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>> NARRATOR: They destroy
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families...
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ruin lives...
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and they threaten the very
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fabric of our society.
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>> JASON HOWERTON: The cartels
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are operating in every major
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U.S. city.
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>> CELERINO CASTILLO: There's so
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much money, you can buy just
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about anybody on both sides of
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the border.
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>> NARRATOR: But just who or
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what is the real enemy in the
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war against drugs?
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>> REPRESENTATIVE DARRELL ISSA:
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There are three elements to the
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drug trade:
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drugs, cash and weapons.
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>> NARRATOR: Is it the user?
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The dealer?
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Or is it...
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our own government?
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>> WEBSTER TARPLEY: The massive
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reality is that the C.I.A. runs
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drugs.
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>> NARRATOR: There are those
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who believe in the existence
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of a book.
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A book that contains the most
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highly guarded secrets of the
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United States of America.
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A book... whose very existence
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is known to only a select few.
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But if such a book exists,
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what would it contain?
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Secret strategies?
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Secret missions?
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Secret conspiracies?
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Does there really exist
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America's Book of Secrets?
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December 14, 2010.
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Peck Canyon, Arizona.
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11 miles north of the
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U.S.-Mexican border.
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While on a routine patrol,
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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
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Firearms agent Brian Terry
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encounters a group of
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heavily-armed Mexican drug
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runners.
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(gun cocks)
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>> ISSA: Brian Terry went out
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to intercept what should have
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been loosely or non-armed, uh,
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individuals crossing into the
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United States, and found them
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with brand-new assault rifles
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able to gun him down.
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(automatic gunfire)
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>> HOWERTON: After th
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was ov and the dust had
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settled, he was killed.
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And near the scene, they found a
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weapon from Fast and Furious.
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>> NARRATOR: Operation Fast and
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Furious.
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A top secret government program
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that fed thousands of deadly
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assault weapons across the U.S.
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border into Mexico, in an
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attempt to trace those weapons
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to Mexico's drug cartels.
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>> HOWERTON: The problems arised
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when they couldn't track the
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weapons.
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No RFID chips were implanted,
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uh, and they didn't see them
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again until they started turning
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up... next to dead bodies.
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>> MICHAEL LEVINE: They know
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that everybody who's getting
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these guns are drug trafficking
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organizations.
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So somebody dies and then you're
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going to go and catch the people
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responsible?
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That's not a flawed operation,
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that's premeditated homicide.
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>> NARRATOR: After the death of
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Brian Terry, an investigation
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was launched by the
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Congressional Oversight
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Committee, under Chairman
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Congressman Darrell Issa.
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>> ISSA: Once Fast and Furious
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was discovered, what we got was
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direct stonewalling by the
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attorney general.
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The president asserted executive
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privilege to block our looking
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into and getting the facts.
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Certain documents exist, and
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we've asked for those documents,
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and we've been denied them.
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The unanswered question about
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Fast and Furious is, "How could
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you be so stupid?"
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And if you couldn't be that
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stupid, then what are you
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hiding?
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>> NARRATOR: Was Operation Fast
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and Furious really an attempt by
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the U.S. government to bust
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Mexico's deadly drug cartels?
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Or did it have another, more
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secret agenda?
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Perhaps one that dates all the
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way back to the beginning of
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America's war on drugs.
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(rock music playing)
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1971.
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It is a time of political
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activism, sexual freedom and
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social change.
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It is also a time when those
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seeking to expand their
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consciousness do so with
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mind-altering drugs.
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For some, experimentation
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becomes addiction, and even
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death.
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And to fight what is believed to
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be a growing scourge, President
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Richard Nixon declares a war on
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illegal drugs.
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>> PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON:
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Public enemy number one in the
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United States is drug abuse.
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>> NARRATOR: Seven presidents
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and more than four decades
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later, the United States
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government has spent an
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estimated $1 trillion to fight
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what is now the longest running
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war in American history.
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>> ROBERT C. BONNER: The goal of
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U.S. drug policy is and has been
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to contain, reduce
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substantially, the number of
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people that are using, abusing
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and addicted to pernicious drugs
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that have truly harmful effects,
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not only on the individual but
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on society in general.
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>> MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Since
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Richard Nixon proclaimed the war
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on drugs in 1971, we've had
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president after president that
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have committed to the same goal
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of eliminating the scourge of
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drugs from American life, and
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we've had very little progress.
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>> NARRATOR: According to a
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recent study by the U.S.
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Department of Health, there are
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an estimated 22 million
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Americans, or nine percent of
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the population, that use illegal
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drugs, the largest number per
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capita of any country in the
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world.
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And to meet the demand, drug
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traffickers employ highly
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sophisticated methods, both
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above ground and below--
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even underwater--
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all in an effort to smuggle
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their product across the U.S.
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border and into the waiting
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hands of American drug users.
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In 2012, the illegal and
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cash-based drug economy in
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America was estimated at $100
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billion.
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>> ISSA: We're clearly not
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winning the war on drugs.
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I don't think anyone on either
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side should think so.
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The question, like some wars,
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is, "What's the cost of losi
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it?"
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>> NARRATOR: For over a decade,
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Mexico's drug cartels have ruled
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with impunity, using violence
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and terror to carry out their
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illegal activities.
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>> BONNER: There have been
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dozens of mayors in Mexico that
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have been murdered by the
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cartels.
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Your choices are silver or lead:
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either to take bribes or you
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will be killed.
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The United States has been, and
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rightly so, assisting the
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Mexican government in its
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efforts to defeat and eliminate
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these powerful drug cartels.
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>> ISSA: To understand what's
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going on in Mexico, you really
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have to look at the period of
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time under President Vicente
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Fox, when the drugs were
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beginning to flow, and flow
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freely.
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President Calderón came in and
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started trying to attack it.
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>> CHUCK BOWDEN: When Calderón's
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administration ended, at least
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130,000 Mexicans had been
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murdered...
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(indistinct radio chatter)
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...in a population of 112
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million.
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>> HOWERTON: The wars in Iraq
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and Afghanistan, the number of
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soldiers who have died pales in
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comparison, and-and that's an
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actual war that we declared.
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>> NARRATOR: Juárez, Mexico, is
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ground zero in the
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Mexican-American drug war.
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In an area called The Plaza,
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Mexico's cartels battle for
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control of this key gateway
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into the U.S.
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And many are now armed with
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weapons from Operation Fast and
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Furious.
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>> HOWERTON: Mexico's ambassador
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to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhán,
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said that Mexico was completely
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"left in the dark" as Operation
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Fast and Furious was going on.
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>> BOWDEN: There's over 900
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gangs.
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Drugs flow through the city into
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the U.S.
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It is the largest source of
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income.
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It's created a death machine,
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and the most violent place on
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the surface of the earth.
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>> NARRATOR: Was Operation Fast
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and Furious merely a
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well-intended government program
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that went wrong?
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Or was there another, more
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secret plan at work?
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February, 2010.
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At the federal courthouse in
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Chicago, Illinois, Jesus
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Vicente Zambada-Niebla, the
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alleged logistics coordinator
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for the powerful Mexican Sinaloa
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cartel, is charged with drug
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trafficking.
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But according to a brief filed
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by his attorneys, Zambada-Niebla
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claims he was actually working
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for the U.S. Drug Enforcement
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Agency.
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And that's just one of several
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secrets he is ready to reveal.
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>> HOWERTON: Now, working with
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an informant is not uncommon.
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Where the controversy creeps up
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is that Zambada-Niebla is saying
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that Fast and Furious is not
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about tracking guns, it was
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about supplying them, uh, to the
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Sinaloa cartel in exchange for
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information, uh, as a part of a
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divide-and-conquer strategy.
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It's the old saying, "The enemy
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of my enemy is my friend."
288
00:10:28,829 --> 00:10:30,999
So, you give us the information,
289
00:10:30,998 --> 00:10:32,198
we'll give you guns and we'll
290
00:10:32,199 --> 00:10:33,399
let you smuggle your drugs into
291
00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,000
the United States as long as you
292
00:10:35,002 --> 00:10:36,242
keep helping us take down these
293
00:10:36,236 --> 00:10:37,706
other cartels.
294
00:10:37,705 --> 00:10:38,365
>> NARRATOR: Could
295
00:10:38,371 --> 00:10:39,411
Zambada-Niebla's shocking
296
00:10:39,406 --> 00:10:42,006
allegations be true?
297
00:10:42,009 --> 00:10:43,739
Did the United States government
298
00:10:43,744 --> 00:10:46,154
really strike an unholy bargain
299
00:10:46,146 --> 00:10:48,716
with the deadly Sinaloa drug
300
00:10:48,716 --> 00:10:50,146
cartel?
301
00:10:50,150 --> 00:10:52,250
If so, why?
302
00:10:52,252 --> 00:10:53,422
>> HOWERTON: If this was true,
303
00:10:53,420 --> 00:10:55,020
they would be able to let the
304
00:10:55,022 --> 00:10:56,162
Sinaloa cartel do their dirty
305
00:10:56,156 --> 00:10:57,016
work.
306
00:10:57,024 --> 00:10:58,134
The federal government gets
307
00:10:58,125 --> 00:11:00,125
these other cartels taken down.
308
00:11:00,127 --> 00:11:01,157
Meanwhile, the Sinaloa cartel,
309
00:11:01,161 --> 00:11:02,861
they have the money and the
310
00:11:02,863 --> 00:11:04,103
guns, and they're expanding
311
00:11:04,097 --> 00:11:06,027
their power.
312
00:11:09,770 --> 00:11:11,400
>> NARRATOR: Is the war on drugs
313
00:11:11,404 --> 00:11:13,774
so impossible to win that deals
314
00:11:13,774 --> 00:11:16,114
must be made with criminals in
315
00:11:16,109 --> 00:11:18,249
order to fight it?
316
00:11:18,245 --> 00:11:21,405
Or is there another, even more
317
00:11:21,414 --> 00:11:24,384
secret agenda behind America's
318
00:11:24,384 --> 00:11:28,194
drug wars?
319
00:11:28,188 --> 00:11:32,058
Coming up...: On the ground, on
320
00:11:32,059 --> 00:11:32,929
the ground!
