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Gary Webb was a journalist who wrote a series of articles entitled "Dark Alliance" for the San Jose Mercury News in 1996.
The stories exposed the CIA's backing of the Nicaraguan Contras. The Contras supplied "Freeway" Ricky Ross with cocaine through Nicaraguan exile Oscar Danilo Blandón. Ross built a drug empire by selling the product as crack from his Los Angeles base to multiple states across the country. Many believe this was the start of the crack-era in the United States.
Blandon was the CIA's link to the Contras.
Ricky Ross (left) and Gary Webb
The profits from these illegal dealings were then funneled back to the Contras, with the CIA's knowledge, to fund their war against the Nicaraguan government.
Ross was a pawn in all of this and had no knowledge of the Contras. He reportedly sold more than $33 million worth of crack a day. He was eventually brought down when Blandón set him up.
Oscar Danilo Blandón
"Basically, Gary’s story was proven true," Ross told the Pasadena Weekly in 2010 after serving 14 years in prison. "They admitted they knew these guys were selling drugs. And I don’t believe Gary ever said in his report that the CIA was the actual perpetrators of the crime. But if you go with the conspiracy theory that the government uses to convict, the evidence that they had, you could convict on that evidence. A jury could find [the CIA] guilty."
In the upcoming film, The Messenger, the story will be brought to the big screen.
Jeremy Renner will portray Webb. Michael K. Williams takes on the role of Ross. Others starring in the film include Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Michael Sheen.
Michael Cuesta is the director.
The film is scheduled to be released on October 10, 2014. Check out the trailer below.
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