a stop
> and the back hatch went down. Terry drove his truck
> down the ramp and the rest of us got in. We pulled up
> to the small airport office, where a Mexican government
> representative handed us a sheaf of papers and
> assured us that all of the immigration paperwork had
> been taken care of and that we were good to go. We
> signed nothing, but thanked him and headed off on
> our quest. The C-130 took off and returned to Texas;
> we would have to drive back.
> Observing all of this was a couple of Americans who
> had apparently recently arrived in a private plane. They
> watched agape as a civilian Chevy Suburban full of
> hippies that had just come off of a U. S. military plane
> exchanged pleasantries with a Mexican official and
> roared off into the sunset. No doubt they were sure they
> had just witnessed first-hand that the US was involved
> in some highly suspicious activities in Mexico.
> —Mark Minton, Texas Caver, fourth quarter 2009.
> 
> Reprinted AMCS Activities Newsletter 38, 2015, page 88.
> 
> A chicken is the egg's way of making another egg.
> 
> You may "reply" to the address this message
> (unless it's a TexasCavers list post)
> came from, but for long-term use, save:
> Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
> AMCS: a...@mexicancaves.org or  edi...@mexicancaves.org
> 
> ___
> Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com
> Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: 
> http://www.mail-archive.com/texascavers@texascavers.com/
> http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers

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[Texascavers] Proof that the CIA was running drugs?

[Mixon Bill]

Back in the ’70s (and even today) there were persistent
rumors that the CIA was secretly running drugs to
finance its operations. I think cavers may have played
into that perception, at least in the eyes of a couple of
American tourists. Here’s how.
In 1978 Tennessee caver Chris Kerr broke his leg in
Cueva del Brinco, part of Sistema Purificación in the
mountains northwest of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.
The relatively small crew on site was not sufficient to
mount a rescue, so cavers were called in from the US.
Austin got the call, and within twenty-four hours Terry
Sayther’s truck and eight cavers were ready to go. The
team consisted of Jerry Atkinson, Gill Ediger, Tracy
Johnson, Mark Minton, Terry Sayther, Bill Steele, Bill
Stone, and Terri Treacy. As anyone around in those times
could attest, we were a pretty hairy and wild-looking
bunch. Air transport had been arranged through the
National Cave Rescue Commission and US Air Force,
so we set out for Bergstrom Air Force Base, now the
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. At the gate they
wanted to know who was in charge, and they seemed
both amused and concerned when we looked at each
other blankly and then said nobody. We all felt equally
competent and didn’t need a leader.
After some unavoidable delays, Sayther’s truck was
loaded into a C-130 military transport plane, along with
all of us and our supplies. We flew to Brownsville and,
after a brief delay spent in a holding pattern, received
clearance from Mexico to enter their airspace. There
was apparently an agreement concerning how many
US military aircraft could be in Mexican airspace at
one time, and that number were already there, so we
had to wait while one cleared out. We then flew to the
Victoria airport, which at the time did not have commercial
flights. The runway was somewhat short and
potholed. We made a pass or two so that the pilot could
assess the situation, after which he said he thought we
could make it. Gulp!
After a successful landing, the plane rolled to a stop
and the back hatch went down. Terry drove his truck
down the ramp and the rest of us got in. We pulled up
to the small airport office, where a Mexican government
representative handed us a sheaf of papers and
assured us that all of the immigration paperwork had
been taken care of and that we were good to go. We
signed nothing, but thanked him and headed off on
our quest. The C-130 took off and returned to Texas;
we would have to drive back.
Observing all of this was a couple of Americans who
had apparently recently arrived in a private plane. They
watched agape as a civilian Chevy Suburban full of
hippies that had just come off of a U. S. military plane
exchanged pleasantries with a Mexican official and
roared off into the sunset. No doubt they were sure they
had just witnessed first-hand that the US was involved
in some highly suspicious activities in Mexico.
—Mark Minton, Texas Caver, fourth quarter 2009.

Reprinted AMCS Activities Newsletter 38, 2015, page 88.

A chicken is the egg's way of making another egg.

You may "reply" to the address this message
(unless it's a TexasCavers list post)
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: a...@mexicancaves.org or  edi...@mexicancaves.org

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