321
00:11:32,926 --> 00:11:34,026
On the ground!
322
00:11:34,027 --> 00:11:35,457
>> NARRATOR: Heroin...
323
00:11:35,462 --> 00:11:37,402
cocaine...
324
00:11:37,397 --> 00:11:39,467
marijuana.
325
00:11:39,466 --> 00:11:41,266
In the eyes of the U.S.
326
00:11:41,268 --> 00:11:44,198
government, all addictive drugs
327
00:11:44,204 --> 00:11:47,074
are created equal, and, if left
328
00:11:47,074 --> 00:11:49,414
unregulated, they threaten to
329
00:11:49,409 --> 00:11:51,379
destroy the very fabric of
330
00:11:51,411 --> 00:11:53,451
American society.
331
00:11:53,446 --> 00:11:54,776
>> BONNER: These drugs have, uh,
332
00:11:54,782 --> 00:11:56,822
some very adverse, uh, public
333
00:11:56,817 --> 00:11:57,947
health and safety effects.
334
00:11:57,951 --> 00:11:59,221
It's really about what kind of
335
00:11:59,219 --> 00:12:00,449
country we want to be.
336
00:12:00,453 --> 00:12:02,223
What kind of an America do we
337
00:12:02,222 --> 00:12:04,022
want to have and be able to pass
338
00:12:04,024 --> 00:12:05,964
on to our posterity.
339
00:12:08,328 --> 00:12:09,358
>> PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN:
340
00:12:09,362 --> 00:12:10,432
Without your efforts, these
341
00:12:10,430 --> 00:12:11,500
drugs would have been on the
342
00:12:11,498 --> 00:12:12,928
marketplace, providing profits
343
00:12:12,933 --> 00:12:15,373
for organized crime, fueling a
344
00:12:15,368 --> 00:12:17,238
drug culture that has done so
345
00:12:17,237 --> 00:12:18,807
much damage to so many lives in
346
00:12:18,806 --> 00:12:20,966
our society.
347
00:12:20,974 --> 00:12:22,114
>> POLIS: The war on drugs
348
00:12:22,109 --> 00:12:23,379
seems to be based on sound
349
00:12:23,376 --> 00:12:24,236
bites.
350
00:12:24,244 --> 00:12:25,814
Uh, drugs are bad, obviously
351
00:12:25,813 --> 00:12:26,953
everybody agrees on that, and
352
00:12:26,947 --> 00:12:28,217
because they're bad, we're gonna
353
00:12:28,248 --> 00:12:29,378
fight them.
354
00:12:29,382 --> 00:12:30,382
What does fighting mean?
355
00:12:30,383 --> 00:12:31,993
It means you have a bunch people
356
00:12:31,985 --> 00:12:33,115
with guns and helicopters going
357
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:34,820
in, and raids.
358
00:12:34,822 --> 00:12:36,262
>> OFFICER: We have a search
359
00:12:36,256 --> 00:12:37,256
warrant, demand an entry!
360
00:12:37,257 --> 00:12:38,487
>> POLIS: Might make for good
361
00:12:38,491 --> 00:12:41,091
substance abuse, and it doesn't
362
00:12:41,094 --> 00:12:42,264
deal with any of the issues
363
00:12:42,262 --> 00:12:43,832
that, uh, America has with
364
00:12:43,831 --> 00:12:45,771
regard to drug abuse.
365
00:12:48,501 --> 00:12:49,841
>> NARRATOR: But is the
366
00:12:49,837 --> 00:12:51,137
foundation of America's war on
367
00:12:51,138 --> 00:12:53,408
drugs really built on protecting
368
00:12:53,406 --> 00:12:56,876
its citizens?
369
00:12:56,877 --> 00:12:59,847
Or is it an attempt by the U.S.
370
00:12:59,847 --> 00:13:01,277
government to exploit America's
371
00:13:01,281 --> 00:13:03,121
appetite for indulgence in an
372
00:13:03,116 --> 00:13:06,486
effort trther other, more
373
00:13:06,486 --> 00:13:08,916
secret agendas?
374
00:13:11,024 --> 00:13:12,894
At the dawn of the 20th century,
375
00:13:12,893 --> 00:13:15,033
a group of moral crusaders
376
00:13:15,028 --> 00:13:17,428
called the Anti-Saloon League
377
00:13:17,430 --> 00:13:20,130
believed that America was under
378
00:13:20,133 --> 00:13:23,273
attack by a deadly substance:
379
00:13:23,303 --> 00:13:25,413
alcohol.
380
00:13:25,405 --> 00:13:26,405
>> MARTIN A. LEE: Alcohol
381
00:13:26,406 --> 00:13:27,506
prohibition, when that was
382
00:13:27,507 --> 00:13:29,307
imposed, that was a time of
383
00:13:29,309 --> 00:13:30,479
great social change in the
384
00:13:30,510 --> 00:13:31,540
United States.
385
00:13:31,544 --> 00:13:32,554
The suffrage movement had
386
00:13:32,545 --> 00:13:34,005
really crested and reached a
387
00:13:34,014 --> 00:13:35,024
peak.
388
00:13:35,015 --> 00:13:36,175
Alcohol is a dangerous drug, and
389
00:13:36,183 --> 00:13:37,323
it was associated with a lot
390
00:13:37,317 --> 00:13:38,887
of violence, and a lot of that
391
00:13:38,886 --> 00:13:39,916
violence was directed toward
392
00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:41,860
women.
393
00:13:44,057 --> 00:13:45,387
>> NARRATOR: There were also
394
00:13:45,392 --> 00:13:46,892
those who opposed the
395
00:13:46,894 --> 00:13:49,334
consumption of liquor for other,
396
00:13:49,329 --> 00:13:51,329
less moral reasons.
397
00:13:51,331 --> 00:13:53,031
>> LEE: At that time in American
398
00:13:53,033 --> 00:13:54,903
society, immigration was a
399
00:13:54,902 --> 00:13:56,872
hot-button issue.
400
00:13:56,870 --> 00:13:58,070
The concern was about Italian
401
00:13:58,071 --> 00:14:00,041
and Irish immigrants.
402
00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,140
And they were big drinkers.
403
00:14:02,142 --> 00:14:05,282
So the laws, uh, against
404
00:14:05,278 --> 00:14:08,048
alcohol were in part directed
405
00:14:08,048 --> 00:14:11,148
against those immigrant groups.
406
00:14:11,151 --> 00:14:13,021
>> NARRATOR: On January 16,
407
00:14:13,020 --> 00:14:15,620
1919, the 18th Amendment to the
408
00:14:15,622 --> 00:14:18,362
Constitution was ratified.
409
00:14:18,358 --> 00:14:20,928
The manufacture, sale or
410
00:14:20,928 --> 00:14:22,628
transportation of intoxicating
411
00:14:22,629 --> 00:14:25,599
liquors was now outlawed by the
412
00:14:25,598 --> 00:14:29,898
But despite the watchful eye of
413
00:14:29,903 --> 00:14:32,113
Big Brother, liquor, like most
414
00:14:32,105 --> 00:14:34,935
forbidden fruits, proved too
415
00:14:34,942 --> 00:14:37,582
hard to resist.
416
00:14:41,648 --> 00:14:43,078
>> BONNER: If you have something
417
00:14:43,083 --> 00:14:44,383
that some people in society
418
00:14:44,384 --> 00:14:47,654
want, and you do make it
419
00:14:47,654 --> 00:14:50,124
illegal, that there will be some
420
00:14:50,123 --> 00:14:53,393
kind of a black market.
421
00:14:53,393 --> 00:14:54,963
>> LEE: You saw the gangland
422
00:14:54,962 --> 00:14:56,402
slayings in Chicago and other
423
00:14:56,396 --> 00:14:57,526
cities in an effort to control
424
00:14:57,530 --> 00:14:58,670
the alcohol trade.
425
00:14:58,665 --> 00:15:00,395
So, you had a great deal of
426
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:01,630
bloodshed and violence, not
427
00:15:01,634 --> 00:15:03,944
because of alcohol in and of
428
00:15:03,937 --> 00:15:05,137
itself, but because it was made
429
00:15:05,138 --> 00:15:07,978
illegal.
430
00:15:07,975 --> 00:15:09,975
>> NARRATOR: In 1933,
431
00:15:09,977 --> 00:15:12,347
Prohibition was repealed.
432
00:15:12,345 --> 00:15:14,545
But is there a lesson to be
433
00:15:14,547 --> 00:15:16,277
learned from Prohibition that
434
00:15:16,283 --> 00:15:17,993
can be applied to America's war
435
00:15:18,018 --> 00:15:20,018
on drugs?
436
00:15:20,020 --> 00:15:21,150
>> BOWDEN: What we learned from
437
00:15:21,154 --> 00:15:22,694
Prohibition was very simple:
438
00:15:22,689 --> 00:15:24,489
that the government cannot stop
439
00:15:24,524 --> 00:15:27,264
people from personal habits.
440
00:15:27,260 --> 00:15:29,160
Prohibition created gangsters,
441
00:15:29,162 --> 00:15:31,662
alcoholics, and solved nothing.
442
00:15:31,664 --> 00:15:33,504
The drug war is doing the same
443
00:15:33,500 --> 00:15:34,630
thing.
444
00:15:34,634 --> 00:15:36,504
It's a fiasco.
445
00:15:36,503 --> 00:15:38,643
They're twins from hell.
446
00:15:40,707 --> 00:15:42,037
>> NARRATOR: Ironically, while
447
00:15:42,042 --> 00:15:43,542
alcohol had been outlawed during
448
00:15:43,543 --> 00:15:46,153
Prohibition, one intoxicating
449
00:15:46,146 --> 00:15:49,046
substance went unregulated:
450
00:15:49,049 --> 00:15:51,379
marijuana.
451
00:15:51,384 --> 00:15:54,294
That is, until Harry J.
452
00:15:54,287 --> 00:15:55,687
Anslinger, the first
453
00:15:55,688 --> 00:15:57,018
commissioner of the U.S.
