relationship with Adler Barriman "Barry" Seal; During a mission, the Medelln Cartel picks Seal up and asks him to fly cocaine on his return flights to the United States. He carried out his smuggling operation under the nose of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. Judicial Watch On Issue: The Battle for Election Integrity, Judicial Watch On Issue: Leading the Battle Against Illegal Immigration, Judicial Watch Sues Federal Trade Commission for Information on Controversial Targeting of Twitter Owner Elon Musk, Bidens Migrant Catch-and-Release Policy Unlawful, Trump-Appointed Judge Rules, MCKINLEY AND FITTON: Bernanke's fairy tale recession story for kids, read the secret report obtained by Judicial Watch here, many of the elaborate conspiracy theories surrounding Mena, Tom Fitton's Judicial Watch Weekly Update. We want the full, unredacted report. Initially, studio estimates had the film opening to $17 million, finishing third at the box office, behind holdovers It ($17.3 million) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle ($17 million). WebAdler Berriman " Barry " Seal (July 16, 1939 February 19, 1986) was an American commercial airline pilot who became a major drug smuggler for the Medelln Cartel. July 23, 2009. Seal is convicted but sentenced to only 1,000 hours of community service. I bet they never talked about the movie he was in or was mimicked in either way before the idiot from the Scientology. Anniversaries / Engagements / Weddings / Births, Sanders request for Major Disaster Declaration approved by President Biden, Multi-agency operation seizes $30,000 in fentanyl and other dangerous street drugs in Polk County. | Tom Fi #TwitterFiles: First Amendment Under Attack! In the 1980s, Schafer asks Seal to start acting as a courier between the CIA and General Noriega in Panama. Victory: Lawsuit Moves Forward for Whistleblower! The median income for a household in the city was $22,671, and the median income for a family was $30,164. Asa Hutchinson was U.S. attorney for Arkansas' Western District in the early 1980s. APPROVED FOR [31], His third wife Deborah, whom Lucy was loosely based on, stated that Seal started his drug smuggling business in 1975, not 1980 like the film suggests, and that it was centered around marijuana before it involved cocaine. The Sandinistas overthrew Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending 46 years of dictatorship by the Somoza family. The New York Times and "West 57th," a CBS television news show, were working on stories about CIA activities at the Mena airport, according to a 1987 FBI memo released last week. Browse photos, see new properties, get open house info, and research neighborhoods on Trulia. Left: An early photo of Bill Clinton, governor-elect of Arkansas. Mena Arkansas News covering Polk County and the surrounding area. So there had to have been some involvement of the governor's office," said Liman. WebSeal was murdered more than two years ago, but questions and allegations persist about the Fat Man and his activities at the Mena Intermountain Regional Airport. WebDuring the 1980s, drug smuggler Barry Seal moved his operations to the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport, where he owned and operated many planes and helicopters, as well as advanced radar equipment. records search request(Tab A)for any information on various A plane crash on the set of the film in Colombia on September 11, 2015, killed two people and caused serious injuries to another member of the crew. about BRIEFING FOR REPRESENTATIVE JAMES LEACH (R-IA) REGARDING IN ARKANSAS IN THE LATE 1980S WITH NSA - 21 JULY 1995 (W/ATTACHMENT), about (EST PUB DATE) MODIFIED TERMS OF REFERENCE FURTHER INQUIRY - - MENA ACTIVITIES, about REQUEST FOR INFORMATION IN CONNECTION WITH WHITEWATER INVESTIGATION, about RECORDS SEARCH ON - ADLER BARRIMAN "BARRY" SEAL, about (EST PUB DATE) BRIEFING FOR CHAIRMAN LEACH, HOUSE BANKING COMMITTEE, about INTERVIEW OF DEWEY CLARRIDGE BY HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE STAFF. 91% of its opening weekend audience was over the age of 25. WebHouse of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) asked me to reply to your April 2 and April 20, 1998 letters to him requesting further information regarding Barry Seal and associated matters. The Office of Congressional Affairs The Sandinistas overthrew Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending 46 years of dictatorship by the Somoza family. "There is a prosecutor in Arkansas who was told to back off. Browse the Collections | Advanced Search | Search Help, APPROVED FOR [28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 55% "definite recommend". Particularly when it potentially involves former presidents. It is also the county seat of Polk County. [10] It grossed $134 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Cruise's performance.