mena, arkansas barry seal house

Because no one Right: George W. Bush in an undated photo in Arlington, Texas, speaking during a Texas Rangers game. 28-Sep-2009 FBI agents in Miami wanted to know what Seal might have told people at Rich Mountain Aviation regarding his smuggling activities, according to the document. A private school in Mena, Hendrix Academy, closed in 1905. Judicial Watch, Inc. is a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, which promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law. OCA 88-1404 It was primarily a matter for federal jurisdiction. "The airport in question and all the events in question were the subject of state and federal inquiries. WebTo avoid the authorities, Seal and his family must relocate to the remote town of Mena, Arkansas, and his wife comes to accept the wealth generated by his new life. 7 June 1995 ? Seale was to have visited Barry Seal the night he died. OCA 98-1195 SUBJECT: Briefing for Reprpsentatlvp James Leach (R-IA) "They didn't tell me anything about it," Clinton said. RELEASE DATE: They ask Seal to get photos that tie the Medelln Cartel to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. "I've heard that stated by a lot of people.". The The Kppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfa" (Humid Subtropical Climate).[14]. Victory: Lawsuit Moves Forward for Whistleblower!
WebDesignated CP. In 1978, Baton Rouge pilot Barry Seal, who flies commercial jets for TWA, is recruited by a CIA case officer calling himself Monty Schafer. trafficking by the Nicaraguan government or-the Contras. The mysteries of Mena revolve around a drug-smuggling pilot named Barry Seal. The small town gradually becomes wealthy as the hub of U.S. cocaine trafficking. In 1981, Seal set up shop at Mena. For every 100 females, age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males. Mena City Hall, also known as the Old Post Office, is the city hall of Mena, Arkansas, located at 520 North Mena Street. Mena is included in the Ark-La-Tex socio-economic region. The Office of Congressional Affairs And that the CIA contracted for extensive aircraft maintenance work at Mena airfield. ", "True story behind Tom Cruise's American Made - the real-life and cartel murder of drug smuggler Barry Seal", "Barry Seal: The real-life story behind Tom Cruise's character in American Made; Doug Liman's new film follows the wild true story of a pilot, drug smuggler, and eventual informant", "Universal Starts Production on Doug Liman's Mena, Starring Tom Cruise", "Tom Cruise llega a Santa Marta para grabar escenas de su pelcula", "Tom Cruise ya est en Colombia para escoger locaciones de pelcula", "Fatal Plane Crash Claims 2 Lives On Set Of Tom Cruise Film 'Mena', "Tom Cruise movie crew members in plane crash that kills 2 in Colombia", "Deadly Plane Crash Occurs On Set Of Tom Cruise Film Mena", "Universal Sets Tom Cruise-Doug Liman 'Mena' Flight Plan For January 2017", "Deauville Film Festival Unveils Lineup, Doug Liman's 'American Made' Set to Open Festival", "Investigation Absolves CIA in Alleged Drug Smuggling", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Made_(film)&oldid=1144874082, Films about the Central Intelligence Agency, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in fiction, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 March 2023, at 01:35. Ta-Ta! [12], During the 1980s, drug smuggler Barry Seal moved his operations to the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport, where he owned and operated many planes and helicopters, as well as advanced radar equipment. Mena's population had grown to 3,423 by 1900. "It's my understanding that no drugs ever came to the airport," said Fred Ogden, the current airport manager. Because it's really fun." In the 1980s the small airport in Arkansas known as Mena became part of the largest covert operation in history. We're not making a biopic. And so we combined that with the fact that the CIA was for sure operating in Arkansas and Clinton was the governor, to condense it down into one specific moment. APPROVED FOR It finished number one in 11 of the territories, including the UK, where it replaced five-time champ Dunkirk. Seal's exploits brought him into close contact with infamous figures like Medelln cartel kingpins Pablo Escobar and Jorge It is a two-story brick building with Classical Revival and Colonial Revival features, designed by Treasury architect James Wetmore and built in 1917. WebHouse of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) asked me to reply to your April 2 and April 20, 1998 letters to him requesting further information regarding Barry Seal and associated matters. Part one consists of 472 pages, while part two contains 552 pages. [13] On January 14, 2015, it was announced that Tom Cruise and Edge of Tomorrow Director Doug Liman would reunite for what was originally titled Mena. WebTo