454
00:15:57,024 --> 00:15:59,164
Treasury Department's Federal
455
00:15:59,159 --> 00:16:00,559
Bureau of Narcotics, decided to
456
00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,400
make marijuana public enemy
457
00:16:03,396 --> 00:16:06,696
number one in 1930.
458
00:16:06,699 --> 00:16:08,599
>> LEE: Anslinger was trying to
459
00:16:08,601 --> 00:16:10,471
make marijuana illegal because
460
00:16:10,470 --> 00:16:12,740
he was concerned that his entire
461
00:16:12,739 --> 00:16:14,669
department would be eliminated
462
00:16:14,674 --> 00:16:16,314
during the depression.
463
00:16:16,343 --> 00:16:19,083
Hence Reefer Madness.
464
00:16:19,079 --> 00:16:21,149
>> MAN: May!
465
00:16:21,181 --> 00:16:23,051
>> MAY: What do you want?
466
00:16:23,050 --> 00:16:24,720
>> MAN: Bring me some reefers.
467
00:16:24,717 --> 00:16:26,087
>> LEE: He got behind this
468
00:16:26,086 --> 00:16:27,316
reefer madness campaign in an
469
00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:28,490
effort to convince the public
470
00:16:28,488 --> 00:16:30,058
that there was this terrible
471
00:16:30,057 --> 00:16:32,327
evil, this evil weed loose in
472
00:16:32,325 --> 00:16:33,725
the land that no one ever heard
473
00:16:33,726 --> 00:16:35,026
about, really.
474
00:16:35,028 --> 00:16:37,558
>> MAN: I know what you want.
475
00:16:37,564 --> 00:16:39,504
You want to kill me.
476
00:16:39,499 --> 00:16:42,499
>> MAN 2: You're crazy.
477
00:16:42,502 --> 00:16:46,372
(woman screaming)
478
00:16:46,373 --> 00:16:48,113
>> LEE: Anslinger would leak
479
00:16:48,108 --> 00:16:49,508
stories about horrific murders
480
00:16:49,509 --> 00:16:51,439
allegedly committed by people
481
00:16:51,444 --> 00:16:53,454
who had smoked marijuana.
482
00:16:53,446 --> 00:16:55,216
Then he would go and quote the
483
00:16:55,215 --> 00:16:56,615
stories when testifying before
484
00:16:56,616 --> 00:16:58,746
Congress, and he'd go, "See?
485
00:16:58,751 --> 00:17:00,121
See how evil marijuana is?
486
00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:01,650
They reported in such-and-such
487
00:17:01,654 --> 00:17:03,094
paper."
488
00:17:03,090 --> 00:17:04,390
>> NARRATOR: Harry Anslinger
489
00:17:04,391 --> 00:17:06,191
convinced Congress and the
490
00:17:06,193 --> 00:17:07,533
American people that marijuana
491
00:17:07,527 --> 00:17:09,357
was a deadly danger to society.
492
00:17:09,362 --> 00:17:12,372
As far as he was concerned, it
493
00:17:12,365 --> 00:17:14,365
was a gateway to other drugs.
494
00:17:14,367 --> 00:17:18,337
In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act
495
00:17:18,338 --> 00:17:20,668
outlawed the drug at the federal
496
00:17:20,673 --> 00:17:23,813
level, where it has remained for
497
00:17:23,810 --> 00:17:26,280
nearly a century.
498
00:17:29,382 --> 00:17:32,792
June 20, 2012, Washington, D.C.
499
00:17:32,785 --> 00:17:34,345
Appearing before a House
500
00:17:34,354 --> 00:17:36,664
Judiciary Committee, Drug
501
00:17:36,656 --> 00:17:37,816
Enforcement Agency chief
502
00:17:37,824 --> 00:17:41,134
Michele Leonhart is asked about
503
00:17:41,128 --> 00:17:43,758
marijuana's classification as a
504
00:17:43,763 --> 00:17:45,773
Schedule I drug alongside heroin
505
00:17:45,798 --> 00:17:48,368
and methamphetamine.
506
00:17:48,368 --> 00:17:50,298
>> POLIS: Is heroin, uh, worse,
507
00:17:50,303 --> 00:17:52,713
uh, for someone's health than
508
00:17:52,705 --> 00:17:53,765
marijuana?
509
00:17:53,773 --> 00:17:54,773
>> MICHELE LEONHART: Heroin
510
00:17:54,774 --> 00:17:55,684
causes an addiction...
511
00:17:55,675 --> 00:17:56,505
>> POLIS: Okay.
512
00:17:56,509 --> 00:17:57,509
>> LEONHART: So it's very hard
513
00:17:57,510 --> 00:17:58,310
to kick.
514
00:17:58,311 --> 00:17:59,311
>> POLIS: So does that mean that
515
00:17:59,312 --> 00:18:00,452
the health impact of heroin is
516
00:18:00,447 --> 00:18:01,707
worse than marijuana, is that
517
00:18:01,714 --> 00:18:02,724
what you're telling me?
518
00:18:02,715 --> 00:18:04,145
>> LEONHART: All illegal drugs
519
00:18:04,151 --> 00:18:07,451
are... in Schedule I, are
520
00:18:07,454 --> 00:18:09,194
addictive.
521
00:18:09,189 --> 00:18:10,689
>> POLIS: I-I thought she would
522
00:18:10,690 --> 00:18:11,790
acknowledge relatively quickly
523
00:18:11,791 --> 00:18:13,461
that, you know, okay, well,
524
00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:14,430
marijuana's not as harmful as
525
00:18:14,461 --> 00:18:15,301
heroin.
526
00:18:15,295 --> 00:18:16,425
I wasn't even able to get her to
527
00:18:16,429 --> 00:18:17,429
acknowledge that-- the basic
528
00:18:17,430 --> 00:18:18,470
scientific fact.
529
00:18:18,465 --> 00:18:19,465
>> BONNER: What it means to be
530
00:18:19,466 --> 00:18:20,866
on Schedule I is that there is
531
00:18:20,867 --> 00:18:23,797
no proven scientific medical
532
00:18:23,803 --> 00:18:26,313
purpose for the drug.
533
00:18:26,306 --> 00:18:28,336
And in the case of marijuana,
534
00:18:28,341 --> 00:18:29,681
while a lot of people seem to
535
00:18:29,676 --> 00:18:30,706
believe marijuana is good
536
00:18:30,710 --> 00:18:32,750
medicine, the fact is there
537
00:18:32,745 --> 00:18:35,145
actually isn't scientific
538
00:18:35,148 --> 00:18:36,548
evidence, at least, I've seen on
539
00:18:36,549 --> 00:18:38,319
it, that demonstrates that it is
540
00:18:38,318 --> 00:18:40,218
a safe and effective medicine
541
00:18:40,220 --> 00:18:42,620
for any purpose.
542
00:18:42,622 --> 00:18:43,762
>> LEE: The federal government's
543
00:18:43,756 --> 00:18:45,456
official position is that
544
00:18:45,458 --> 00:18:47,188
marijuana is a dangerous dg
545
00:18:47,194 --> 00:18:48,904
with no medical value.
546
00:18:48,895 --> 00:18:50,895
That is tantamount to saying the
547
00:18:50,897 --> 00:18:52,627
moon is made of green cheese.
548
00:18:52,632 --> 00:18:54,472
There have been scientific
549
00:18:54,467 --> 00:18:56,337
papers in peer-reviewed
550
00:18:56,336 --> 00:18:58,366
scientific journals that, uh,
551
00:18:58,371 --> 00:19:00,641
address marijuana's medicinal
552
00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:02,780
utility.
553
00:19:02,775 --> 00:19:04,305
>> NARRATOR: Could the Drug
554
00:19:04,311 --> 00:19:05,451
Enforcement Agency's targeting
555
00:19:05,445 --> 00:19:07,645
of marijuana as a harmful
556
00:19:07,647 --> 00:19:09,577
narcotic be based on a
557
00:19:09,582 --> 00:19:11,322
legitimate concern for public
558
00:19:11,318 --> 00:19:13,248
health and safety?
559
00:19:13,253 --> 00:19:16,193
Or is there another, perhaps
560
00:19:16,189 --> 00:19:17,659
secret reason for outlawing the
561
00:19:17,657 --> 00:19:19,257
substance?
562
00:19:19,259 --> 00:19:20,259
(shouting)
563
00:19:20,260 --> 00:19:21,260
>> OFFICER: Police!
564
00:19:21,261 --> 00:19:22,601
I have a search warrant, demand
565
00:19:22,595 --> 00:19:23,595
entry! Go.
566
00:19:23,596 --> 00:19:24,596
>> LEE: Marijuana prohibition is
567
00:19:24,597 --> 00:19:25,797
really at the heart of the war
568
00:19:25,798 --> 00:19:27,868
on drugs.
569
00:19:27,867 --> 00:19:29,267
When you consider the numbers of
570
00:19:29,269 --> 00:19:30,369
people who are arrested each
571
00:19:30,370 --> 00:19:32,270
year, totaling over now three
572
00:19:32,272 --> 00:19:33,612
quarters of a million for the
573
00:19:33,606 --> 00:19:35,406
last few years, if you remove
574
00:19:35,408 --> 00:19:36,908
that from the equation, you'd
575
00:19:36,909 --> 00:19:38,879
have a drug problem that seemed
576
00:19:38,878 --> 00:19:40,678
awful small in the United
577
00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:41,810
States.
578
00:19:41,814 --> 00:19:44,484
>> NARRATOR: In November 2012,
579
00:19:44,484 --> 00:19:46,294
new battle lines were drawn in
580
00:19:46,286 --> 00:19:48,256
America's war on drugs, as
581
00:19:48,255 --> 00:19:50,755
residents of both Colorado and
582
00:19:50,757 --> 00:19:52,827
Washington state voted to
583
00:19:52,825 --> 00:19:54,685
legalize marijuana for adult
584
00:19:54,694 --> 00:19:57,934
recreational use.
585
00:19:57,930 --> 00:19:59,630
>> MAN: Well, it definitely
586
00:19:59,632 --> 00:20:03,272
smells like freedom.
