Celerino Castillo III, Dave Harmon

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the following people: Celerino Castillo III: My parents, Celerino and Angie Castillo, for teaching me what life is all about; my sisters, Diana, Melinda, and San Juanita for being there when I needed them; Brian Casey for pointing me to the right person; Chris Doyle for first discovering my story; Chief Raul Garza for teaching me what it takes to be the best; Juan Perez for guiding me against the Gestapo; Mike Levine for his endless encouragement; Rosa Granados for holding my hand for the past two years (some wounds are not visible); and all the undercover agents now being abused - "Nothing is forever" Dave Harmon: The proofreading squad, for their sharp eyes and vigorous encouragement: Laura E. Keeton, Dan and Diana Dworin, Jamie McIlvain, and Lisa DeCuir; the stalwart supporters: Steve Grey, Sonia Sellers, Jerry and Kale Clark, Darryl Pruett, Dave "Big Daddy" McLeod, Oscar and Tami Hinojosa, Avrel Seale, Beth Bryant, Rob Dennett, and Robert and Viola Garza; Dr. Henry Dietz of the University of Texas for pointers on recent Peruvian history; the Rio Grande Book Co. for letting me run amok on their office machines. And, most of all, Richard Derus for bringing it all together. FOREWORD by Michael Levine Now that you've read this far I advise you to cancel any appointments you may have scheduled during the next several hours. You are not going to be able to put this book down. It will mesmerize you, enrage you and change your attitude toward the people in government whom we have entrusted with our safety and security. Most importantly it will give you information that has been kept from you; information you have a right to, because you have paid for it with your taxes, and, as many like me have done, with the blood and misery of your loved ones and friends. There are several important facts that you must keep in mind as you read. First, that the crimes and atrocities described so vividly in these in these pages, were committed by U.S. government officials using taxpayer dollars, or people under their protection, and that, for the most part, the victims of these crimes are the very people who paid those taxes: the American people. Second, that this first hand account was written by Celerino "Cele" Castillo, a highly decorated veteran of two wars - Vietnam and the War on Drugs; a man who has often risked his life to fulfill his oath to protect the American people and uphold their laws, and that Celerino Castillo is a consummate professional investigator who documents everyone of his claims - - often using electronic recording devices - - so that they serve as evidence in any court in the world. Third, that every thing you are about to read was first turned over to the upper management of DEA (The Drug Enforcement Administration), the FBI and e State Department for these agencies to take appropriate action to stop the Oliver North/Contra operations drug smuggling activities and hat no action or investigation was ever undertaken. Fourth, that Cele Castillo persisted in pushing for an investigation spite of a warning from a U. S. Ambassador to back off the investigation because it was a White House Operation, and inspite of being place under a malicious Internal Affairs investigation--DEAs classic method of silencing its outspoken agents - - that would help destroy his marriage and career and almost cost him his life. Finally, that Cele turned over all his evidence to Special Prosecutor Lawrence E. Walshs office - - then investigation Oliver North and the Contras - - and when it was clear that no investigative action would ever be taken pursuant to that evidence, and, in fact m that the Special Prosecutors final report failed to even mention the drug allegation, did Cele write this book. When I wrote Deep Cover and The Big White Lie detailing my own deep cover experiences in South America, people were astounded by the revelations. They found it impossible to believe that their own government could tax them hundreds of billions of dollars to fight drugs and at the same time support and protect the biggest drug dealers in the world as they poisoned our children. It was the most despicable kind of treason. I, like many millions of Americans, was affected personally; my son Keith Richard Levine, a 27 year old New York City police officer, was murdered by crack addicts when, while off - duty, he tried to stop and armed robbery they were committing to support their addiction; my brother David, a life long drug addict, ended his misery at 34 years of age by suicide. Our nation, thanks in large part to these criminals now has a homicide rate exceeding 25,000 per year, much of it drug related, and, according to some economists, our economy is impacted by this drug plague by as much a trillion dollars a year. Is it conceivable that so many members of our legislative, judicial and law enforcement branches of government betrayed us? No its not conceivable, but all those who read this book will find it undeniable. In my books articles and media appearances I told of deep cover cases from Bangkok to Buenos Aires, that were destroyed by the covert agencies of my own government; cases that would have exposed people; who had been given a license to sell massive amounts of drugs to Americans in return for their support of Oliver Norths contras. I could easily prove that these investigations were internationally destroyed and that our cover was blown by our own government, but I only had circumstantial evidence linking the events to the Contras. Celerino Castillo, as you will see in these pages, had the smoking gun. At that time, had Cele come forward with his story, I believe the publics reaction to our joint testimony would have forced our elected officials into taking the action against North and others, that they were so desperately afraid of taking. But at that time, Cele was bust fighting for his family, his career and his life. wherever I want people asked, If this is true, why aren't any other government agents saying what your are? I was a lone voice. From the moment my first book was published i began receiving - - and still receive - - letters from both federal and local law enforcement officers, government informants and contract pilots for both DEA and CIA, with their own horror stories to tell indicating that our covert agencies and state Department were sabotaging the drug war, and that when honest officers tried to do something about it, their lives and jobs were threatened, yet none would go public with their stories. They were afraid. I pointed out to all who would listen that even our highest government officials are afraid to confront the criminals in government. During the years J Edgar Hoover ran the FBI, eight Presidents were aware that he was running a political police force, in violation of every law of the land, yet they kept their silence and did nothing to stop him. They were terrified of his secret files and the revelations they might contain. It took almost twenty years after his death before the truth finally surfaced ed. If one man could intimidate eight Presidents, can you imagine the kind of club the CIA has over the heads of our current crop of political leader? How else can you explain the difference between their rhetoric and their actions, or lack thereof ? Senator John Kerry, a Democrat, spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars investigating the drug running activities of Oliver Norths Nicaraguan Contra effort and came to the same conclusions that Cele and I did as DEA agents in the field. He said, Our covert agencies have converted themselves to channels for drugs ... they have perverted our system of justice. An outraged Senator Alphonse Damato, a Republican, found it mind boggling, that while we taxed Americans more than $ 100 billion to fight drugs, we were in bed with the biggest drug dealers in the world. All the outrage and oratory not withstanding, none of the evidence that the led to those statements was ever presented to a grand jury of American citizens, and not one single indictment of a U.S. laws relating to narcotics trafficking was ever forthcoming. Nor was there ever any house - cleaning of the agencies involved. Many of these criminals in government are still, in fact, criminals in government, and as this book goes to press there is evidence that their crimes continue. It is also important for the reader to keep in mind, that to prove a government official guilty of violations of the Federal Drug Conspiracy laws, is a relatively easy task for a professional narcotics investigator. One would only have to prove that he or she now of drug trafficking activity and failed to take appropriate action. In one case I was involved in, for example, A new York City police detective was convicted of violation of the Federal Conspiracy statutes and sentenced to 8 years in prison, for not taking appropriate action against dope-dealing friend of his. We could not even prove that he had profited form his crime. DEAs files are full of similar cases. The law is exactly as President Bush once said: All those who look the other way are as guilty as the drug dealer. The Kerry commission amassed impressive evidence that Oliver North and others had violated our drug trafficking laws; they reviewed Norths 543 pages of personal notes relating to drug trafficking activity, which - - even after North blacked out many incriminating statements - - included notations like, $14 million to finance came from drugs; they learned that North had attempted to get leniency for

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