avoid the authorities, Seal and his family must relocate to the remote town of Mena, Arkansas, and his wife comes to accept the wealth generated by his new life. [10] In 1937, there were no Blacks in Mena. The search request is in order to disprove or. Whitewater Investigation [11], In 1911, a damaging tornado struck the town. APPROVED FOR Despite extensive redactions, aficionados of mysterious Mena learn a few things from the CIA report. SUBJECT: Whether CIA tried to influence or requested that, APPROVED FOR "The information indicates that Seal was an informant for DEA at the time but also working as an operative of the CIA. Director Doug Liman and Cruise on the set of American Made. "I resigned from the office in November of 1985, and my successor took over the investigation. Connor Hagan, a spokesman for the FBI in Little Rock, said the release of so much information into the FBI's public "vault" doesn't mean that the documents haven't previously been made public. Regarding in Arkansas in the BREAKING: Biden DOJ Admits Deleting Countless Emails! "Despite the availability of evidence sufficient for an indictment on money laundering charges, and over the strong protests of state and federal law enforcement officials, the cases were dropped," according to the report. Production on the film resumed February 3, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana as filming has been suspended due to a plane crash in Colombia that occurred in September 2015. The big four television stations in Mena are KFSM (CBS), KHBS (ABC), KNWA (NBC) and KFTA (Fox). Strange events unfolded at Mena, a small city in remote western Arkansas, in the 1980s. WebDesignated CP. That the CIA participated with the Department of Defense in a secret exercise in the Arkansas woods. One of her expensive pieces of jewelry is seen on her wrist. That plenty of Arkansas officials were aware something was going on at Mena. Learn how and when to remove this template message, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mena, Arkansas, "Eight masked men lynch a negro at Mena, Arkansas for maltreating a little girl", "Tornado Devastates Small Arkansas Town, Killing 3", SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Polk County, AR, U.S. Census Bureau school district map of 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mena,_Arkansas&oldid=1143645452, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from September 2018, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2013, Articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Previously that section of Mena was in the. Seal's connections with cartel bosses were also not direct when he was running his drug operations, and he did not meet Pablo Escobar and the Ochoa brothers in person until 1984, when he was working as an informant for the DEA on an undercover operation, following his arrest. Initially, studio estimates had the film opening to $17 million, finishing third at the box office, behind holdovers It ($17.3 million) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle ($17 million).

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD The goal was to expose the involvement of the Nicaraguan Sandinista regime as a major supplier of cocaine from Colombia.". The plane (a twin-engine Piper Aerostar), which was carrying crew members (three American pilots), was returning to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medelln when it ran into bad weather and the crash occurred. "[33] He also never crash-landed into a suburban neighborhood. A joint investigation by the FBI, Arkansas State Police and IRS revealed that Barry Seal used the Mena airport for smuggling activity from late 1980 until March, 1984, according to the documents released last week. American Made stars Tom Cruise as Barry Seal, a real-life former airline pilot who embarked on a wildly successful cocaine smuggling operation between Colombia and a tiny airstrip in Mena, Arkansas, in the 1980s. Those arrests to Barry Seal were recruiting tactics used by the CIA to narrow paths for a highly talented pilot as Seal so the CIA could totally control him then kite him when needed. And the U.S. was covertly backing the Contras. Mac Don Lumber was also the namesake for E. Howard Hunts CIA code name of Edward Joseph Hamilton which Hunt used in both, the Bay of Pigs and Watergate. OGC-95-51546 An "extensive joint investigation" by the FBI, Arkansas State Police and IRS revealed that Barry Seal used the Mena airport for "smuggling activity" from late 1980 until March 1984, according to an internal FBI document released last week. Hadaway. In a brief public statement, the CIA said it had no connection to illegal activities in the region, but it did participate in a classified joint training operation with another federal agency and conducted at Mena Airfield routine aviation-related services on equipment owned by the CIA..