587
00:20:03,270 --> 00:20:04,540
>> BONNER: The Controlled
588
00:20:04,537 --> 00:20:06,437
Substances Act says that it's
589
00:20:06,439 --> 00:20:08,909
illegal under federal law to
590
00:20:08,908 --> 00:20:11,408
commercially cultivate and sell
591
00:20:11,411 --> 00:20:12,781
marijuana.
592
00:20:12,779 --> 00:20:13,979
So there's a conflict.
593
00:20:13,980 --> 00:20:14,950
The federal government's
594
00:20:14,947 --> 00:20:16,447
responsibility is to enforce
595
00:20:16,449 --> 00:20:17,719
federal law, and that's what the
596
00:20:17,717 --> 00:20:21,417
Department of Justice should do.
597
00:20:21,421 --> 00:20:22,561
>> POLIS: The estimates are
598
00:20:22,555 --> 00:20:23,585
that, uh, marijuana provides
599
00:20:23,590 --> 00:20:25,830
about half of the revenues for
600
00:20:25,825 --> 00:20:28,295
the Mexican drug cartels.
601
00:20:28,295 --> 00:20:29,455
Legalizing and regulating
602
00:20:29,462 --> 00:20:30,932
marijuana could generate tax
603
00:20:30,930 --> 00:20:32,870
revenues for cities and states
604
00:20:32,865 --> 00:20:34,395
and you would save money and
605
00:20:34,401 --> 00:20:36,301
save lives, uh, by ending the
606
00:20:36,303 --> 00:20:37,543
failed drug war with regard to
607
00:20:37,537 --> 00:20:38,607
marijuana.
608
00:20:38,605 --> 00:20:39,965
>> NARRATOR: Could legalization
609
00:20:39,972 --> 00:20:41,842
and taxation really be the
610
00:20:41,841 --> 00:20:44,281
answer?
611
00:20:44,277 --> 00:20:45,847
Could America's war against
612
00:20:45,845 --> 00:20:47,605
drugs be so easily won?
613
00:20:47,614 --> 00:20:48,754
>> OFFICER: Police, I have a
614
00:20:48,748 --> 00:20:49,748
search warrant!
615
00:20:49,749 --> 00:20:50,749
Demand entry!
616
00:20:50,750 --> 00:20:51,980
>> NARRATOR: And if so, why
617
00:20:51,984 --> 00:20:53,694
then is the U.S. government so
618
00:20:53,686 --> 00:20:55,756
willing to invest billions of
619
00:20:55,755 --> 00:20:58,885
taxpayer dollars in a war to
620
00:20:58,891 --> 00:21:01,591
protect citizens from
621
00:21:01,594 --> 00:21:04,604
themselves?
622
00:21:04,597 --> 00:21:08,437
dio chatter)
623
00:21:08,435 --> 00:21:09,665
>> NARRATOR: The United States'
624
00:21:09,669 --> 00:21:11,399
zero tolerance policy towards
625
00:21:11,404 --> 00:21:13,574
illicit drug use has helped turn
626
00:21:13,573 --> 00:21:15,683
a country with five percent of
627
00:21:15,675 --> 00:21:17,805
the world's population into one
628
00:21:17,810 --> 00:21:20,410
that holds 25% of the world's
629
00:21:20,413 --> 00:21:23,323
prisoners.
630
00:21:23,316 --> 00:21:24,976
But within these numbers lays
631
00:21:24,984 --> 00:21:26,824
another even more shocking
632
00:21:26,819 --> 00:21:29,859
statistic.
633
00:21:29,856 --> 00:21:32,686
African-Americans, a minority
634
00:21:32,692 --> 00:21:34,332
group that accounts for just 15%
635
00:21:34,327 --> 00:21:37,727
of the U.S. population, comprise
636
00:21:37,730 --> 00:21:40,700
nearly 40% of America's
637
00:21:40,700 --> 00:21:43,000
proners.
638
00:21:43,002 --> 00:21:44,542
But why?
639
00:21:44,537 --> 00:21:45,607
Could it be that
640
00:21:45,605 --> 00:21:46,965
African-Americans are really
641
00:21:46,973 --> 00:21:48,413
more inclined toward drug
642
00:21:48,441 --> 00:21:50,441
abuse?
643
00:21:50,443 --> 00:21:51,483
>> BOYCE WATKINS:
644
00:21:51,478 --> 00:21:53,008
African-American males
645
00:21:53,012 --> 00:21:55,012
are more likely to be stopped,
646
00:21:55,014 --> 00:21:56,984
they're more likely to be
647
00:21:56,983 --> 00:21:58,423
searched, they're more likely to
648
00:21:58,418 --> 00:21:59,448
be arrested, they're more
649
00:21:59,452 --> 00:22:00,722
likely to be incarcerated.
650
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:01,990
When that black kid gets
651
00:22:01,988 --> 00:22:03,458
arrested, in many cases, his
652
00:22:03,456 --> 00:22:04,716
mother doesn't have $2,000 or
653
00:22:04,724 --> 00:22:06,564
$3,000 to pay an attorney.
654
00:22:06,559 --> 00:22:08,029
So, uh, what happens in many
655
00:22:08,027 --> 00:22:09,557
cases is that they are
656
00:22:09,562 --> 00:22:11,032
literally told, "If you don't go
657
00:22:11,030 --> 00:22:12,630
ahead and plead guilty, we're
658
00:22:12,632 --> 00:22:13,732
gonna give you some
659
00:22:13,733 --> 00:22:15,743
unbelievable amount of time in
660
00:22:15,735 --> 00:22:17,735
prison."
661
00:22:17,737 --> 00:22:19,007
>> BONNER: I don't believe
662
00:22:19,005 --> 00:22:20,865
that, uh, Congress or, for that
663
00:22:20,873 --> 00:22:22,113
matter, any other state has
664
00:22:22,108 --> 00:22:24,138
enacted any drug law, nor do I
665
00:22:24,143 --> 00:22:25,913
believe that any drug law in my
666
00:22:25,912 --> 00:22:27,512
experience has ever been
667
00:22:27,514 --> 00:22:28,684
enforced, uh, for racial
668
00:22:28,715 --> 00:22:30,715
reasons.
669
00:22:30,717 --> 00:22:31,977
I think it borders on the
670
00:22:31,984 --> 00:22:34,594
ridiculous.
671
00:22:34,587 --> 00:22:35,787
>> NARRATOR: But if
672
00:22:35,788 --> 00:22:37,588
African-Americans aren't merely
673
00:22:37,590 --> 00:22:40,030
the targets of racial bias,
674
00:22:40,026 --> 00:22:41,656
then what could explain the
675
00:22:41,661 --> 00:22:43,501
chilling statistics related to
676
00:22:43,496 --> 00:22:45,896
drug abuse within their
677
00:22:45,898 --> 00:22:48,898
communities?
678
00:22:48,901 --> 00:22:52,141
January, 1970.
679
00:22:52,138 --> 00:22:53,738
The United States enters the
680
00:22:53,740 --> 00:22:54,940
second decade of the Vietnam
681
00:22:54,941 --> 00:22:57,911
War.
682
00:22:57,910 --> 00:22:59,680
In the heart of a region known
683
00:22:59,679 --> 00:23:01,949
as the Golden Triangle-- an area
684
00:23:01,948 --> 00:23:04,548
responsible for the majority of
685
00:23:04,551 --> 00:23:06,921
the world's opium production--
686
00:23:06,919 --> 00:23:09,419
the C.I.A. recruited local
687
00:23:09,422 --> 00:23:11,192
tribesman to help the U.S. war
688
00:23:11,190 --> 00:23:14,560
effort against North Vietnam.
689
00:23:14,561 --> 00:23:16,561
Under the leadership of General
690
00:23:16,563 --> 00:23:18,903
Vang Pao, they became known as
691
00:23:18,898 --> 00:23:21,698
the Secret Army.
692
00:23:21,701 --> 00:23:23,771
The good news was that Pao was
693
00:23:23,770 --> 00:23:27,040
bitterly anti-communist.
694
00:23:27,039 --> 00:23:29,639
The bad news was that he and his
695
00:23:29,642 --> 00:23:32,512
fellow freedom fighters were
696
00:23:32,545 --> 00:23:35,105
notorious drug dealers.
697
00:23:35,114 --> 00:23:37,224
>> LEVINE: All our allies in
698
00:23:37,216 --> 00:23:39,716
Vietnam made-made their
699
00:23:39,719 --> 00:23:41,219
livelihood by selling heroin
700
00:23:41,220 --> 00:23:42,820
around the world, right in the
701
00:23:42,822 --> 00:23:45,862
brains and veins of our G.I.s,
702
00:23:45,858 --> 00:23:47,228
to our kids, to my brother, and
703
00:23:47,226 --> 00:23:49,456
they were protected because that
704
00:23:49,462 --> 00:23:50,862
was how they supported
705
00:23:50,863 --> 00:23:51,863
themselves.
706
00:23:51,864 --> 00:23:53,674
Congress wouldn't pay for them.
707
00:23:53,666 --> 00:23:54,866
>> NARRATOR: It has even been
708
00:23:54,867 --> 00:23:56,937
alleged that the C.I.A.'s own
709
00:23:56,936 --> 00:23:59,536
covertly owned airline, Air
710
00:23:59,539 --> 00:24:02,139
America, was actively engaged in
711
00:24:02,141 --> 00:24:05,611
the transport of opium and
712
00:24:05,612 --> 00:24:09,082
heroin on behalf of Vang Pao.
713
00:24:09,081 --> 00:24:10,621
>> ROBERT STEELE: Vietnam was a
714
00:24:10,617 --> 00:24:12,747
new era for C.I.A.
715
00:24:12,752 --> 00:24:14,892
They learned how easy it was to
716
00:24:14,887 --> 00:24:17,857
move drugs using not only Air
717
00:24:17,857 --> 00:24:19,227
America in the local area but
718
00:24:19,225 --> 00:24:22,085
military transport.
719
00:24:22,094 --> 00:24:23,604
>> TARPLEY: The massive reality
720
00:24:23,596 --> 00:24:25,196
of-of the Vietnam era is that
721
00:24:25,231 --> 00:24:28,171
the C.I.A. runs drugs.