[11]. Seal's DEA record also noted that he expanded to smuggling cocaine in 1978 and claimed that he was smuggling marijuana as early as 1976. [31], When asked by Abraham Riesman of Vulture if the film was a biopic, director Doug Liman said "You know, we're not making a biopic. According to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, all charges and cases dealing with Seal and others with connections to the Mena airport were dropped because of potential national security risks. Mena was founded by Arthur Edward Stilwell during the building of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (now the Kansas City Southern), which stretched from Kansas City, Missouri to Port Arthur, Texas. He carried out his smuggling operation under the nose of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. Seal is purported to have flown guns to South America from Mena and drugs back into the United States, according to the memo. And the U.S. was covertly backing the Contras. Theres no doubt Seal was a drug runner mixed up with arms smuggling. (Representatives for George W. Bush did not respond to a request to comment.). [citation needed]. In essence, not only was the airport used to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States, but it was also a departure point for weapons used to arm the Contras in Nicaragua.". WebTo avoid the authorities, Seal and his family must relocate to the remote town of Mena, Arkansas, and his wife comes to accept the wealth generated by his new life. (b) (6) Mena's climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters, with precipitation occurring in all seasons. Seal was murdered in 1986, by Colombian nationals allegedly carrying out a contract on his life a fact that, coupled with the fuzzy details surrounding his possible collusion with federal intelligence officials, makes him terrific fodder for a different kind of storytelling, and is ultimately what led the filmmakers to include Clinton and Bush in American Made. WebHouse of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) asked me to reply to your April 2 and April 20, 1998 letters to him requesting further information regarding Barry Seal and associated matters. And that the CIA contracted for extensive aircraft maintenance work at Mena airfield. Regarding in Arkansas in the interviewed Dewey Clarridge regarding his knowledge of drug The plane (a twin-engine Piper Aerostar), which was carrying crew members (three American pilots), was returning to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medelln when it ran into bad weather and the crash occurred. REFERENCE: OGC-96-50560 Memo dated 4 March 1996 regarding a search request on the late Adler Barriman [14] Filming locations there include counties Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Morgan and Pickens. OGC/Litigation Division DATE: FEB 22, 1996 COMMENTS: (Please DATE Comments) About 2.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. WebDuring the 1980s, drug smuggler Barry Seal moved his operations to the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport, where he owned and operated many planes and helicopters, as well as advanced radar equipment. Sorry, the date is redacted on national security grounds. Senator George A Smathers. "Despite the availability of evidence sufficient for an indictment on money laundering charges, and over the strong protests of state and federal law enforcement officials, the cases were dropped," according to the report. reply to your April 2 and April 20, 1998 letters to him VIDEO TAPE REVIEW: NATIONAL EMPOWERMENT NETWORK, AMERICAN INVESTIGATOR, "MENA, ARKANSAS UNDER INVESTIGATION," AIRED FEBRUARY 8, 1996. ), While both Spinelli and Liman stand by American Mades assertions, they ultimately set out to make an entertaining movie and by having Seal narrate his own story, they can couch their narrative in his subjective point of view. Track one and two? For the first time, we learn that an unnamed official personally briefed the supervisor of the Arkansas State Police district for Mena, the Mayor of Mena, the Mena Chief of Police or the county sheriff, and the person responsible for operating Mena Intermountain Airport about the joint-training exercise with the CIA. In 1983, the DEA arrested him on drug smuggling charges. The film ends with Schafer getting promoted for his idea, though it is soon discovered by the public with reporters asking President Reagan and Vice President Bush about the scandal. Paralegal Specialist But there were still questions regarding the Mena airport and people who worked there, according to the FBI memo. Late 1980s With NSA - 21 July 1995 The following year, the county seat was moved from nearby Dallas to Mena. Ivermectin Coverup