Norwin Meneses Cantarero

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Norwin Meneses Cantarero also known as "The King of Drugs", was a drug kingpin in the early 70's in Nicaragua with close ties to dictator Anastasio Somoza. He was believed to be the Cali Cartels representative in Nicaragua. When the Somoza government was overthrown in 1979 by the Sandinista National Liberation Front, Meneses fled to the United States. Once in the United States, Meneses began fundraising for the FDN (an early Contra group), as well as recruiting and supplying weapons. It is also worth mentioning that Meneses worked with the DEA from 1985 to 1991. According to Gary Webb, a California reporter who first broke the contra drug scandal, the CIA was directly involved in the trafficking of Meneses' cocaine, and turned a blind eye to allow the funding of the counterrevolution. He was indicted on drug charges in the U.S. in 1989 but was never arrested. He was later arrested and jailed in Nicaragua, and sentenced to 12 years in prison.