722
00:24:28,167 --> 00:24:29,697
This has to do with the fact
723
00:24:29,702 --> 00:24:32,272
that the budgets of-of the
724
00:24:32,271 --> 00:24:33,911
C.I.A. are limited and the
725
00:24:33,906 --> 00:24:36,906
ambition of these aggressors
726
00:24:36,909 --> 00:24:38,879
that are in these agencies,
727
00:24:38,878 --> 00:24:41,778
these ambitions are unlimited.
728
00:24:41,781 --> 00:24:45,521
>> NARRATOR: Could such wild
729
00:24:45,518 --> 00:24:47,648
charges be true?
730
00:24:47,654 --> 00:24:49,924
Is it possible that rogue forces
731
00:24:49,922 --> 00:24:51,992
within the C.I.A. and the
732
00:24:51,991 --> 00:24:54,261
American military knowingly
733
00:24:54,260 --> 00:24:58,130
engaged in drug trafficking?
734
00:24:58,130 --> 00:25:00,670
Or could such an audacious
735
00:25:00,667 --> 00:25:02,667
conspiracy theory be one of the
736
00:25:02,669 --> 00:25:04,799
unintended consequences of
737
00:25:04,804 --> 00:25:08,644
America's covert drug war?
738
00:25:08,641 --> 00:25:11,681
Harlem, New York.
739
00:25:11,678 --> 00:25:13,278
In the 1920s, a cultural
740
00:25:13,279 --> 00:25:15,619
renaissance takes this uptown
741
00:25:15,615 --> 00:25:18,275
New York City neighborhood by
742
00:25:18,284 --> 00:25:20,824
storm.
743
00:25:20,820 --> 00:25:22,820
African-American stars like
744
00:25:22,822 --> 00:25:25,562
Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington
745
00:25:25,558 --> 00:25:29,328
and Count Basie help usher in
746
00:25:29,328 --> 00:25:32,158
the New Negro Movement.
747
00:25:32,164 --> 00:25:34,304
They perform in front of
748
00:25:34,300 --> 00:25:36,100
sold-out audiences, both black
749
00:25:36,102 --> 00:25:39,072
and white, at iconic venues
750
00:25:39,071 --> 00:25:42,581
such as the Cotton Club, the
751
00:25:42,575 --> 00:25:45,535
Savoy Ballroom and the Apollo.
752
00:25:48,715 --> 00:25:51,075
But by the 1970s, the once
753
00:25:51,083 --> 00:25:53,093
vibrant community was infected
754
00:25:53,085 --> 00:25:55,245
by a deadly epidemic of poverty
755
00:25:55,254 --> 00:25:57,864
and crime.
756
00:25:57,857 --> 00:26:01,227
Heroin was the drug of choice.
757
00:26:01,227 --> 00:26:03,227
And an ambitious businessman
758
00:26:03,229 --> 00:26:06,869
named Frank Lucas was the new
759
00:26:06,866 --> 00:26:10,266
kingpin of Harlem.
760
00:26:10,269 --> 00:26:11,969
>> WATKINS: Frank Lucas was one
761
00:26:11,971 --> 00:26:14,971
of the more notorious figures
762
00:26:14,974 --> 00:26:17,214
in-in the drug trade in Harlem.
763
00:26:17,209 --> 00:26:19,879
He was able to get, uh, high
764
00:26:19,879 --> 00:26:20,879
quality heroin at a very cheap
765
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:22,720
price, which allowed him to
766
00:26:22,715 --> 00:26:24,015
really monopolize the drug trade
767
00:26:24,016 --> 00:26:25,946
in Harlem in a way that a black
768
00:26:25,985 --> 00:26:28,145
man had never done before.
769
00:26:28,154 --> 00:26:29,164
>> RUSSELL SIMMONS: The heroin
770
00:26:29,155 --> 00:26:30,355
epidemic destroyed our
771
00:26:30,389 --> 00:26:32,389
community.
772
00:26:32,391 --> 00:26:33,991
Everyone, you know, who was old
773
00:26:33,993 --> 00:26:35,233
enough to shoot heroin did
774
00:26:35,227 --> 00:26:36,397
almost.
775
00:26:36,395 --> 00:26:38,395
People were using drugs as
776
00:26:38,397 --> 00:26:39,897
recreational, and then one day
777
00:26:39,899 --> 00:26:42,029
you realize how-how terrible
778
00:26:42,034 --> 00:26:43,404
they were.
779
00:26:43,402 --> 00:26:44,642
People were overdosing and the
780
00:26:44,637 --> 00:26:46,367
fun was over.
781
00:26:46,372 --> 00:26:48,172
There are communities in places
782
00:26:48,174 --> 00:26:49,914
where-- even though your parents
783
00:26:49,909 --> 00:26:51,139
and your older brother uses
784
00:26:51,143 --> 00:26:53,383
drugs and you saw them lose
785
00:26:53,379 --> 00:26:55,379
their life to it-- you would
786
00:26:55,381 --> 00:26:58,651
still do it, which was proof
787
00:26:58,651 --> 00:27:01,921
that you had very little hope.
788
00:27:01,921 --> 00:27:03,421
>> NARRATOR: But one question
789
00:27:03,422 --> 00:27:05,422
that remained unanswered was how
790
00:27:05,424 --> 00:27:08,194
and why heroin was so
791
00:27:08,194 --> 00:27:11,304
particularly widespread in
792
00:27:11,297 --> 00:27:14,067
Harlem.
793
00:27:14,066 --> 00:27:15,296
>> WATKINS: Frank Lucas was
794
00:27:15,301 --> 00:27:17,771
able to make a connection that
795
00:27:17,770 --> 00:27:21,140
allowed him to have heroin
796
00:27:21,140 --> 00:27:24,810
transported allegedly in coffins
797
00:27:24,811 --> 00:27:26,811
of dead U.S. soldiers.
798
00:27:26,813 --> 00:27:29,683
>> LEVINE: As an undercover
799
00:27:29,682 --> 00:27:31,182
agent, I worked in Southeast
800
00:27:31,183 --> 00:27:32,753
Asia, in fact, during the
801
00:27:32,752 --> 00:27:33,752
Vietnam War.
802
00:27:33,753 --> 00:27:34,953
And I'm given a case that
803
00:27:34,954 --> 00:27:36,094
involved the smuggling of heroin
804
00:27:36,088 --> 00:27:38,418
in the dead bodies of our
805
00:27:38,424 --> 00:27:40,794
K.I.A.s in Vietnam.
806
00:27:40,793 --> 00:27:42,803
And the informant was a G.I.,
807
00:27:42,795 --> 00:27:45,055
and he tells me that the same
808
00:27:45,064 --> 00:27:46,974
people that had been protected
809
00:27:46,966 --> 00:27:49,366
were the source of heroin being
810
00:27:49,368 --> 00:27:50,838
smuggled in the bodies of our
811
00:27:50,837 --> 00:27:52,237
G.I.s.
812
00:27:52,238 --> 00:27:53,238
And I just refused to
813
00:27:53,239 --> 00:27:54,239
acknowledge it.
814
00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:55,340
I think-- I thought it's just
815
00:27:55,341 --> 00:27:57,441
not real, and I shoved it
816
00:27:57,443 --> 00:28:00,253
somewhere in my subconscious.
817
00:28:00,246 --> 00:28:02,206
>> NARRATOR: Was Frank Lucas's
818
00:28:02,214 --> 00:28:04,084
heroin pipeline connected to
819
00:28:04,083 --> 00:28:07,093
drug-running by the C.I.A.'s
820
00:28:07,086 --> 00:28:10,986
Secret Army in Southeast Asia?
821
00:28:10,990 --> 00:28:13,990
And if so, who knew about it?
822
00:28:13,993 --> 00:28:16,203
Was this the price America would
823
00:28:16,195 --> 00:28:18,455
pay in its fight against global
824
00:28:18,464 --> 00:28:21,004
communism?
825
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,000
Or could this all simply be a
826
00:28:24,003 --> 00:28:26,143
coincidence?
827
00:28:26,138 --> 00:28:32,078
Coming up...iami International
828
00:28:32,078 --> 00:28:35,848
Airport, Florida, 1990.
829
00:28:35,848 --> 00:28:38,218
U.S. Customs agents discover
830
00:28:38,217 --> 00:28:40,017
more than a ton of pure cocaine
831
00:28:40,019 --> 00:28:43,859
hidden inside an airplane owned
832
00:28:43,856 --> 00:28:45,826
by the Venezuelan National
833
00:28:45,825 --> 00:28:48,025
Guard.
834
00:28:48,027 --> 00:28:49,357
When officials question the
835
00:28:49,361 --> 00:28:51,161
aircraft's commanding officer,
836
00:28:51,163 --> 00:28:53,503
General Ramon Guillen Davila, he
837
00:28:53,499 --> 00:28:56,039
makes a shocking claim.
838
00:28:56,035 --> 00:28:57,265
>> LEVINE: The first thing he
839
00:28:57,269 --> 00:28:58,239
says is, "I'm working for
840
00:28:58,270 --> 00:29:00,270
Central Intelligence."
841
00:29:00,272 --> 00:29:02,472
And that turns out to be
842
00:29:02,508 --> 00:29:04,978
absolutely true.
843
00:29:04,977 --> 00:29:06,277
>> NARRATOR: According to later
844
00:29:06,278 --> 00:29:08,278
testimony, the drugs were sent
845
00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:10,320
to the U.S. as part of a covert
846
00:29:10,316 --> 00:29:13,886
C.I.A. scheme to infiltrate
847
00:29:13,886 --> 00:29:15,286
Colombian drug gangs operating
848
00:29:15,287 --> 00:29:17,557
in Miami.
849
00:29:17,556 --> 00:29:19,186
Sound crazy?
850
00:29:19,191 --> 00:29:21,931
Not as crazy as what happened to
851
00:29:21,928 --> 00:29:24,158
the ton of cocaine.