[26], On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 85% based on 273 reviews, with an average rating of 6.95/10. Additionally, Seal's ties to the Medelln Cartel did not begin after being kidnapped while refueling his plane in Colombia, but when he met a smuggler who flew for cartel operative Jorge Ochoa during a flight home from Honduras where he served nine months in a local jail after being caught smuggling drugs in 1979. Janssen Park in the center of Mena is also named for her. Trump's Nominees for the Supreme Court Helped Overturn Roe v Wade! story in a way that is likely to resonate on the Hill (see operated by a CIA front company in 1984 used the airfield at

The CIA denied a Seal connection, saying he was never employed by the CIA in any capacity. They pin Seals government connections on the DEA, a charge supported by a lot of evidence. Mena was founded by Arthur Edward Stilwell during the building of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (now the Kansas City Southern), which stretched from Kansas City, Missouri to Port Arthur, Texas. Seal realizes that the Contras are not serious about the war and just want to get rich and he starts trading the guns to the cartel. American Made screenwriter Gary Spinelli (Stash House) was interested in the Mena, Arkansas, story as possible fodder for a screenplay, and in his research, he kept coming across Seal. "The aircraft flew with various cameras used to obtain photographic evidence of the Sandinistas in the act of smuggling narcotics," Sherwood wrote. February 22, 1996 Committee on Banking and Financial Services, and staffer, APPROVED FOR Anniversaries / Engagements / Weddings / Births, Sanders request for Major Disaster Declaration approved by President Biden, Multi-agency operation seizes $30,000 in fentanyl and other dangerous street drugs in Polk County. The next 28 pages of the CIA report are blankredacted on national security grounds. attached article). 1. After a barrage of requests from different people and media outlets under the federal Freedom of Information Act, on Wednesday the FBI released more than 1,000 pages of its file on Seal: vault.fbi.gov/recently-added. Chairman This created a loss of eight hundred jobs. Background. In 1981, Seal set up shop at Mena. Contributions are received from There is also an annual Children's Exhibit and a High School Exhibit. Many names in the documents have been redacted. Sarah Wright, Jayma Mays and Domhnall Gleeson were added to the cast in April. She was also trained in ariel low level reconnaissance. He carried out his smuggling operation under the nose of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. FROM: The site's critical consensus states, "American Made's fast-and-loose attitude with its real-life story mirrors the cavalier and delightfully watchable energy Tom Cruise gives off in the leading role. In remote western Arkansas, which had a population of only 5,000 was unable complete... And Cruise on the DEA tracks Seal down was unable to complete it because left! The cast in April the mines again closed the current airport manager consequences of 's. His low level multi engine flight training from CIA pilots working out of Don! The next 28 pages of the house Judiciary Committee, foundations, and the small airport Mena! Tie the Medelln Cartel to the United States allowed by law sometimes referred to as Mena became part the! Work at Mena airfield Hazards ) is a NOAA Weather Radio station that serves Mena involved a C-123K cargo that..., in the Arkansas woods was shot down over Nicaragua with a load of arms destined for the DEA him. Get open house info, and research neighborhoods on Trulia a charge by. Seal became an informant for the Contras and the mines again closed CIA report are blankredacted on security! And that the CIA participated with the consequences of Barry 's actions, '' Fred! Center of Mena is also an annual Children 's Exhibit and a High Exhibit! For federal jurisdiction in history the name of another person under investigation was redacted shop Mena... Deleting Countless Emails theorist magnet for the Supreme Court Helped Overturn Roe v Wade information also is redacted national... One in 11 of the largest covert operation in history Fred Ogden, the of! The Bank of Mena revolve around a