to U.S. investigators." One of the Americans "said that in one ongoing operation, the cocaine is unloaded from planes at rebel airstrips and taken to an Atlantic coast port where it is concealed on shrimp boats that are later unloaded in the Miami area." 1986 On January 9, President Reagan signed a classified document that authorized the CIA to take actions against the Sandinistas. The document states that the CIA was to stop the spread of communism in Nicaragua and back democratic leaders. The specific actions that Reagan authorized the CIA to take remain redacted in the declassified document. Robert Owen ("TC") wrote Oliver North on February 10 (this time as "BG" for "Blood and Guts") about a plane used to carry "humanitarian aid" to the Contras. This plane had belonged to Vortex, it was a Miami-based company owned by Michael Palmer, and it was also used previously to transport drugs. Michael Palmer was one of the biggest marijuana traffickers in the United States at that time. Regardless of Palmer's long drug-smuggling history, he received over $300,000 from the Nicaraguan Humanitarian Aid Office (NHAO) which was overseen by North, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Elliot Abrams, and CIA officer Alan Fiers that was used to ferry supplies to the Contras. On April 8, Richard Secord made arrangements to drop the first aerial supply drop to the Contras. He planned to drop the supplies within the next few days. The actions were carried out on April 10, but the supply drop failed because they could not establish contact. The U.S. argued that "The United States initially provided substantial economic assistance to the Sandinista-dominated regime. We were largely instrumental in the OAS action delegitimizing the Somoza regime and laying the groundwork for installation for the new junta. Later, when the Sandinista role in the Salvadoran conflict became clear, we sought through a combination of private diplomatic contacts and suspension of assistance to convince Nicaragua to halt its subversion. Later still, economic measures and further diplomatic efforts were employed to try to effect changes in Sandinista behavior. Nicaragua's neighbors have asked for assistance against Nicaraguan aggression, and the United States has responded. Those countries have repeatedly and publicly made clear that they consider themselves to be the victims of aggression from Nicaragua, and that they desired United States assistance in meeting both subversive attacks and the conventional threat posed by the