852
00:29:24,163 --> 00:29:26,333
Three years after the incident,
853
00:29:26,332 --> 00:29:28,902
the C.I.A. publicly revealed
854
00:29:28,901 --> 00:29:30,801
that the seized drugs ended up
855
00:29:30,803 --> 00:29:33,473
being sold on the streets of
856
00:29:33,472 --> 00:29:35,342
America.
857
00:29:35,341 --> 00:29:37,341
>> LEVINE: Woolsey, the head
858
00:29:37,343 --> 00:29:38,813
of the-- of C.I.A. went around
859
00:29:38,811 --> 00:29:40,081
the country saying, "Oh, it was
860
00:29:40,079 --> 00:29:41,209
a joint intelligence operation
861
00:29:41,213 --> 00:29:43,583
that went awry."
862
00:29:43,582 --> 00:29:45,082
>> NARRATOR: But how could
863
00:29:45,084 --> 00:29:47,054
impounded drugs end up on the
864
00:29:47,053 --> 00:29:49,223
streets of America?
865
00:29:49,221 --> 00:29:51,591
Or perhaps more importantly,
866
00:29:51,590 --> 00:29:53,530
why?
867
00:29:56,595 --> 00:29:59,195
October 5, 1986.
868
00:29:59,198 --> 00:30:01,368
Southern Nicaragua.
869
00:30:01,367 --> 00:30:03,337
In the midst of a bloody civil
870
00:30:03,335 --> 00:30:05,195
war between the pro-Marxist
871
00:30:05,204 --> 00:30:07,074
Sandinista government and a
872
00:30:07,073 --> 00:30:08,573
group of guerilla freedom
873
00:30:08,574 --> 00:30:10,944
fighters called the Contras, an
874
00:30:10,943 --> 00:30:14,253
American C-123 aircraft is shot
875
00:30:14,246 --> 00:30:15,946
down and crashes into the
876
00:30:15,948 --> 00:30:17,618
rainforest.
877
00:30:17,616 --> 00:30:20,246
(automatic gunfire)
878
00:30:20,252 --> 00:30:22,622
The only survivor is a former
879
00:30:22,621 --> 00:30:25,221
Air America pilot, Eugene
880
00:30:25,224 --> 00:30:27,864
Hasenfus.
881
00:30:27,860 --> 00:30:29,100
>> CASTILLO: Eugene Hasenfus was
882
00:30:29,128 --> 00:30:31,398
a contract pilot for the C.I.A.
883
00:30:31,397 --> 00:30:34,067
He was airdropping, um, uh,
884
00:30:34,066 --> 00:30:36,096
supplies for the Contras, and
885
00:30:36,102 --> 00:30:37,872
the day he was shot down, um, he
886
00:30:37,870 --> 00:30:40,640
stated he was a part of a U.S.
887
00:30:40,639 --> 00:30:43,079
government operation.
888
00:30:43,075 --> 00:30:44,105
I mean, he spilled the beans
889
00:30:44,110 --> 00:30:45,110
right off the bat.
890
00:30:45,111 --> 00:30:46,111
>> JACK BLUM: The Boland
891
00:30:46,112 --> 00:30:48,282
Amendment prohibited the use of
892
00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,150
government money to assist in
893
00:30:50,149 --> 00:30:53,149
any attempt to overthrow the
894
00:30:53,152 --> 00:30:55,092
government of Nicaragua, which
895
00:30:55,121 --> 00:30:57,121
was duly elected.
896
00:30:57,123 --> 00:30:58,563
Here was Hasenfus, who was
897
00:30:58,557 --> 00:31:01,227
supposedly flying supplies to
898
00:31:01,227 --> 00:31:04,557
the Contras, and this of course
899
00:31:04,563 --> 00:31:06,133
meant that there had to be some
900
00:31:06,132 --> 00:31:08,432
sort of investigation.
901
00:31:08,434 --> 00:31:10,004
>> NARRATOR: As the media began
902
00:31:10,002 --> 00:31:11,972
to investigate the Hasenfus
903
00:31:11,971 --> 00:31:14,141
incident, it soon became aware
904
00:31:14,140 --> 00:31:18,040
of another political intrigue.
905
00:31:18,044 --> 00:31:21,454
November 13, 1986.
906
00:31:21,447 --> 00:31:23,577
President Ronald Reagan went on
907
00:31:23,582 --> 00:31:25,682
national television and
908
00:31:25,684 --> 00:31:28,024
acknowledged that the U.S. had
909
00:31:28,020 --> 00:31:29,420
brokered an arms deal with
910
00:31:29,421 --> 00:31:31,421
Iranian military forces in an
911
00:31:31,423 --> 00:31:33,333
effort to free American
912
00:31:33,325 --> 00:31:35,585
hostages.
913
00:31:35,594 --> 00:31:37,304
>> RONALD REAGAN: First, let me
914
00:31:37,296 --> 00:31:39,326
say I take full responsibility
915
00:31:39,331 --> 00:31:40,671
for my own actions and for those
916
00:31:40,666 --> 00:31:42,936
of my administration.
917
00:31:42,935 --> 00:31:44,935
As angry as I may be about
918
00:31:44,937 --> 00:31:46,437
activities undertaken without my
919
00:31:46,438 --> 00:31:48,008
knowledge, I am still
920
00:31:48,007 --> 00:31:49,477
accountable for those
921
00:31:49,475 --> 00:31:51,575
activities.
922
00:31:53,612 --> 00:31:56,182
>> NARRATOR: 12 days later,
923
00:31:56,182 --> 00:31:58,452
U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese
924
00:31:58,450 --> 00:32:00,490
disclosed yet another shocking
925
00:32:00,486 --> 00:32:04,086
secret: that profits from the
926
00:32:04,090 --> 00:32:06,230
covert sale of arms to Iran had
927
00:32:06,225 --> 00:32:08,625
been diverted to aid the Contras
928
00:32:08,627 --> 00:32:11,357
in Nicaragua.
929
00:32:11,363 --> 00:32:12,563
>> ED MEESE: Certain monies
930
00:32:12,564 --> 00:32:15,734
were taken and made available
931
00:32:15,734 --> 00:32:19,344
to the forces in Central America
932
00:32:19,338 --> 00:32:21,338
which are opposing the
933
00:32:21,340 --> 00:32:23,980
Sandinista government there.
934
00:32:23,976 --> 00:32:25,336
>> BLUM: For President Reagan,
935
00:32:25,344 --> 00:32:27,484
it became essential to find a
936
00:32:27,479 --> 00:32:30,579
way to fund an attempt to
937
00:32:30,582 --> 00:32:32,222
overthrow the government.
938
00:32:32,218 --> 00:32:33,248
They were determined to get
939
00:32:33,252 --> 00:32:34,652
around the congressional
940
00:32:34,653 --> 00:32:36,223
restriction.
941
00:32:36,222 --> 00:32:38,262
>> NARRATOR: The White House
942
00:32:38,257 --> 00:32:39,657
identified National Security
943
00:32:39,658 --> 00:32:41,488
Council Deputy Director
944
00:32:41,493 --> 00:32:43,503
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North
945
00:32:43,495 --> 00:32:46,095
as the mastermind behind the
946
00:32:46,098 --> 00:32:48,228
operation.
947
00:32:48,234 --> 00:32:50,774
And on July 7, 1987, the officer
948
00:32:50,769 --> 00:32:53,009
was summoned to testify before
949
00:32:53,005 --> 00:32:55,205
a joint congressional committee
950
00:32:55,207 --> 00:32:58,137
on live television.
951
00:32:58,144 --> 00:32:59,354
>> MAN: ...that in the testimony
952
00:32:59,345 --> 00:33:00,505
you're about to give will be the
953
00:33:00,512 --> 00:33:02,782
truth, the whole truth and
954
00:33:02,781 --> 00:33:04,481
nothing but the truth, so help
955
00:33:04,483 --> 00:33:05,553
you God?
956
00:33:05,551 --> 00:33:07,121
>> OLIVER NORTH: I do.
957
00:33:07,119 --> 00:33:08,389
>> CASTILLO: He admits before
958
00:33:08,387 --> 00:33:09,557
Congress that he lied to the
959
00:33:09,555 --> 00:33:11,015
American people, he lied to
960
00:33:11,023 --> 00:33:12,163
the committee.
961
00:33:12,158 --> 00:33:14,128
>> NORTH: By their very nature,
962
00:33:14,126 --> 00:33:17,256
covert operatis or special
963
00:33:17,296 --> 00:33:20,026
activities are a lie.
964
00:33:20,032 --> 00:33:21,172
>> TARPLEY: It's clear that a
965
00:33:21,167 --> 00:33:22,397
decision was made to push
966
00:33:22,401 --> 00:33:25,271
forward Oliver North as the
967
00:33:25,271 --> 00:33:28,371
person who would take the fall.
968
00:33:28,374 --> 00:33:30,314
(man speaking indistinctly)
969
00:33:33,712 --> 00:33:35,112
>> NARRATOR: But was Oliver
970
00:33:35,114 --> 00:33:36,324
North's testimony before
971
00:33:36,315 --> 00:33:38,515
Congress the whole truth and
972
00:33:38,517 --> 00:33:40,717
nothing but the truth?
973
00:33:40,719 --> 00:33:43,059
Or was it, as conspiracy
974
00:33:43,055 --> 00:33:44,455
theorists believe, part of an
975
00:33:44,456 --> 00:33:47,256
elaborate cover-up--
976
00:33:47,259 --> 00:33:48,529
one that was connected to the
977
00:33:48,527 --> 00:33:50,127
tragic plane crash in the
978
00:33:50,129 --> 00:33:52,559
Nicaraguan rainforest?
979
00:33:52,564 --> 00:33:55,204
>> LEE: That plane that was
980
00:33:55,201 --> 00:33:57,141
shot down had been owned by a
981
00:33:57,136 --> 00:33:58,796
major drug trafficker named
982
00:33:58,837 --> 00:34:00,837
Barry Seal.
983
00:34:00,839 --> 00:34:02,209
He sold the plane to the U.S.
