A major cover-up
The Hiett case & the U.S. war in Colombia
By Deirdre Griswold
Which takes precedence in the U.S. media: Nielson ratings or
the strategic interests of U.S. imperialism?
Most of the time, it appears that network ratings drive the
media's sensationalism. But there's a truly sensational bit of
news that hardly any newspaper or network seems to want to
touch.
It involves a drug smuggling case. All the elements are
there for a juicy, long-running story.
A U.S. national, Laurie Anne Hiett, has been charged with
sending four shipments of heroin from Colombia to the United
States. She surrendered to federal authorities in August and
was freed on bond after pleading not guilty.
But that's just the beginning. What makes this case truly
sensational is how the heroin was shipped here. It was mailed
from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.
And why was Hiett able to use the embassy's mail service?
Because she is married to U.S. Army Col. James Hiett.
And what was the colonel's job?
He was the commander of the U.S. Army's anti-drug operation
in Colombia. The top man.
You can't get a more sensational story than that. How come
none of the commentators are talking about it? How come there
are no screaming headlines? No enraged editorials?
Well, some might say, give Laurie Anne Hiett her day in
court. Maybe this is all a mistake. Didn't she say she's
innocent?
But the New York Times of Jan. 20, in a small article on
page four of the Metro section, reported that Hiett is now
expected to plead guilty in a plea bargain. Nobody--the
prosecution or her lawyers--could be reached for comment.
The plea bargain, of course, conveniently keeps this case
from going to trial, where all kinds of questions could be
asked.
This amazing case is being swept under the rug at the very
same moment that the U.S. government has announced it is so
distressed by Colombian drug trafficking that it will spend
$1.6 billion on aid, most of it to the Colombian military, to
deal with this scourge.
Colombia now ranks third on the list of countries that
receive U.S. military aid.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright went to Colombia
personally to announce this huge increase in helicopters,
weapons and U.S. Special Forces "trainers" to invade this South
American country. She used the occasion to attack the
revolutionary groups that have been fighting for deep social
change, calling them "narco-terrorists."
Albright's protestations to the contrary, it should be
perfectly clear that U.S. intervention in Colombia has nothing
to do with drugs. If Washington had one drop of sincerity on
this issue, the government would have immediately put Col.
Hiett and his whole crew on trial. But instead, Hiett has been
"relocated" to an unnamed location.
Several years ago, a general in Cuba was charged with
involvement in drug trafficking. His past record of bravery and
his personal acquaintance with President Fidel Castro made no
difference in how he was treated. In fact, the Cuban government
took this case extremely seriously precisely because of his
high position. The general was tried, found guilty and
executed.
There is no drug problem in Cuba today.
Has that ever happened to the real drug kingpins in this
country--the bankers who launder billions of dollars in drug
money, the "front men" who run so-called legitimate businesses
as covers for drug dealing? Or is it the petty dealers, the
small-time users, who fill the prisons?
The U.S. political-military establishment has concocted the
phony "war on drugs" to divert attention from what it is really
doing in Colombia. The mission is the same as it was in
Vietnam, or at the Bay of Pigs. It is to prevent an
anti-capitalist popular movement from transforming Colombian
society.
The mission is to stop a socialist revolution that is long
overdue, not just in Colombia, not just in all of Latin
America, but in the world as a whole.
That's why all the big-time editors at the media
conglomerates, which today are the biggest of big businesses,
have conspired to treat the Hiett case as non-news.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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