RyanMatta 🇺🇸 🦅@Ryanmatta
Evidence suggests that Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, has a policy or practice of funding or indirectly funding drug cartels. Allegations and claims have surfaced over the years, often tied to specific incidents or individuals, suggesting possible involvement in activities that indirectly supported cartels, particularly in Latin America during the 1980s. Below, I’ll outline the key points based on available information, critically examining the narrative while acknowledging the limitations of the evidence.
Key Allegations and Sources
1. Israeli Involvement with Colombian Cartels (Medellín Cartel)
Training and Arms Supply: Reports from the late 1980s, notably a 1989 *Los Angeles Times* article, documented that Israeli instructors, including former army Colonel Yair Klein, trained paramilitary units linked to the Medellín Cartel in Colombia. A videotape showed Klein running military and assassination training for about 50 men, including Alfredo Vaquero (alias "Vladimir"), a leader of the cartel’s death squads. These squads were blamed for killing judges and court workers. Colombian authorities also identified key cartel figures, including Pablo Escobar and Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, as involved in the training program.
Arms Shipments: A 1990 *Washington Post* article reported that a weapons cache, including Israeli-made Uzi submachine guns and other surplus military equipment, was found on a ranch owned by Rodríguez Gacha after his death. Colombian officials alleged that Israeli mercenaries, including Klein, facilitated these shipments. A high-ranking Colombian official claimed the Israeli government knew and consented to the arms sales, though Israel’s Defense Ministry denied knowledge of how the weapons reached private hands.
Klein’s Defense Klein, through his company Spearhead Ltd., claimed his actions were legal and approved by the Israeli government. He was convicted in absentia by a Colombian court for training paramilitaries and faced an Interpol warrant but was never extradited from Israel. Some Israeli media, like journalist Nahum Barnea, defended Klein, arguing that similar activities occurred during Israel’s involvement in Lebanon, where allies like the Phalangists were tied to the drug trade.
Mossad Connection?
While Klein was a former Israeli military officer, there’s no direct evidence linking his activities to Mossad. However, books like *Dangerous Liaison* by Andrew and Leslie Cockburn and articles from *Middle East Monitor* suggest that Israel’s intelligence community, including Mossad, may have had knowledge of or tacitly approved such operations as part of broader geopolitical strategies, such as acting as a U.S. proxy in Latin America during the Cold War. These sources argue that the Israeli government’s oversight of arms exports implies some level of state awareness.
2. Thai Heroin Trade:
- In his 1990 book *By Way of Deception*, former Mossad officer Victor Ostrovsky claimed that Mossad used the Thai heroin trade in the late 1970s to raise funds for covert operations on U.S. soil, which he suggested were likely illegal under U.S. law. Ostrovsky wrote that Mossad contacted opium growers in Thailand, offering to help them export opium while supporting coffee production as a cover, to finance operations like undermining Arab diplomacy at the United Nations.
3. Mexican Cartels and Israeli Spyware
A 2020 TRT World report noted that Mexican drug cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, gained access to Israeli-made spyware, often through corrupt officials reselling government-purchased equipment. While the spyware was initially sold to the Mexican government, its leakage to cartels raised concerns about oversight.
A 2019 “Times of Israel” article linked the assassination of two Israelis in Mexico City to disputes over money laundering and drug cartel activities, possibly involving the Jalisco Cartel. This suggests criminal connections to Mossad’s direct involvement.