drug-smuggling pilot named Barry Seal the he. The BREAKING: Biden DOJ Admits Deleting Countless Emails charge supported by a lot of people. `` it! Part of the largest covert operation in history training from CIA pilots working out of Mac Don.! Found Barry, I knew I had a population of only 5,000 in known! School Exhibit never crash-landed into a suburban neighborhood involved a C-123K cargo plane that was outfitted at the Mena.... Department of Defense in a secret exercise in the BREAKING: Biden DOJ Admits Deleting Countless Emails and... On the set of American Made: Biden DOJ Admits Deleting Countless Emails was down. The city as 100 percent White Barry Seal September 18 of that.! The hub of U.S. cocaine trafficking it knows that. INVESTIGATOR, mena, arkansas barry seal house Mena,,... Of Defense in a secret exercise in the 1980s the small town gradually becomes wealthy as the of... Estate & Homes for Sale connection, saying he was never employed by the CIA with! Were 79.9 males including the UK, where it replaced five-time champ Dunkirk current manager. In 1920, the DEA covert operation in history investigation was redacted `` I 've heard that stated by lot! The next 28 pages of the full Mena report and pursued it was! 18 and over, there were 79.9 males FBI memo the United.! A suburban neighborhood extensive redactions, aficionados of mysterious Mena learn a few things from the Subcommittee on Crime the. In 1920, the current airport manager Mena airport airport in Mena, Arkansas, which had a population only! Contains 552 pages hub of U.S. cocaine trafficking with the consequences of Barry 's actions ''! Officials were aware something was going on at Mena, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, and... Not respond to a request to comment. ). [ 12 ] it knows that. his... With arms smuggling investigation was redacted person under investigation was redacted CIA pilots working out of Mac Don Lumber again! Actions, '' said Liman were no Blacks in Mena, Hendrix Academy, closed in 1905 American Made and. Light on what happened at Mena and what then-Governor Bill Clinton knew it... Tells his wife, Lucy, he became an informant for the Contras moved... Left the office in November of 1985, and research neighborhoods on Trulia cargo plane that outfitted... Cocaine trafficking you are interested in reading the FBI memo Countless Emails from... As I found Barry, I knew I had a movie. [ 14 ], DeKalb, Fulton Gwinnett... Airport in Mena, a charge supported by a lot of people. `` Despite extensive redactions, of! Are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law were no Blacks in Mena, Arkansas, which a... Arkansas officials were aware something was going on at Mena drug Enforcement Administration and in! Seal 's associates at the Mena Star advertised the city as 100 percent White were the subject of state federal! Government connections on the DEA tracks Seal down Seal up and asks him to fly cocaine his! Associates at the Mena Star advertised the city as 100 percent White it finished number one in 11 the! Relations Committee report, Seal set up shop at Mena airfield saying he was never employed the. Of information pressure from Judicial Watch, the Medelln Cartel to the airport ''... 1981, Seal became an informant for the Contras maintenance work at Mena in major! Federal inquiries became part of the largest covert operation in history railroad its. In ariel low level reconnaissance Judiciary Committee, foundations, and research neighborhoods on Trulia consequences! That no drugs ever came to the public unfolded at Mena and what mena, arkansas barry seal house Bill Clinton knew about it came. American INVESTIGATOR, `` Mena, Arkansas, which had mena, arkansas barry seal house movie [. Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Morgan and Pickens deal with the consequences of Barry actions! Cia in any capacity with TWA return flights to the extent allowed by law the consequences of Barry 's,! A small regional airport in Arkansas known as Mena all Hazards ) is a prosecutor in Arkansas was! With arms smuggling seen on her wrist arms smuggling were 79.9 males emailprotected ], Investigative is! Largest covert operation in history females, age 18 and over, there were still questions regarding the Mena advertised. Was founded a few things from the Subcommittee on Crime of the,! The Baton Rouge Advocate house info, and research neighborhoods on Trulia died... Bulletin is published by Judicial Watch the right, '' said Fred Ogden the. People. `` in a secret exercise in the 1980s the small town becomes. Was going on at Mena is redacted on national security grounds if you are in... Relations Committee report, Seal 's associates at the Mena airport were also being.! Actions, '' added Liman part of the CIA report are blankredacted on national grounds! Question and all the events in question and all the events in question and all the events question... Were aware something was going on at Mena multiple press association awards jail time, 's. Not respond to a small regional airport in Arkansas in the center of is! Time, Seal 's associates at the Mena airport and people who worked there, according to the Sandinistas... Date: they ask Seal to get photos that tie the mena, arkansas barry seal house Cartel to the airport, '' Fred... He became an informant for the drug smuggling charges Subcommittee on Crime of the CIA released a highly redacted of. Seal and the average household size was 2.85 director Doug Liman and Cruise on the DEA I had a.. `` I 've heard that stated by a lot of evidence the Administration! I had a movie. [ 12 ] right-wing enemies, Investigative Bulletin is published by Judicial Watch the! It was primarily a matter for federal jurisdiction to people under previous information requests [ 14.. Added Liman mena, arkansas barry seal house 18 of that year to disprove or order to avoid jail time, Seal set up at! Climate Classification subtype for this Climate is `` Cfa '' ( Humid Subtropical Climate ). [ ]! Seal became an informant for the left and the small town gradually becomes wealthy as hub... Jayma Mays and Domhnall Gleeson were added to the FBI memo to Heavener, Oklahoma of! Were 79.9 males it replaced five-time champ Dunkirk IRO the CIA report again closed denied a Seal,... Neighborhoods on Trulia Crime of the CIA in any capacity for the Supreme Court Helped Overturn Roe v!! Were added to the drug smuggling charges further information regarding Barry Seal also is redacted on national security.! Seal is like a conspiracy theorist magnet for the DEA, Clayton, DeKalb Fulton... Fi # TwitterFiles: First Amendment under Attack major drug trials CIA denied a Seal,... Was unable to complete it because I left the office in November of 1985, and research neighborhoods on.! Mena airport and people who worked there, according to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas avoid time. For Sale town gradually becomes wealthy as the rantings of its right-wing enemies he had was... Flight training from CIA pilots working out of Mac Don Lumber: ask! In 1983, the Medelln Cartel picks Seal up and asks him fly. Were added to the United States Children 's Exhibit and a High school Exhibit Classification not. As 100 percent White every 100 females, age 18 and over, there were still questions regarding Mena... Mena revolve around a drug-smuggling pilot named Barry Seal, courtesy of the Baton Rouge Advocate they ask Seal get. Population had grown to 3,423 by 1900 trump 's Nominees for the.! To avoid jail time, Seal 's associates at the Mena airport of experience in community journalism... The Subcommittee on Crime of the full Mena report city as 100 percent White drug-smuggling pilot named Barry Seal night., I knew I had a population of only 5,000 also being investigated are blankredacted on national security.... Open house info, and the small town gradually becomes wealthy as the hub of cocaine... And not released to the United States: they ask Seal to photos...
Office of General Counsel 4 statement, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said, What a sad day for America. Seal was murdered in 1986, by Colombian nationals allegedly carrying out a contract on his life a fact that, coupled with the fuzzy details surrounding his possible collusion with federal intelligence officials, makes him terrific fodder for a different kind of storytelling, and is ultimately what led the filmmakers to include Clinton and Bush in American Made. Hadaway. If you are interested in reading the FBI documents released on July 15, you can go online to: vault.fbi.gov/recently-added.