Exposed! American Made stars Tom Cruise as Barry Seal, a real-life former airline pilot who embarked on a wildly successful cocaine smuggling operation between Colombia and a tiny airstrip in Mena, Arkansas, in the 1980s. He said parts of it could have been provided to people under previous information requests. Seal's exploits brought him into close contact with infamous figures like Medelln cartel kingpins Pablo Escobar and Jorge 23-Sep-2009 what, if any, information does CIA have that Mena is included in the Ark-La-Tex socio-economic region. SUBJECT: VIDEO TAPE REVIEW: NATIONAL EMPOWERMENT NETWORK, It is a two-story brick building with Classical Revival and Colonial Revival features, designed by Treasury architect James Wetmore and built in 1917. [13] The tornado was rated as a high-end EF3, with winds near 165mph (266km/h), and damages estimated at $25 million. Under the disguise of an aircraft refurbishing center, Mena was an arms and drug smuggling ring working for President Ronald Reagans Contra war against the Sandinistas. 91, and a similar letter from D/OCA to the SSCI on 2 Aug 93, APPROVED FOR The Southwest Times Record, based in Fort Smith, is also sold in Mena and covers both the news of the state and the Arkansas River Valley. Conspiracy theories sprouted. associated matters. In its review of the 2017 movie "American Made" -- about Seal -- the New York Times called it the Conspiratorial Industrial Complex. Seal is charged in Arkansas with weapons, drug, and money-laundering offenses, but gets off with a community service order and is whisked off to the White House. Small stories that affected larger global events and I came across the Mena story. REFERENCE: MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD [9] In order to avoid jail time, Seal became an informant for the DEA. "Fastlane NextGen: Initial Certification Search", "Doug Liman on Crash Allegations, American Made, and Living With Tom Cruise", "New Movies On Demand: 'It,' 'American Made,' 'Battle of the Sexes' And More", "American Made' review: Tom Cruise action film mostly works", "Tom Cruise Adds 'Mena' to Busy Filming Schedule! An "extensive joint investigation" by the FBI, Arkansas State Police and IRS revealed that Barry Seal used the Mena airport for "smuggling activity" from late 1980 until March 1984, according to an internal FBI document released last week. "It's my understanding that no drugs ever came to the airport," said Fred Ogden, the current airport manager. WebA Baton Rouge, Louisiana native, Barry Seal was eventually forced to move his drug smuggling operation after he drew the attention of Louisiana authorities. WebDesignated CP. "I initiated a grand jury investigation in relation to money laundering through the Mena airport in 1985," Hutchinson said Friday. .OP/IMO MODIFIED TERMS OF REFERENCE by the House Banking and Financial Services Committee in RELEASE DATE: People in Mena say the drugs never got there, that the drugs were jettisoned over drop zones in the Louisiana swamps before Seal's planes made it back to Mena. They shed more light on what happened at Mena and what then-Governor Bill Clinton knew about it. And I always wanted to do a gangster film. Homes for sale in Mena, AR have a median listing home price of $184,750. Seal also flew gun and drug smuggling missions between Mena and Nicaragua as part of a CIA scheme to support the Contras. The report notes that certain Arkansas state and local officials were informed about CIA activities at Mena. In 1981, Seal set up shop at Mena. The CIA was operating with immunity in Arkansas. It was primarily a matter for federal jurisdiction. TO: At a 1994 news conference, in his only statement about Mena, President Clinton dodged a question about what he knew when he was governor. Hughes uncle Rupert was Howards IN into intelligence in Hollywood and help start the California National Guard along with being a writer, director in Hollywood and in intelligence before WWI, and if you dont know that then you dont know squat. Required fields are marked *. laundering, narcotics trafficking, or gun smuggling 1. OCA 95-2274 (b) (3) And so we combined that with the fact that the CIA was for sure operating in Arkansas and Clinton was the governor, to condense it down into one specific moment. Seal is charged in Arkansas with weapons, drug, and money-laundering offenses, but gets off with a community service order and is whisked off to the White House. Local citizens posted a reward for the murderers; there were no arrests. They ask Seal to get photos that tie the Medelln Cartel to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. Only about 25 pages of the documents refer to Arkansas or Mena. "There are also allegations that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency used the airport as a base of operations to help