Dark Alliance - The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion

Aug 25, 2026

A compilation of contemporary endorsements and press reactions highlights the investigative impact of Gary Webb’s Dark Alliance, focusing on claims connecting the CIA, Nicaraguan Contras, and the crack cocaine epidemic. The excerpts emphasize the book’s documentary approach, its critique of major news outlets for not fully reexamining their accounts, and the resulting national controversy. Praise and condemnation converge around questions of accountability, evidence, and the moral authority of government and journalism.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages625

Reading Time26 h 15 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword and critical reception

Claims, evidence, and media reexamination

Reactions: support and condemnation

CIA involvement in the Contras and drug allegations

IN PRAISE OF GARY WEBB'S DARK ALLIANCE: "Today, it is hard to say how Webb will be remembered by history. But if there is any justice, he will be remembered favorably. His book demonstrates that the original expose was on the right track. Rather than going too far by implicating U.S. government officials in illegal activities, it seems to me the newspaper series did not go far enough. Based on the evidence in Webb's book, news organizations—especially the Washington Post, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times—should reexamine their knockdown stories. They owe such a re-examination not only to Webb, but also to their readers." —Steve Weinberg in the Baltimore Sun (June 14, 1998) "Two years ago Gary Webb touched off a national controversy with his news stories linking the CIA and the Nicaraguan Contras to the rise of the crack epidemic in Los Angeles and elsewhere. His gripping new book, richly researched and documented, deserves an even wider audience and discussion." —Peter Dale Scott in the San Francisco Chronicle (June 28, 1998) "Webb reminds us that the Reagan approved contra program attracted lowlifes and thugs the way manure draws flies. He guides the reader through a nether world of dope-dealers, gunrunners, and freelance security consultants, which on occasion overlapped with the U.S. government. He entertainingly details the honor, dishonor, and deals among thieves. . .All in all, it's a disgraceful picture—one that should permanently taint the happyface hues of the Reagan years." —David Corn in the Washington Post (August 9, 1998) "Webb [is] a highly regarded investigative reporter. . .. Dark Alliance is his effort to tell his side of the story and set the record straight." —James Adams in the New York Times Book Review (September 27, 1998)"An excellent new book " —Norman Solomon in the San Francisco Bay Guardian (July 22, 1998) "The Central Intelligence Agency continued to work with about two dozen Nicaraguan rebels and their supporters during the 1980s despite allegations that they were trafficking in drugs, according to a classified study by the C.I.A. The new study has found that the agency's decision to keep those paid agents, or to continue dealing with them in some less formal relationship, was made by top officials at headquarters in Langley, Virginia, in the midst of the war waged by the CIA-backed contras against Nicaragua's leftist Sandinista Government." —James Risen, page one of the New York Times (July 17, 1998) "Two years ago, Gary Webb wrote a series of articles that said some bad things about the CIA and drug traffickers. The CIA denied the charges, and every major newspaper in the country took the agency's word for it. Gary Webb was ruined. Which is a shame, because he was right." —Charles Bowden in Esquire (September 1998) "A standing room only crowd of several hundred people jammed a meeting hall in mid-town Manhattan on Thursday night to hear the details of a news story that refuses to die. . ." —Juan Gonzalez in the New York Daily News (June 16, 1998) "[It is an] issue that feels like a dagger in the heart of African Americans. . .. Even if the CIA's motive proves less malevolent, any evidence that it supported drug trafficking would indeed be the crime of the century." —Barbara Reynolds in USA Today (February 26, 1997) "After thousands of hours of work by investigative reporters at several newspapers—almost all of them predisposed to proving that Gary Webb was wrong—none has succeeded in doing so." —Jill Stewart in New Times Los Angeles (June 5, 1997) "Gary Webb brought back before the American public one of the darkest secrets of the 1980s—the cocaine smuggling by the Nicaraguan contra forces—and paid for this service with his job." —Robert Parry, winner of the George Polk Award for National Reporting"This story challenges the moral authority of our government." —Rev. Jesse L. Jackson "Absolute garbage." —Lt. Col. Oliver North "No story in r

FAQs

What controversy is Gary Webb’s Dark Alliance associated with?

The book is linked to a national controversy over claims connecting the CIA and the Nicaraguan Contras to the rise of the crack cocaine epidemic, especially in Los Angeles and other locations.

What do the excerpts suggest major newspapers should do after reviewing Webb’s evidence?

They should reexamine and reconsider their prior “knockdown” stories, owing the re-check not only to Webb but also to readers who trusted the earlier reporting.

How do the excerpts characterize the differing reactions to Dark Alliance?

Reactions range from strong praise for its research and documentation to sharp criticism calling it disgraceful or “absolute garbage,” illustrating deep cultural and political fault lines.

Aug 25, 2026

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