984
00:34:02,208 --> 00:34:04,478
government, and U.S. officials
985
00:34:04,476 --> 00:34:07,476
feared that if the focus
986
00:34:07,479 --> 00:34:09,419
remained on that plane, it could
987
00:34:09,415 --> 00:34:12,475
result in a major scandal if the
988
00:34:12,484 --> 00:34:15,454
drug connection to the Contra
989
00:34:15,454 --> 00:34:16,764
war became fully known by the
990
00:34:16,755 --> 00:34:18,315
American public.
991
00:34:18,324 --> 00:34:19,634
>> TARPLEY: The reality of the
992
00:34:19,625 --> 00:34:22,855
Iran-Contra affair is that
993
00:34:22,861 --> 00:34:25,631
aircraft loaded with weapons
994
00:34:25,631 --> 00:34:29,341
took off from airports in the
995
00:34:29,335 --> 00:34:31,295
southern United States and flew
996
00:34:31,303 --> 00:34:33,343
into Central America, where the
997
00:34:33,339 --> 00:34:35,609
guns were unloaded and the
998
00:34:35,607 --> 00:34:37,777
planes were then loaded with
999
00:34:37,776 --> 00:34:39,776
illegal narcotics, and these
1000
00:34:39,778 --> 00:34:41,608
were then flown back to the
1001
00:34:41,613 --> 00:34:42,783
United States.
1002
00:34:42,781 --> 00:34:44,251
>> CASTILLO: I myself helped to
1003
00:34:44,250 --> 00:34:45,720
refuel those planes that
1004
00:34:45,717 --> 00:34:48,887
were-were loaded with cocaine
1005
00:34:48,887 --> 00:34:50,617
going into the U.S., knowing the
1006
00:34:50,622 --> 00:34:51,792
fact that they were gonna be
1007
00:34:51,790 --> 00:34:52,860
seized when they landed in the
1008
00:34:52,858 --> 00:34:54,258
U.S.
1009
00:34:54,260 --> 00:34:55,630
And every time I asked, "Well,
1010
00:34:55,627 --> 00:34:56,627
what happened to the plane that
1011
00:34:56,628 --> 00:34:58,328
we just refueled?" they said,
1012
00:34:58,330 --> 00:34:59,470
"Well, they changed the flight
1013
00:34:59,465 --> 00:35:00,525
plan in the middle of the... of
1014
00:35:00,532 --> 00:35:01,872
the flight."
1015
00:35:01,867 --> 00:35:03,537
And this happened four or five,
1016
00:35:03,535 --> 00:35:04,535
six times, and I said, "No,
1017
00:35:04,536 --> 00:35:05,536
there's something wrong with
1018
00:35:05,537 --> 00:35:06,537
this picture."
1019
00:35:06,538 --> 00:35:07,538
>> NARRATOR: Could the
1020
00:35:07,539 --> 00:35:09,809
conspiracy theorists be correct?
1021
00:35:09,808 --> 00:35:12,278
Is this the real secret of the
1022
00:35:12,278 --> 00:35:14,508
Iran-Contra affair?
1023
00:35:14,513 --> 00:35:16,823
That it wasn't just arms for
1024
00:35:16,815 --> 00:35:19,815
hostages but drugs for arms as
1025
00:35:19,818 --> 00:35:22,218
well?
1026
00:35:22,221 --> 00:35:25,391
>> CASTILLO: In January of 1986,
1027
00:35:25,391 --> 00:35:27,691
George H.W. Bush came to
1028
00:35:27,693 --> 00:35:31,233
Guatemala, and, uh, I said, "We
1029
00:35:31,230 --> 00:35:32,430
do have some intelligence that
1030
00:35:32,431 --> 00:35:34,171
the Contras are heavily
1031
00:35:34,166 --> 00:35:35,496
involved in drug trafficking out
1032
00:35:35,501 --> 00:35:37,941
of Ilopango Airport."
1033
00:35:37,936 --> 00:35:39,536
And he smiled at me and didn't
1034
00:35:39,538 --> 00:35:41,508
say a word, just shook my hand
1035
00:35:41,507 --> 00:35:43,437
and walked away from me.
1036
00:35:46,578 --> 00:35:48,448
>> NARRATOR: During the secret
1037
00:35:48,447 --> 00:35:50,717
Contra operation in the 1980s, a
1038
00:35:50,716 --> 00:35:53,286
cocaine crack epidemic was
1039
00:35:53,285 --> 00:35:55,185
spreading across Los Angeles,
1040
00:35:55,187 --> 00:35:57,287
California, an epidemic that
1041
00:35:57,289 --> 00:35:59,559
conspiracy theorists claim was
1042
00:35:59,558 --> 00:36:01,688
directly connected to Contra
1043
00:36:01,693 --> 00:36:03,703
drug trafficking.
1044
00:36:03,695 --> 00:36:04,695
>> BLUM: Lots of people in the
1045
00:36:04,696 --> 00:36:06,696
drug trade worked with impunity,
1046
00:36:06,698 --> 00:36:08,598
and that happened because the
1047
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:10,700
signal was, "Don't really go
1048
00:36:10,702 --> 00:36:13,872
after them because if you do, it
1049
00:36:13,872 --> 00:36:16,542
will expose, uh, what other
1050
00:36:16,542 --> 00:36:18,542
things we're doing covertly to
1051
00:36:18,544 --> 00:36:20,714
assist in the overthrow of the
1052
00:36:20,746 --> 00:36:24,716
Sandinista government."
1053
00:36:24,716 --> 00:36:27,746
>> WATKINS: Well, the Contra
1054
00:36:27,753 --> 00:36:29,223
connection says that the drug
1055
00:36:29,221 --> 00:36:31,461
war has almost no moral high
1056
00:36:31,457 --> 00:36:32,587
ground whatsoever, that the
1057
00:36:32,591 --> 00:36:33,731
United States has literally made
1058
00:36:33,725 --> 00:36:35,885
itself into clowns in the global
1059
00:36:35,894 --> 00:36:37,734
community by pretending to have
1060
00:36:37,729 --> 00:36:39,429
a war on drugs when really that
1061
00:36:39,465 --> 00:36:41,465
was never the case.
1062
00:36:41,467 --> 00:36:43,337
>> NARRATOR: Was Iran-Contra
1063
00:36:43,335 --> 00:36:45,465
really the continuation of a
1064
00:36:45,471 --> 00:36:47,611
top secret drug trafficking
1065
00:36:47,606 --> 00:36:50,476
operation that started during
1066
00:36:50,476 --> 00:36:53,346
the Vietnam War?
1067
00:36:53,345 --> 00:36:57,645
If so, who or what is behind it?
1068
00:36:57,649 --> 00:37:00,389
And why?
1069
00:37:00,386 --> 00:37:03,556
Coming up...
1070
00:37:03,555 --> 00:37:04,985
>> NARRATOR: Since Operation
1071
00:37:04,990 --> 00:37:06,560
Fast and Furious was first
1072
00:37:06,558 --> 00:37:10,458
exposed in 2011, one question
1073
00:37:10,462 --> 00:37:13,432
remains: why?
1074
00:37:13,432 --> 00:37:15,732
Why did the U.S. Department of
1075
00:37:15,734 --> 00:37:18,004
Justicthorize a covert
1076
00:37:18,003 --> 00:37:20,343
operation to send thousands of
1077
00:37:20,339 --> 00:37:22,739
military-style assault weapons
1078
00:37:22,741 --> 00:37:25,841
across the Mexican border and
1079
00:37:25,877 --> 00:37:29,007
keep it secret from Mexico?
1080
00:37:29,014 --> 00:37:30,884
>> ISSA: There are three
1081
00:37:30,882 --> 00:37:32,552
elements to the drug trade:
1082
00:37:32,551 --> 00:37:35,621
drugs, cash and weapons.
1083
00:37:35,621 --> 00:37:37,621
Without any of them, the system
1084
00:37:37,623 --> 00:37:39,863
shuts down.
1085
00:37:39,858 --> 00:37:41,458
>> HOWERTON: The only industry
1086
00:37:41,460 --> 00:37:42,460
that is more profitable than
1087
00:37:42,461 --> 00:37:43,601
the drug industry is the arms
1088
00:37:43,595 --> 00:37:45,025
industry.
1089
00:37:45,030 --> 00:37:46,870
The two trades are-are so
1090
00:37:46,865 --> 00:37:48,595
embedded within each other that
1091
00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:50,040
they're-they're almost one and
1092
00:37:50,035 --> 00:37:51,465
the same.
1093
00:37:51,470 --> 00:37:52,900
>> CASTILLO: 90% of the weapons
1094
00:37:52,904 --> 00:37:54,874
that are bought in the gun shows
1095
00:37:54,873 --> 00:37:56,713
and the gun stores in the United
1096
00:37:56,742 --> 00:37:59,652
States go to Mexico.
1097
00:37:59,645 --> 00:38:02,045
If you buy an AR-15 for $1,500,
1098
00:38:02,047 --> 00:38:04,047
uh, you can actually sell it in
1099
00:38:04,049 --> 00:38:06,049
Mexico four or five times the
1100
00:38:06,051 --> 00:38:07,391
value.
1101
00:38:07,386 --> 00:38:09,516
A Barrett .50 cal, brand-new in
1102
00:38:09,521 --> 00:38:11,661
a box, it's $10,000.
1103
00:38:11,657 --> 00:38:13,487
People in Mexico will pay you
1104
00:38:13,492 --> 00:38:16,662
$50,000 for that, uh, ten-round
1105
00:38:16,662 --> 00:38:18,532
magazine sniper rifle.
1106
00:38:18,530 --> 00:38:20,900
So the margin is huge.
1107
00:38:20,899 --> 00:38:22,329
>> NARRATOR: Is that the
1108
00:38:22,334 --> 00:38:23,374
connection?
1109
00:38:23,369 --> 00:38:25,499
Have rogue forces within the
1110
00:38:25,504 --> 00:38:27,744
U.S. government simply decided
1111
00:38:27,739 --> 00:38:29,639
to get fresh supplies of covert
1112
00:38:29,641 --> 00:38:32,511
cash by now selling weapons
1113
00:38:32,511 --> 00:38:34,951
instead of drugs?