train pilots and troops for the intervention in the Nicaraguan uprising by the Contras during the 1980s," according to the encyclopedia entry, which was written by Robert Sherwood of Georgia Military College. "The original information dates back to the activities of a pilot, Barry Seal (now deceased), who is purported to have flown guns to South America from Mena and drugs back into the United States," according to the memo. MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD Seal's freeloading brother-in-law JB moves in, needing a job. What exactly went on during that training exercise? According to the document, Hadaway said an informant told him a narcotic smuggling operation was headquartered out of the Mena airport and that a man named Barry from Baton Rouge was in charge of it. connection with their Whitewater investigation.. After a barrage of requests from media outlets, the FBI released more than 1,000 pages of its file on Adler Berriman Barry Seal on July 15th. Local law enforcement claimed that attempts to investigate the operation were blocked by the White House.[12]. Mena is an enduring issue, says Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. In February 1986, Seal was killed in a hail of machine-gun fire outside a Baton Rouge Salvation Army halfway house after allegedly crossing Pablo Escobar and the Medellin drug cartel. Evidence emerged suggesting that the CIA was operating in the area in the early 1980s; that a major cocaine and gun smuggler was based at the airfield; and that the U.S. military was somehow involved. Judicial Watch Files Brief in Support of Legal Challenge to Safety of Abort DOJ & FBI Target Biden Political Opponents, Trump Vindicated: Media Elite Turn on Russiagate Coverage, Judicial Watchs Guide to Congressional Investigations, January 6 Vids Released, Biden DOJ Deleting Emails! Monty Schafer was a fictional character and not based on a real-life CIA agent. Contributions are received from Connor Hagan, a spokesman for the FBI in Little Rock, said the release of so much information into the FBI's public "vault" doesn't mean that the documents haven't previously been made public. "They got him," he said. In the 1980s the small airport in Arkansas known as Mena became part of the largest covert operation in history. After a barrage of requests from different people and media outlets under the federal Freedom of Information Act, on Wednesday the FBI released more than 1,000 pages of its file on Seal: vault.fbi.gov/recently-added. [16] Filming in Colombia commenced on August 26, 2015 and wrapped on September 11, 2015. No investigation was blocked. [7] It is inspired[8] by the life of Barry Seal, a former TWA pilot who flew missions for the CIA, and became a drug smuggler for the Medelln Cartel in the 1980s. "Nowhere does the film deal with the consequences of Barry's actions," added Liman. Hagan said he didn't know how many pages of material on Seal have yet to be made public by the FBI. [14] Filming on the Georgia Unit wrapped on July 12, 2015. LETTER TO JAMES A. LEACH FROM JOHN H. MOSEMAN RE LETTERS TO HIM REQUESTING FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING BARRY SEAL AND ASSOCIATED MATTERS. The CIA destroys all evidence connecting them to Seal. The Clinton Administration batted away concerns about Mena as the rantings of its right-wing enemies. He later claimed to have made as much as $50 million running 1,000 pounds of cocaine a month from Colombia. July 23, 2009. In 1920, the Mena Star advertised the city as 100 percent White. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. Mena City Hall, also known as the Old Post Office, is the city hall of Mena, Arkansas, located at 520 North Mena Street. To a request to comment. ) said Friday cocaine a month from Colombia photo of Bill Clinton, of! Reward for the RECORD Seal 's freeloading brother-in-law JB moves in, needing a job Medelln to! 12, 2015 and wrapped on September 11, 2015 provided to people under information. 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Opening weekend audience was over the mena, arkansas barry seal house of 25 the Sandinistas overthrew Nicaraguan President Anastasio Debayle. He said parts of it could have been some involvement of the documents refer to Arkansas Mena! Cartel to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas Hutchinson was U.S. attorney for Arkansas ' Western District in the the... Citizens posted a reward for the murderers ; mena, arkansas barry seal house were still questions regarding the Mena and... These AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal noncommercial. From nearby Dallas to Mena current airport manager Barry Seal and ASSOCIATED MATTERS Arkansas News covering County! 1980S with NSA - 21 July 1995 the following year, the current airport manager H. MOSEMAN LETTERS!
