Carlos Cabezas person
also: Cabeza, Carlos Cabreza, Capresa, Cabraza, Cabresa, Carlos Caprese, Carlos Cabrese, Carlos Gabanza Ramirez, Carlos, Cabezas, Capraza, Capra, Cabrera, Cabreza, Carlos Cabezay, Caprese, Cabrese
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Related entities (most co-mentioned)
Julio Zavalaperson · 19Costa Ricacountry · 9Horacio Perinaperson · 6San Franciscocountry · 6Fuerza Democrática Nacionalorganization · 5Contrasorganization · 4Anastasio Somozaperson · 4Managuaplace · 3Troil Sanchezperson · 2George Andersonperson · 2Colombiacountry · 2Norwin Menendezperson · 2U.S. State Departmentorganization · 2Ivan Gomezperson · 2Miamiplace · 2National Guard (El Salvador)organization · 2Boron, Californiaplace · 1Ronald Reaganperson · 1Fernando Sanchezperson · 1Bob Perryperson · 1Joseph Rosonelloperson · 1Seth Rosenfeldperson · 1Frogman Caseevent · 1Doris Solomonperson · 1
Claims (11)
Carlos Cabezas trafficked
Contras guest_asserted
“He banged out a letter to the reporter on February 27, 1987, stating, I am going to tell you that there was indeed supporting evidence hidden by the government. The receipt of drug money by the Contras, he wrote, is absolutely true, at leas…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 24 @ 1:00:06
Carlos Cabezas paid
Contras guest_asserted
“He banged out a letter to the reporter on February 27, 1987, stating, I am going to tell you that there was indeed supporting evidence hidden by the government. The receipt of drug money by the Contras, he wrote, is absolutely true, at leas…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 24 @ 1:00:06
Carlos Cabezas paid
Contras guest_asserted
“He called me in December of 1996, barely able to contain his excitement. He'd found Carlos Cabreza, who admitted that he had, in fact, delivered millions of dollars in drug money to the Contras. Cabreza had names, dates, and amounts, George…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 24 @ 1:04:22
Ivan Gomez spied_on
Carlos Cabezas guest_asserted
“He called me in December of 1996, barely able to contain his excitement. He'd found Carlos Cabreza, who admitted that he had, in fact, delivered millions of dollars in drug money to the Contras. Cabreza had names, dates, and amounts, George…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 24 @ 1:04:22
U.S. Department of Justice covered_up
Carlos Cabezas host_asserted
“Cabeza, about the San Francisco Frogman case, the Justice Department announced that he couldn't possibly be questioned since he was going to be a federal witness in an upcoming drug trial. Cabeza said, that was bullshit. I was never a witne…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 16 @ 37:05
Joseph Rosonello covered_up
Carlos Cabezas documented
“In a futile attempt to explain away their conduct. Okay, so we're going to believe all the other stuff they said, just not that part. Rosanello did not disclose that Carlos Cabreza, as a witness for his office, had testified about selling d…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 16 @ 40:37
U.S. State Department covered_up
Carlos Cabezas documented
“He also forgot about the 1982 FBI teletypes that named Contra officials Fernando and Trujillo Sanchez as the drug ring suppliers. They're both, by the way, Contras, too. In a white paper subsequently circulated to Congress by the U.S. State…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 16 @ 41:41
Carlos Cabezas member_of
National Guard (El Salvador) host_asserted
“kind of a self-made man in Nicaragua. And in the 1970s, he went to the United States where he spent four years studying to be a commercial pilot, working nights as a janitor to support himself. He took his pilot license back to Nicaragua an…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 5 @ 41:26
Carlos Cabezas member_of
Bank of America host_asserted
“Later, I don't know how you say his last name, Cabellas enrolled in the National University in Nicaragua and he got an accounting degree. And he started working for none other than Bank of America. Isn't that weird? Bank of America keeps sh…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 5 @ 41:57
Julio Zavala recruited
Carlos Cabezas host_asserted
“now divorced relative for a loan to go back to law school and Savada has a better idea he says why don't you come work for me and I can make you a lot of money and it'll only be a part-time job like running money and you don't have to actua…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 5 @ 45:41
Carlos Cabezas financed_via
Contras host_asserted
“which was Norwin Menendez, Costa Rica drug broker. Cabraza was taking, now he was making $50,000 a month. He was taking $50,000 a month to the Contras Miami office. He often would give the money directly to the FDN leader, Sanchez, the brot…”
▶ The Colonels Corner Dark Alliance Part 5 @ 1:10:48