1114
00:38:34,946 --> 00:38:36,746
Or, as conspiracy theorists
1115
00:38:36,748 --> 00:38:39,788
claim, is there a secret link
1116
00:38:39,785 --> 00:38:41,715
between the drug trade and the
1117
00:38:41,753 --> 00:38:44,093
arms industry?
1118
00:38:44,089 --> 00:38:45,089
>> WATKINS: There are some
1119
00:38:45,090 --> 00:38:46,790
people who would suffer
1120
00:38:46,792 --> 00:38:48,532
tremendous economic pain from
1121
00:38:48,527 --> 00:38:50,097
the end of the war on drugs.
1122
00:38:50,095 --> 00:38:51,395
You can start with law
1123
00:38:51,397 --> 00:38:52,527
enforcement officials who make
1124
00:38:52,531 --> 00:38:53,801
money based on the number of
1125
00:38:53,799 --> 00:38:55,029
arrests and seizures.
1126
00:38:55,033 --> 00:38:56,973
And you can go to the-the legal
1127
00:38:56,968 --> 00:38:58,098
system, where you've got all
1128
00:38:58,103 --> 00:38:59,443
these people being processed by
1129
00:38:59,438 --> 00:39:00,438
the courts.
1130
00:39:00,439 --> 00:39:01,639
You can go to the prison
1131
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:02,640
industrial complex.
1132
00:39:02,641 --> 00:39:03,641
You've got corporations that
1133
00:39:03,642 --> 00:39:04,812
build prisons and jails, and
1134
00:39:04,810 --> 00:39:05,910
they want those things to be
1135
00:39:05,911 --> 00:39:07,111
occupied.
1136
00:39:07,112 --> 00:39:09,422
>> SIMMONS: The war on drugs is
1137
00:39:09,415 --> 00:39:10,545
doing nothing but, you know,
1138
00:39:10,549 --> 00:39:11,779
feeding fat cats who own
1139
00:39:11,783 --> 00:39:12,823
prisons.
1140
00:39:12,818 --> 00:39:13,848
And we know that; everybody
1141
00:39:13,852 --> 00:39:15,552
knows that.
1142
00:39:15,554 --> 00:39:17,424
>> NARRATOR: Wild allegations?
1143
00:39:17,423 --> 00:39:19,563
Too far-fetched to be taken
1144
00:39:19,558 --> 00:39:21,528
seriously?
1145
00:39:21,527 --> 00:39:23,527
Perhaps.
1146
00:39:23,529 --> 00:39:25,959
That is, until one considers the
1147
00:39:25,964 --> 00:39:28,574
enormous amount of money
1148
00:39:28,567 --> 00:39:32,137
involved.
1149
00:39:32,137 --> 00:39:35,737
In December 2012, HSBC,
1150
00:39:35,741 --> 00:39:37,841
Europe's largest bank, was fined
1151
00:39:37,843 --> 00:39:41,453
a record $1.9 billion for
1152
00:39:41,447 --> 00:39:44,577
repeatedly failing to report
1153
00:39:44,583 --> 00:39:46,593
suspected drug laundering
1154
00:39:46,585 --> 00:39:48,485
transactions.
1155
00:39:48,487 --> 00:39:50,987
>> BLUM: HSBC, a global bank,
1156
00:39:50,989 --> 00:39:53,119
is said to have laundered $4
1157
00:39:53,158 --> 00:39:56,158
billion for the Mexican cartels.
1158
00:39:56,161 --> 00:39:58,631
We know that the major banks--
1159
00:39:58,630 --> 00:40:01,430
just from recent disclosures--
1160
00:40:01,433 --> 00:40:03,473
are handling billions of dollars
1161
00:40:03,469 --> 00:40:05,639
in illicit drug money.
1162
00:40:05,637 --> 00:40:06,837
>> HOWERTON: The Senate found
1163
00:40:06,838 --> 00:40:09,478
that $7 billion from 2007 to
1164
00:40:09,475 --> 00:40:11,635
2009 was allowed to filter in to
1165
00:40:11,643 --> 00:40:13,183
the United States, uh, from
1166
00:40:13,178 --> 00:40:15,748
supposed, uh, drug money.
1167
00:40:15,747 --> 00:40:16,877
And we don't really know where
1168
00:40:16,882 --> 00:40:18,452
it ended up, uh, who it went to,
1169
00:40:18,450 --> 00:40:19,720
who's being funded here in the
1170
00:40:19,718 --> 00:40:22,118
United States worth $7 billion.
1171
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:24,520
>> CASTILLO: There's so much
1172
00:40:24,523 --> 00:40:26,023
money that you can actually
1173
00:40:26,024 --> 00:40:27,534
buy the power.
1174
00:40:27,526 --> 00:40:28,926
>> NARRATOR: With the United
1175
00:40:28,927 --> 00:40:30,497
States mired in trillions of
1176
00:40:30,496 --> 00:40:31,926
dollars of debt, could there be,
1177
00:40:31,930 --> 00:40:35,670
as conspiracy theorists claim, a
1178
00:40:35,667 --> 00:40:38,467
river of dirty money keeping
1179
00:40:38,470 --> 00:40:41,640
the fragile U.S. economy afloat?
1180
00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:44,910
Is America's illegal drug trade
1181
00:40:44,910 --> 00:40:47,080
another institution that's too
1182
00:40:47,078 --> 00:40:49,548
big to fail?
1183
00:40:49,548 --> 00:40:50,648
>> TARPLEY: The fact is the
1184
00:40:50,649 --> 00:40:52,019
C.I.A. runs the drugs, Wall
1185
00:40:52,050 --> 00:40:54,050
Street launders the money.
1186
00:40:54,052 --> 00:40:55,822
These institutions are too
1187
00:40:55,821 --> 00:40:57,221
powerful to be challenged, and
1188
00:40:57,222 --> 00:40:58,622
therefore we have the
1189
00:40:58,624 --> 00:41:01,064
continuation of the drug plague.
1190
00:41:01,059 --> 00:41:03,089
>> LEVINE: There's plenty of
1191
00:41:03,094 --> 00:41:04,234
evidence that individuals are
1192
00:41:04,229 --> 00:41:05,829
making a lot of money on drug
1193
00:41:05,831 --> 00:41:06,901
trafficking because they're
1194
00:41:06,898 --> 00:41:08,768
beyond policing.
1195
00:41:08,767 --> 00:41:09,937
No one's watching them.
1196
00:41:09,935 --> 00:41:11,165
>> HOWERTON: The cartels are
1197
00:41:11,169 --> 00:41:13,239
operating in-in every major U.S.
1198
00:41:13,238 --> 00:41:14,238
city.
1199
00:41:14,239 --> 00:41:16,069
You can't do that if you don't
1200
00:41:16,074 --> 00:41:18,544
have some kind of in, uh, to the
1201
00:41:18,544 --> 00:41:19,514
United States.
1202
00:41:19,545 --> 00:41:20,775
You just can't do it.
1203
00:41:20,779 --> 00:41:21,809
>> NARRATOR: Has the United
1204
00:41:21,813 --> 00:41:23,583
States' nearly insatiable
1205
00:41:23,582 --> 00:41:25,652
appetite for illegal drugs
1206
00:41:25,651 --> 00:41:28,091
really allowed it to be invaded
1207
00:41:28,086 --> 00:41:30,086
by a foreign enemy--
1208
00:41:30,088 --> 00:41:32,558
an enemy so insidious and so
1209
00:41:32,558 --> 00:41:35,588
effective that it has taken root
1210
00:41:35,594 --> 00:41:37,634
in America's cities,
1211
00:41:37,663 --> 00:41:39,673
neighborhoods and homes?
1212
00:41:39,665 --> 00:41:40,765
>> BOWDEN: The war on drugs is
1213
00:41:40,799 --> 00:41:42,799
over.
1214
00:41:42,801 --> 00:41:44,001
It was won by the people that
1215
00:41:44,002 --> 00:41:45,202
sell drugs.
1216
00:41:45,203 --> 00:41:46,843
It's killed God knows how many
1217
00:41:46,838 --> 00:41:47,938
people.
1218
00:41:47,939 --> 00:41:48,939
It's created the largest prison
1219
00:41:48,940 --> 00:41:50,880
population on the planet.
1220
00:41:50,876 --> 00:41:52,576
And every drug's more
1221
00:41:52,578 --> 00:41:54,848
available, cheaper and better.
1222
00:41:54,846 --> 00:41:56,276
>> CASTILLO: Everything that
1223
00:41:56,281 --> 00:41:57,851
happens in the drug war is
1224
00:41:57,849 --> 00:41:58,879
connected.
1225
00:41:58,884 --> 00:42:01,024
We created a monster that we
1226
00:42:01,019 --> 00:42:02,849
can't... we can't turn back.
1227
00:42:02,854 --> 00:42:04,724
>> NARRATOR: More than 40 years
1228
00:42:04,723 --> 00:42:06,223
since President Nixon declared
1229
00:42:06,224 --> 00:42:09,734
America's war on drugs, the
1230
00:42:09,728 --> 00:42:12,558
battle rages on, with seemingly
1231
00:42:12,564 --> 00:42:15,734
no end in sight.
1232
00:42:15,734 --> 00:42:16,904
Can it ever be won?
1233
00:42:16,902 --> 00:42:17,902
>> MAN: ...police, we have a
1234
00:42:17,903 --> 00:42:18,903
search warrant!
1235
00:42:18,904 --> 00:42:19,914
We demand entry!
1236
00:42:19,905 --> 00:42:21,035
>> NARRATOR: Or is the real
1237
00:42:21,039 --> 00:42:23,009
secret that it was always and
1238
00:42:23,008 --> 00:42:24,878
deliberately intended to be
1239
00:42:24,910 --> 00:42:26,310
lost?
1240
00:42:26,311 --> 00:42:27,311
Captioning sponsored by
1241
00:42:27,312 --> 00:42:29,312
A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS
1242
00:42:29,314 --> 00:42:30,284
Captioned by
1243
00:42:30,315 --> 00:42:31,315
Media Access Group at WGBH
1244
00:42:31,316 --> 00:42:33,276
access.wgbh.org
81356
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