Oscar Danilo Blandón

Template:Short description Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox person Oscar Danilo Blandón Reyes (born July 29, 1951<ref name="FAS"/>) is a Nicaraguan born drug trafficker who is best known as one of the main subjects of the 1996 newspaper series "Dark Alliance" by reporter Gary Webb.

Blandón was originally a director of agricultural markets in Nicaragua during the government of Anastasio Somoza. When the Somoza regime was overthrown in 1979, Blandón fled to the United States,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and then raised money for the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN), a Contra group. As part of his fundraising activities Blandón began selling cocaine. Eventually Blandón became a major cocaine trafficker in the Los Angeles area.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In May 1992, Blandón was arrested in San Diego on the federal charge of "conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute."<ref name = "DOJ2" >{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In prison awaiting trial, Blandón began cooperating with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a number of drug cases. In a plea agreement, Blandón agreed to continue cooperating with the government in exchange for a substantial sentence reduction. Eventually Blandón was sentenced to 48 months.<ref name = DOJ2 /> In order to facilitate Blandón's work as an informant, the government further requested a reduction in Blandón's sentence to time served. Following his imprisonment, Blandón worked for the DEA as a confidential informant. He worked for the DEA to take down drug kingpin Rick Ross in a sting operation, for which Ross was convicted in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="The Washington Post; October 4, 1996">Template:Cite news</ref>

In the 2014 film Kill the Messenger, Blandón was portrayed by actor Yul Vazquez.

Further reading

• USDOJ/OIG Special Report THE CIA-CONTRA-CRACK COCAINE CONTROVERSY: A REVIEW OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT’S INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS (December, 1997) Template:Webarchive United States Department of Justice—The Executive Summary has a section about Oscar Danilo Blandon and Chapter II is about Oscar Danilo Blandon
  • "Appendix E: TIMELINE OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS RELATED TO DANILO BLANDON" (Archive)

External links

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