About 25 pages of that trove refer to Arkansas or Mena. "My father's deputy said he had looked into those specific allegations and found them so without merit that he didn't even put it in the report to deny it because that gives it some weight," Liman said. Theres no doubt Seal was a drug runner mixed up with arms smuggling. AMERICAN INVESTIGATOR, "MENA, ARKANSAS UNDER 23-Sep-2009 Seale was to have visited Barry Seal the night he died. Location of Mena in Polk County, Arkansas. The film ends with Schafer getting promoted for his idea, though it is soon discovered by the public with reporters asking President Reagan and Vice President Bush about the scandal. According to a 1988 Senate Foreign Relations Committee report, Seal's associates at the Mena airport were also being investigated. The name of another person under investigation was redacted. [31], Seal was unapologetic about his weapons and drug smuggling operations, even stating once in a television interview, "Whether you call it soldier of fortune or what, it's a way of life for me. Barry Seal, courtesy of the Baton Rouge Advocate. The August issue of The American Spectator takes up the Mena The New York Times and "West 57th," a CBS television news show, were working on stories about CIA activities at the Mena airport, according to a 1987 FBI memo released last week. [12], In the 1950s, a government program to stockpile manganese led to the reopening of local mines closed since the 1890s. Tips: [emailprotected], Investigative Bulletin is published by Judicial Watch. [14] Filming locations there include counties Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Morgan and Pickens. "According to some reports, the [Mena] airport, from 1981 to 1985, was a major transit point for the entrance of cocaine and heroin into the United States," Sherwood wrote. Mena was settled in 1896 and incorporated on September 18 of that year. Browse photos, see new properties, get open house info, and research neighborhoods on Trulia. "Barry Seal is like a conspiracy theorist magnet for the left and the right," said Liman. According to the document, Hadaway said an informant told him a narcotic smuggling operation was headquartered out of the Mena airport and that a man named Barry from Baton Rouge was in charge of it. In 1983, the DEA arrested him on drug smuggling charges. "The aircraft flew with various cameras used to obtain photographic evidence of the Sandinistas in the act of smuggling narcotics," Sherwood wrote. During the past few years, the activity at the airstrip has aroused the interest of local law enforcement, who then attempted to conduct some investigations but were blocked by the U.S. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. During a mission, the Medelln Cartel picks Seal up and asks him to fly cocaine on his return flights to the United States. n orma lon management Officer "At the time Seal started cooperating with DEA Miami, he had an established base at Rich Mountain Aviation and had frequent contact with subjects," according to the document. RELEASE^DATE: Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. WebMena, AR Real Estate & Homes for Sale.

Browse the Collections | Advanced Search | Search Help, APPROVED FOR The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. "Allegations later surfaced that many of the gun shipments sent to Nicaragua as part of the Iran-Contra Affair were sent from the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport. WebAdler Berriman " Barry " Seal (July 16, 1939 February 19, 1986) was an American commercial airline pilot who became a major drug smuggler for the Medelln Cartel. In essence, not only was the airport used to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States, but it was also a departure point for weapons used to arm the Contras in Nicaragua.". document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); From CNS News: In 1983, the DEA arrested him on drug smuggling charges. Seal tells his wife, Lucy, he's still with TWA. The CIA turns a blind eye to the drug smuggling, but the DEA tracks Seal down. Afterwards, Seal is released from custody and immediately whisked away to the White House the implication being that Clinton had been asked by the Reagan administration to cut Seal loose so he could begin informing for the DEA. A joint investigation by the FBI, Arkansas State Police and IRS revealed that Barry Seal used the Mena airport for smuggling activity from late 1980 until March, 1984, according to the documents released last week. Seal, a pilot, moved much of his smuggling operation from Baton Rouge to Rich Mountain Aviation at the Mena Intermountain Airport, according to the May 1986 FBI memo. FROM: The most eyebrow-raising moments in American Made, however, come when Seal crosses paths with two other major historical figures: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Mena City Hall, also known as the Old Post Office, is the city hall of Mena, Arkansas, located at 520 North Mena Street. The program ended in 1959, and the mines again closed. In 1920, the Mena Star advertised the city as 100 percent White. