Oscar Danilo Blandón

Oscar Danilo Blandón Reyes (born 1952) was the head of Nicaragua's agricultural imports under Anastasio Somoza. He has a master's degree in marketing. When the Somoza government was overthrown in 1979, Blandón fled to the United States,^[1] and then raised money for the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN), a Contra group. As part of his fundraising activities Blandón sold drugs and weapons (via Ronald Lister and "Freeway" Rick Ross) to the Crips in Los Angeles. Blandón claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency protected him, allowing him to operate without fear of reprisal. Journalist Gary Webb substantiated the claim in his book Dark Alliance.^[2]

In 1986, Blandón was arrested on drug charges by the FBI. In May 1992, Blandón was convicted in US District Court (San Diego) on the federal charge of "conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute." He was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, but was released due to time served. Following his imprisonment, Blandón was hired by the Drug Enforcement Administration and salaried at $42,000. He worked for the DEA to take down drug kingpin Rick Ross in a sting operation, for which Ross was convicted in 1997.^[3]

Blandón was not a US Citizen/National, and is the only known foreigner in US history not to be deported following conviction on drug trafficking charges. The INS granted Blandón a green card, despite the criminal convictions, to allow him to work for the DEA. The DEA has said that Blandón is no longer on its payroll and his whereabouts are unknown.

References

1. Webb 1999, p. 38.
2. Webb, Gary (1998). Dark Alliance. Seven Stories Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-888363-93-7.
3. Ross, Rick; Scott, Cathy (2014). Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography. Freeway Studios. ISBN 9781499651539.

Further reading

• USDOJ/OIG Special Report THE CIA-CONTRA-CRACK COCAINE CONTROVERSY: A REVIEW OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT’S INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS (December, 1997) United States Department of Justice—The Executive Summary has a section about Oscar Danilo Blandon and Chapter II is about Oscar Danilo Blandon
  • "Appendix E: TIMELINE OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS RELATED TO DANILO BLANDON" (Archive)
• Library of The Dark Alliance at the Wayback Machine (archived April 9, 1997) by Gary Webb, San Jose Mercury News. This link includes primary sources about Oscar Danilo Blandón.

External links

• CIA report on allegations at the Wayback Machine (archived January 15, 2006)
• "Criminal Docket, USA v. Blandon, et al." at the Wayback Machine (archived April 9, 1997) (Archive)
• Webb, Gary (1998). Dark Alliance. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 9781888363937.