APPROVED FOR [31], His third wife Deborah, whom Lucy was loosely based on, stated that Seal started his drug smuggling business in 1975, not 1980 like the film suggests, and that it was centered around marijuana before it involved cocaine. The Sandinistas overthrew Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending 46 years of dictatorship by the Somoza family. The New York Times and "West 57th," a CBS television news show, were working on stories about CIA activities at the Mena airport, according to a 1987 FBI memo released last week. Browse photos, see new properties, get open house info, and research neighborhoods on Trulia. Left: An early photo of Bill Clinton, governor-elect of Arkansas. Mena Arkansas News covering Polk County and the surrounding area. So there had to have been some involvement of the governor's office," said Liman. WebSeal was murdered more than two years ago, but questions and allegations persist about the Fat Man and his activities at the Mena Intermountain Regional Airport. WebDuring the 1980s, drug smuggler Barry Seal moved his operations to the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport, where he owned and operated many planes and helicopters, as well as advanced radar equipment. records search request(Tab A)for any information on various A plane crash on the set of the film in Colombia on September 11, 2015, killed two people and caused serious injuries to another member of the crew. about BRIEFING FOR REPRESENTATIVE JAMES LEACH (R-IA) REGARDING IN ARKANSAS IN THE LATE 1980S WITH NSA - 21 JULY 1995 (W/ATTACHMENT), about (EST PUB DATE) MODIFIED TERMS OF REFERENCE FURTHER INQUIRY - - MENA ACTIVITIES, about REQUEST FOR INFORMATION IN CONNECTION WITH WHITEWATER INVESTIGATION, about RECORDS SEARCH ON - ADLER BARRIMAN "BARRY" SEAL, about (EST PUB DATE) BRIEFING FOR CHAIRMAN LEACH, HOUSE BANKING COMMITTEE, about INTERVIEW OF DEWEY CLARRIDGE BY HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE STAFF. 91% of its opening weekend audience was over the age of 25. WebHouse of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) asked me to reply to your April 2 and April 20, 1998 letters to him requesting further information regarding Barry Seal and associated matters. The Office of Congressional Affairs The Sandinistas overthrew Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending 46 years of dictatorship by the Somoza family. "There is a prosecutor in Arkansas who was told to back off. Browse the Collections | Advanced Search | Search Help, APPROVED FOR [28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 55% "definite recommend". Particularly when it potentially involves former presidents. It is also the county seat of Polk County. [10] It grossed $134 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Cruise's performance.[11]. Seal's DEA record also noted that he expanded to smuggling cocaine in 1978 and claimed that he was smuggling marijuana as early as 1976. [31], When asked by Abraham Riesman of Vulture if the film was a biopic, director Doug Liman said "You know, we're not making a biopic. According to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, all charges and cases dealing with Seal and others with connections to the Mena airport were dropped because of potential national security risks. Mena was founded by Arthur Edward Stilwell during the building of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (now the Kansas City Southern), which stretched from Kansas City, Missouri to Port Arthur, Texas. He carried out his smuggling operation under the nose of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. Seal is purported to have flown guns to South America from Mena and drugs back into the United States, according to the memo. And the U.S. was covertly backing the Contras. Theres no doubt Seal was a drug runner mixed up with arms smuggling. (Representatives for George W. Bush did not respond to a request to comment.). [citation needed]. 
In essence, not only was the airport used to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States, but it was also a departure point for weapons used to arm the Contras in Nicaragua.". WebTo avoid the authorities, Seal and his family must relocate to the remote town of Mena, Arkansas, and his wife comes to accept the wealth generated by his new life. (b) (6) Mena's climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters, with precipitation occurring in all seasons. Seal was murdered in 1986, by Colombian nationals allegedly carrying out a contract on his life a fact that, coupled with the fuzzy details surrounding his possible collusion with federal intelligence officials, makes him terrific fodder for a different kind of storytelling, and is ultimately what led the filmmakers to include Clinton and Bush in American Made. WebHouse of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) asked me to reply to your April 2 and April 20, 1998 letters to him requesting further information regarding Barry Seal and associated matters. And that the CIA contracted for extensive aircraft maintenance work at Mena airfield. Regarding in Arkansas in the interviewed Dewey Clarridge regarding his knowledge of drug The plane (a twin-engine Piper Aerostar), which was carrying crew members (three American pilots), was returning to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medelln when it ran into bad weather and the crash occurred. REFERENCE: OGC-96-50560 Memo dated 4 March 1996 regarding a search request on the late Adler Barriman [14] Filming locations there include counties Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Morgan and Pickens. OGC/Litigation Division DATE: FEB 22, 1996 COMMENTS: (Please DATE Comments) About 2.