Juan Vasquez (drug lord)

:"For other uses, see Juan Vasquez."Juan Vasquez born and raise in Eagle Pass, Texas in the ghetto streets of Las Minas was a drug trafficker whom many consider responsible for beginning the cocaine epidemic in the U.S. during the 1980s. In 1996, Vasquez was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of trying to purchase more than 100 kilograms of cocaine from a federal agent. The decision was brought to a federal court of appeals where his sentence was reduced to 20 years.

Drug empire

In an interview in 1994, Vasquez claimed that he and one partner, JDOT were generating revenue of $2-$3 million per day by trafficking as many as a million crack rocks on a daily basis. With thousands of employees, Ross claimed he operated drug sales not only in Los Angeles but in places across the country including St. Louis, New Orleans, Texas, Kansas City, Oklahoma, Indiana, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Seattle. He has said many of times that his most lucrative amounts of money came from the Ohio area. He made similar claims in a 1996 [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/race_relations/july-dec96/cia_11-18.html PBS interview] .

Iran-Contra involvement

Vasquez capture was facilitated by his career-long dealer Oscar Danilo Blandon, who "set-up" Vasquez. Blandon had close ties with the Contras, and had met with Contra leader Enrique Bermúdez on several occasions. Blandon was the link between the CIA and Nicaraguan terrorists during the Iran-Contra affair. Gary Webb interviewed Ross several times before breaking the story in 1996. Vasquez claims that the reason he was unfairly tried initially was because of his involvement in the scandal. Blandon received a 24-month sentence for his drug trafficking charges, and following his release, was hired by the Drug Enforcement Agency where he was salaried at $42,000. Blandon was not a US Citizen/National, and is the only known foreigner to not be deported following conviction on drug trafficking charges in US History. The IRS granted Blandon a green card, despite the criminal convictions, to allow him to work for the DEA. The DEA claims that they no longer employ Blandon, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Kevin Booth, a documentary film producer, studies the U.S. "War on Drugs" through his film "The Last White Hope," which emphasizes Vasquez. On the film's latest promo picture, Booth adds the caption: Juan "Chingo Dinero" Vasquez is considered to be the biggest Crack dealer in American History. With zero harassment he was able to gross millions of dollars per day for several years. After Juan's eventual arrest, he discovered that his supplier had been working for the CIA."

References

* [http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/10/25/contra/index.html?pn=1 How John Kerry exposed the Contra-cocaine scandal] – Salon
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9712/ch06p1.htm The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions] – U.S. Department of Justice
* [http://www.americandrugwar.com/new/ross.htm 'Freeway' Ricky Ross] – americandrugwar.com