Mentions (39)
▶ 36:32
That have also surfaced regarding the drug smuggling operations involving sprint boats operating out of Texas, Louisiana and Florida. The Foreign Relations Committee voted to approve Kerry's request for a behind the scenes investigation, bu…
▶ 38:03
found in Zavala's nightstand. Remember they gave it back because it was for the Contras. It was reported that Zavala's claim from a prison cell in Arizona that he personally delivered about $500,000 in drug profits to the Contras in Costa R…
▶ 40:37
In a futile attempt to explain away their conduct. Okay, so we're going to believe all the other stuff they said, just not that part. Rosanello did not disclose that Carlos Cabreza, as a witness for his office, had testified about selling d…
▶ 41:41
He also forgot about the 1982 FBI teletypes that named Contra officials Fernando and Trujillo Sanchez as the drug ring suppliers. They're both, by the way, Contras, too. In a white paper subsequently circulated to Congress by the U.S. State…
▶ 42:10
And Rosenfeld's story was dismissed as gobbledygook. One upping Rosanello, the State Department claimed that Capresa and Zavala had never said anything about the Contras until long after their conviction. They did not, quote, they did not r…
▶ 59:38
to Columbia, devoting a sentence or two to each and surrounding them with abundant denials by the DEA and CIA agent Calero. The reporters made no attempt at an independent investigation because they knew it would expose everything. In a pri…
▶ 1:00:06
He banged out a letter to the reporter on February 27, 1987, stating, I am going to tell you that there was indeed supporting evidence hidden by the government. The receipt of drug money by the Contras, he wrote, is absolutely true, at leas…
▶ 1:01:02
These conversations were related to drug transactions. McManus replied too much later, asking Cabresa to provide him with names and documents to substantiate his quote-unquote allegations. And by the way, he asked, can you give me any furth…
▶ 1:04:22
He called me in December of 1996, barely able to contain his excitement. He'd found Carlos Cabreza, who admitted that he had, in fact, delivered millions of dollars in drug money to the Contras. Cabreza had names, dates, and amounts, George…
▶ 1:05:21
I could have kissed him, Gary Webb said. In January of 1997, I sent first drafts of four follow-up stories to Dawn, written as a two-day series. The first part dealt with Menendez's DEA connections and his Costa Rican operation, along with …
▶ 1:27:13
A one-page story with no one's name on it, which reportedly infuriated Cepos. Occasionally, Pete Carey would call with a question or two. He wasn't having much luck cooperating with Carlos Cabrese's statements. He told me he was trying to l…
▶ 40:55
she was reassigned. In the fall of 81, before his troubles began, Carlos Gabanza Ramirez was living, breathing proof that the American could still be the land of opportunity. Now, this guy has a really sad story. Carlos sat in an ironic kin…
▶ 41:26
kind of a self-made man in Nicaragua. And in the 1970s, he went to the United States where he spent four years studying to be a commercial pilot, working nights as a janitor to support himself. He took his pilot license back to Nicaragua an…
▶ 43:00
He then took that opportunity to get a law degree. So he's an accountant. He's a pilot and a lawyer in Nicaragua. So he sets up a practice. But the very next year after he got his law license, the Sandinistas were on the outskirts of Managu…
▶ 43:29
He was happy to defend the Somoza government. Near the end of the war, when the guard was desperately striking out at every perceived enemy, Cabeza took part in the terror bombing of the city of Macea, something he didn't like talking about…
▶ 43:59
He went to San Francisco where his wife and three daughters, his mother, his brothers, and sisters were already living. With the family to support, he needed a job. So he starts working all kinds of jobs. He took a second job as a night man…
▶ 45:03
drug trafficking. His name was Julio Zavala, Z-A-V-A-L-A. So, two years older and recently divorced from Cabresa's sister, Julio Zavala was living the big life. He had plenty of money. So, Cabresa decides he's going to go ask his…
▶ 45:41
now divorced relative for a loan to go back to law school and Savada has a better idea he says why don't you come work for me and I can make you a lot of money and it'll only be a part-time job like running money and you don't have to actua…
▶ 46:42
to street level dealers. So he thought it would be great to have an accountant work for him and keep his books. And that was what Zavala was going to do for him. So it also included taking money to Miami and sometimes even to Nicaragua. And…
▶ 47:17