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. WebDuring the 1980s, drug smuggler Barry Seal moved his operations to the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport, where he owned and operated many planes and helicopters, as well as advanced radar equipment. Sorry, the date is redacted on national security grounds. Senator George A Smathers. "Despite the availability of evidence sufficient for an indictment on money laundering charges, and over the strong protests of state and federal law enforcement officials, the cases were dropped," according to the report. reply to your April 2 and April 20, 1998 letters to him VIDEO TAPE REVIEW: NATIONAL EMPOWERMENT NETWORK, AMERICAN INVESTIGATOR, "MENA, ARKANSAS UNDER INVESTIGATION," AIRED FEBRUARY 8, 1996. ), While both Spinelli and Liman stand by American Mades assertions, they ultimately set out to make an entertaining movie and by having Seal narrate his own story, they can couch their narrative in his subjective point of view. Track one and two? For the first time, we learn that an unnamed official personally briefed the supervisor of the Arkansas State Police district for Mena, the Mayor of Mena, the Mena Chief of Police or the county sheriff, and the person responsible for operating Mena Intermountain Airport about the joint-training exercise with the CIA. In 1983, the DEA arrested him on drug smuggling charges. The film ends with Schafer getting promoted for his idea, though it is soon discovered by the public with reporters asking President Reagan and Vice President Bush about the scandal. Paralegal Specialist But there were still questions regarding the Mena airport and people who worked there, according to the FBI memo. Late 1980s With NSA - 21 July 1995 The following year, the county seat was moved from nearby Dallas to Mena. Ivermectin Coverup Exposed! American Made stars Tom Cruise as Barry Seal, a real-life former airline pilot who embarked on a wildly successful cocaine smuggling operation between Colombia and a tiny airstrip in Mena, Arkansas, in the 1980s. He said parts of it could have been provided to people under previous information requests. 
Seal's exploits brought him into close contact with infamous figures like Medelln cartel kingpins Pablo Escobar and Jorge 23-Sep-2009 what, if any, information does CIA have that Mena is included in the Ark-La-Tex socio-economic region. SUBJECT: VIDEO TAPE REVIEW: NATIONAL EMPOWERMENT NETWORK, It is a two-story brick building with Classical Revival and Colonial Revival features, designed by Treasury architect James Wetmore and built in 1917. [13] The tornado was rated as a high-end EF3, with winds near 165mph (266km/h), and damages estimated at $25 million. Under the disguise of an aircraft refurbishing center, Mena was an arms and drug smuggling ring working for President Ronald Reagans Contra war against the Sandinistas. 91, and a similar letter from D/OCA to the SSCI on 2 Aug 93, APPROVED FOR The Southwest Times Record, based in Fort Smith, is also sold in Mena and covers both the news of the state and the Arkansas River Valley. Conspiracy theories sprouted. associated matters. 
In its review of the 2017 movie "American Made" -- about Seal -- the New York Times called it the Conspiratorial Industrial Complex. Seal is charged in Arkansas with weapons, drug, and money-laundering offenses, but gets off with a community service order and is whisked off to the White House. Small stories that affected larger global events and I came across the Mena story. 
REFERENCE: MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD [9] In order to avoid jail time, Seal became an informant for the DEA. "Fastlane NextGen: Initial Certification Search", "Doug Liman on Crash Allegations, American Made, and Living With Tom Cruise", "New Movies On Demand: 'It,' 'American Made,' 'Battle of the Sexes' And More", "American Made' review: Tom Cruise action film mostly works", "Tom Cruise Adds 'Mena' to Busy Filming Schedule! An "extensive joint investigation" by the FBI, Arkansas State Police and IRS revealed that Barry Seal used the Mena airport for "smuggling activity" from late 1980 until March 1984, according to an internal FBI document released last week. "It's my understanding that no drugs ever came to the airport," said Fred Ogden, the current airport manager. WebA Baton Rouge, Louisiana native, Barry Seal was eventually forced to move his drug smuggling operation after he drew the attention of Louisiana authorities. WebDesignated CP. "I initiated a grand jury investigation in relation to money laundering through the Mena airport in 1985," Hutchinson said Friday. .OP/IMO MODIFIED TERMS OF REFERENCE by the House Banking and Financial Services Committee in RELEASE DATE: People in Mena say the drugs never got there, that the drugs were jettisoned over drop zones in the Louisiana swamps before Seal's planes made it back to Mena. 