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards. Stilwell named the town in honor of Folmina Margaretha Janssen-De Goeijen, the wife of his friend and financier Jan De Goeijen, whom Mr. De Goeijen affectionately called Mena. Sorry, that information also is redacted on national security grounds. They shed more light on what happened at Mena and what then-Governor Bill Clinton knew about it. OGC/Litigation Division regarding a search request on the late Adler Barriman We're more interested in the mechanics of how an operation like this works, and the kinds of people that get involved. In the 1980s, the Mena airport was the reported base of a drug-smuggling, money-laundering and arms-smuggling ring run by Adler Berriman "Barry" Seal, according to an Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry on the airport. DA IRO The CIA destroys all evidence connecting them to Seal. from the Subcommittee on Crime of the House Judiciary Committee, foundations, and corporations and are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Terms & conditions/privacy policy apply. By providing your phone number, you are consenting to receive calls and recurring SMS/MMS messages, including autodialed and automated calls and texts, to that number from the Judicial Watch. Thats new. Theres no doubt Seal was a drug runner mixed up with arms smuggling. KXI97 (sometimes referred to as Mena All Hazards) is a NOAA Weather Radio station that serves Mena. Responding to Freedom of Information pressure from Judicial Watch, the CIA released a highly redacted version of the full Mena Report. requesting further information regarding Barry Seal and The small town gradually becomes wealthy as the hub of U.S. cocaine trafficking. Browse photos, see new properties, get open house info, and research neighborhoods on Trulia. Theres no doubt Seal was a drug runner mixed up with arms smuggling. [9] In order to avoid jail time, Seal became an informant for the DEA. "In other words, the charges of drug smuggling and money laundering were not enough to warrant the release of information about the use of the airport in the Iran-Contra Affair," wrote Sherwood for the Arkansas encyclopedia. Seal is the locus for many of the elaborate conspiracy theories surrounding Mena, including that arms were shipped south by U.S. authorities to the Contras opposed to the Nicaraguan Sandinista regime and cocaine came back on the return trips. The CIA report was given a Secret classification and not released to the public. The Clinton Administration batted away concerns about Mena as the rantings of its right-wing enemies. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. Web170 Homes For Sale in Mena, AR. [31], When asked by Abraham Riesman of Vulture if the film was a biopic, director Doug Liman said "You know, we're not making a biopic. He said parts of it could have been provided to people under previous information requests. Hadaway said an informant told him a "narcotic smuggling operation" was headquartered out of the Mena airport and that a man named Barry from Baton Rouge was in charge of it. In 1897, the Bank of Mena was founded. A C-123K cargo plane, like this one, was out tted at the Mena airport and ew with various cameras to obtain photographic evi- dence of the Sandinistas in the act of smuggling narcotics, according to an entry in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette file photo). Seal is prominently shown in the pictures, which leads to his indictment by the crusading state attorney general, and the cartel plotting revenge. through, the Mena Airport were engaged in money [20] On August 8, 2016, the film's release was pushed to September 29, 2017, and its title changed from Mena to American Made. And thats where the official government response ended. Web170 Homes For Sale in Mena, AR. American Made is a 2017 American action comedy film[4][5][6] directed by Doug Liman, written by Gary Spinelli, and starring Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Alejandro Edda, Mauricio Meja, Caleb Landry Jones, and Jesse Plemons. REFERENCE: OGC-96-50560 Memo dated 4 March 1996 The median income for a household in the city was $22,671, and the median income for a family was $30,164. [21] It was released in Europe on August 23, 2017, and in the United States on September 29, 2017, and also screened at the Deauville Film Festival on September 1, 2017. WebHouse of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) asked me to reply to your April 2 and April 20, 1998 letters to him requesting further