But it just so happens that Zabala didn't share all of his concerns with poor Cabresa. And what he really wanted, because he was starting to feel some heat, is he wanted to lay low and let someone else, if he was going to get busted, take t…
▶ 52:31
with a cover story for his frequent trips to Miami and to Central America. But that story didn't explain why the telephone in his apartment was ringing nonstop with a steady stream of people that came in and out at all hours. What he needed…
▶ 53:02
He was going to basically take over the network and Zavala was going to head down to Costa Rica and hang out with his girlfriend. Maybe get married, you know, just kind of fade into the background. Still going to get his cut, but he wasn't …
▶ 53:35
so I could quit my job. And he said, I was going to be delivering cocaine and collecting money so that he could have a little bit of time to cool off. That's actually in testimony. At that time, Mr. Savala was having problems himself with s…
▶ 54:04
which was the next big drug deal coming up. Zavala told Cabraza that he'd pay him $500 for each kilo of cocaine that he delivered, plus a percentage of any drug debts that he collected. There would be an added bonus that Zavala knew Cabraza…
▶ 54:35
So Carlos Cabresa, who had been a lawyer, an accountant, a pilot, an insurance salesman, a banker, a janitor, a crop duster, became a cocaine dealer. At first, he stayed around San Francisco running errands, meeting the customers, deliverin…
▶ 55:01
where he was to meet a couple of Julio's friends from LA. And Caprese agreed to put them in his house. And that is the story, if you guys remember in like chapter two, where the female DEA agent was hanging out monitoring the house and she …
▶ 57:11
Webb goes on to say that hiring Capresa was a genius idea for Zavala because everybody liked him. He had a great personality. Zavala and his girlfriend, Dora Solomon, the one that had been arrested and then had the bail hearing where they f…
▶ 57:47
Cabeza flies down there routinely to keep Zavala apprised of the business going on in San Francisco. So Cabeza said that the cocaine he and Zavala were selling came from two separate sources. One was Alvaro Minota, a Colombian who lived in…
▶ 58:48
that they didn't like. A group that would later become known as the Cali Cartel. By the early 1990s, the Cali dealers would operate the world's biggest cocaine network, eclipsing all others. But in 1981, few in the U.S. law enforcement circ…
▶ 59:19
Cali, Colombia, to negotiate deliveries for Zavala. Another source, Cabraza said, was in Costa Rica. That cocaine would arrive by courier via Miami and would sometimes be brought in by Cabraza's house for safekeeping. Because each source ha…
▶ 59:49
and to know who to pay what when the drugs were sold. They were even of different qualities. He got proof in December 1981 when Zavala called him from Costa Rica and told him to catch the next plane down. Zavala wanted him to meet some frie…
▶ 1:02:34
had also been a business partner of Menendez before the revolution. Menendez said that they owned cattle and ranches together and that they had known each other since they were children. Pereira had owned the gambling clubs in Managua under…
▶ 1:03:02
was the genesis of an effort to raise money for the Contras by selling drugs, although the original reason for the meeting was purely social. Cabreza said Sanchez and Perina raised the idea of selling cocaine as a means of fundraising for t…
▶ 1:03:31
in the Zavala network. Although it was Sanchez and Perena's idea to raise the funds for the Contra by engaging drugs, Cabreza says it was Zavala who came up with the idea that Cabreza would serve as the go-between and basically run the netw…
▶ 1:03:56
two other men to pick up two kilos of cocaine from Perea. But Perea was suddenly uncomfortable with the arrangement. And he basically said that he wanted to cut Zavala out because he didn't trust him. Now, Cabraza owes everything that he's …
▶ 1:04:23
kind of privately tell Zabala what they said. Zabala tells him to go ahead because now he trusts Capresa even more for him telling him that they wanted to cut him out. So Capresa basically keeps Zabala in on it, but he rearranges his financ…
▶ 55:38
had dropped anti-ship mines in the Nicaraguan harbor, cut off all CIA funding for the Contras. Despite the CIA's effort to keep Contra involvement in the so-called Frogman case from becoming public, some of the truth got out when Carlos Cab…
▶ 56:07
that some of the cocaine money was going to the Contras. He told the jury of his meeting with Horacio Pereira and that Pereira's nervousness over the Contras' profits being misspent by hard-drinking Zavala. Pages from the ledger book in whi…
▶ 56:37
Zavala was convicted of trafficking and sentenced to prison. Caprese's testimony went unchallenged. It also went unreported, though the San Francisco news media had fairly swooned when Caprese and Zavala were arrested. Not a single reporter…