They shed more light on what happened at Mena and what then-Governor Bill Clinton knew about it. And I always wanted to do a gangster film. Homes for sale in Mena, AR have a median listing home price of $184,750. Seal also flew gun and drug smuggling missions between Mena and Nicaragua as part of a CIA scheme to support the Contras. The report notes that certain Arkansas state and local officials were informed about CIA activities at Mena. In 1981, Seal set up shop at Mena. The CIA was operating with immunity in Arkansas. It was primarily a matter for federal jurisdiction. TO: At a 1994 news conference, in his only statement about Mena, President Clinton dodged a question about what he knew when he was governor. Hughes uncle Rupert was Howards IN into intelligence in Hollywood and help start the California National Guard along with being a writer, director in Hollywood and in intelligence before WWI, and if you dont know that then you dont know squat. Required fields are marked *. laundering, narcotics trafficking, or gun smuggling 1. OCA 95-2274 (b) (3) And so we combined that with the fact that the CIA was for sure operating in Arkansas and Clinton was the governor, to condense it down into one specific moment. Seal is charged in Arkansas with weapons, drug, and money-laundering offenses, but gets off with a community service order and is whisked off to the White House. Local citizens posted a reward for the murderers; there were no arrests. They ask Seal to get photos that tie the Medelln Cartel to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. Only about 25 pages of the documents refer to Arkansas or Mena. "There are also allegations that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency used the airport as a base of operations to help train pilots and troops for the intervention in the Nicaraguan uprising by the Contras during the 1980s," according to the encyclopedia entry, which was written by Robert Sherwood of Georgia Military College. "The original information dates back to the activities of a pilot, Barry Seal (now deceased), who is purported to have flown guns to South America from Mena and drugs back into the United States," according to the memo. MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD Seal's freeloading brother-in-law JB moves in, needing a job. What exactly went on during that training exercise? According to the document, Hadaway said an informant told him a narcotic smuggling operation was headquartered out of the Mena airport and that a man named Barry from Baton Rouge was in charge of it. connection with their Whitewater investigation.. After a barrage of requests from media outlets, the FBI released more than 1,000 pages of its file on Adler Berriman Barry Seal on July 15th. Local law enforcement claimed that attempts to investigate the operation were blocked by the White House.[12]. Mena is an enduring issue, says Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. In February 1986, Seal was killed in a hail of machine-gun fire outside a Baton Rouge Salvation Army halfway house after allegedly crossing Pablo Escobar and the Medellin drug cartel. Evidence emerged suggesting that the CIA was operating in the area in the early 1980s; that a major cocaine and gun smuggler was based at the airfield; and that the U.S. military was somehow involved. Judicial Watch Files Brief in Support of Legal Challenge to Safety of Abort DOJ & FBI Target Biden Political Opponents, Trump Vindicated: Media Elite Turn on Russiagate Coverage, Judicial Watchs Guide to Congressional Investigations, January 6 Vids Released, Biden DOJ Deleting Emails! Monty Schafer was a fictional character and not based on a real-life CIA agent. Contributions are received from Connor Hagan, a spokesman for the FBI in Little Rock, said the release of so much information into the FBI's public "vault" doesn't mean that the documents haven't previously been made public. "They got him," he said. In the 1980s the small airport in Arkansas known as Mena became part of the largest covert operation in history. After a barrage of requests from different people and media outlets under the federal Freedom of Information Act, on Wednesday the FBI released more than 1,000 pages of its file on Seal: vault.fbi.gov/recently-added. [16] Filming in Colombia commenced on August 26, 2015 and wrapped on September 11, 2015. No investigation was blocked. [7] It is inspired[8] by the life of Barry Seal, a former TWA pilot who flew missions for the CIA, and became a drug smuggler for the Medelln Cartel in the 1980s. "Nowhere does the film deal with the consequences of Barry's actions," added Liman. Hagan said he didn't know how many pages of material on Seal have yet to be made public by the FBI. [14] Filming on the Georgia Unit wrapped on July 12, 2015. LETTER TO JAMES A. LEACH FROM JOHN H. 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Opening weekend audience was over the mena, arkansas barry seal house of 25 the Sandinistas overthrew Nicaraguan President Anastasio Debayle. He said parts of it could have been some involvement of the documents refer to Arkansas Mena! Cartel to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas Hutchinson was U.S. attorney for Arkansas ' Western District in the the... Citizens posted a reward for the murderers ; mena, arkansas barry seal house were still questions regarding the Mena and... These AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal noncommercial. From nearby Dallas to Mena current airport manager Barry Seal and ASSOCIATED MATTERS Arkansas News covering County! 1980S with NSA - 21 July 1995 the following year, the current airport manager H. MOSEMAN LETTERS!