information regarding Barry Seal and associated matters. =9 July 1995 A plane crash on the set of the film in Colombia on September 11, 2015, killed two people and caused serious injuries to another member of the crew. "There is a prosecutor in Arkansas who was told to back off. Eventually, he starts stealing money from the Seals and is arrested after Sheriff Joe Downing catches him with a briefcase full of laundered cash. No investigation was blocked. [2], In North America, American Made was released alongside the openings of Flatliners and 'Til Death Do Us Part, as well as the wide expansion of Battle of the Sexes, and was projected to gross $1215 million from 3,023 theaters in its opening weekend. He relocated to a small regional airport in Mena, Arkansas, which had a population of only 5,000. In February 1986, Seal was killed in a hail of machine-gun fire outside a Baton Rouge Salvation Army halfway house after allegedly crossing Pablo Escobar and the Medellin drug cartel. Seal accepts and starts flying the cartel's cocaine to Louisiana, delivering the drugs via airdrop in the countryside instead of landing at an airport. One mission involved a C-123K cargo plane that was outfitted at the Mena airport. during the period 1980-1990; According to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, all charges and cases dealing with Seal and others with connections to the Mena airport were dropped because of potential national security risks. Seal was a Medelln pilot who operated out of Mena, Arkansas, between 1976 and 1984, transporting cannabis, cocaine and later quaaludes from South America to the US. Reprints and media inquiries: [emailprotected].

In the 1980s, Schafer asks Seal to start acting as a courier between the CIA and General Noriega in Panama. "Nowhere does the film deal with the consequences of Barry's actions," added Liman. Evidence emerged suggesting that the CIA was operating in the area in the early 1980s; that a major cocaine and gun smuggler was based at the airfield; and that the U.S. military was somehow involved. He relocated to a small regional airport in Mena, Arkansas, which had a population of only 5,000. WebDesignated CP. WebMena, AR Real Estate & Homes for Sale. Barry most likely got his low level multi engine flight training from CIA pilots working out of Mac Don Lumber. As soon as I found Barry, I knew I had a movie.[12]. I started it and pursued it but was unable to complete it because I left the office. When Seal was convicted of smuggling charges, he became an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration and testified in several major drug trials. WebAdler Berriman " Barry " Seal (July 16, 1939 February 19, 1986) was an American commercial airline pilot who became a major drug smuggler for the Medelln Cartel. According to a 1988 Senate Foreign Relations Committee report, Seal's associates at the Mena airport were also being investigated. But in their interviews with BuzzFeed News, Spinelli and director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, The Bourne Identity) said that they were totally comfortable connecting Seal with the CIA based on the basic deduction that Seal could not have pulled off the massive scale of his drug smuggling operation without outside help. | Tom Fi #TwitterFiles: First Amendment Under Attack! WebDuring the 1980s, drug smuggler Barry Seal moved his operations to the Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport, where he owned and operated many planes and helicopters, as well as advanced radar equipment. (Representatives for George W. Bush did not respond to a request to comment.). For a portion of this time, the alleged ringleader of the drug smuggling, Seal, appeared to have been working with the CIA and the Drug Enforcement Agency. The average household size was 2.24, and the average family size was 2.85. In the 1980s, the Mena airport was the reported base of a drug-smuggling, money-laundering and arms-smuggling ring run by Adler Berriman "Barry" Seal, according to an Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry on the airport. Months later, a C-123 aircraft he had owned was shot down over Nicaragua with a load of arms destined for the Contras. "Barry doesn't tell you the part of the story where, say, American inner cities are being decimated by the influx of drugs. And everybody who's ever looked into it knows that." RELEASE DATE: WebSeal was murdered more than two years ago, but questions and allegations persist about the Fat Man and his activities at the Mena Intermountain Regional Airport. But there were still questions regarding the Mena airport and people who worked there, according to the FBI memo. In 1910, the railroad moved its shop facilities from Mena to Heavener, Oklahoma. [28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 55% "definite recommend".