13 - The Iran-Contra Affair

On January 20th, 1981, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th President of the United States. At the same time, halfway across the world, the 52 American hostages that have been held by the Islamic Republic of Iran were released to US personnel after 444 days in captivity since 1979.

Although those events appear unrelated at first glance, the links between them run deep like roots underneath a forest floor; in particular, it has been alleged that during the 1980 presidential elections, the Reagan campaign reached out to Iran and intentionally sabotaged their negotiations with the sitting President, Jimmy Carter. Reagan offered Iran much better terms to keep the hostages and so deliberately decimated the popularity of the incumbent Carter. In return, Reagan promised that should he win, Iran would receive weapons and funds from the US government.

Fast forward to 1981, and as Ronald Reagan places his hands on a bible to swear the oath of the Presidency, 52 Americans were shuttled from Tehran via Algeria, Germany, Ireland, and finally to the United States. Little did people know at the time that this was the tip of an iceberg that spans three continents, paramilitary death squads, metric tonnes of cocaine, and various American political figures committing high treason — and getting away with it.

SUPPORT BLACK LIVES MATTER: https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co/

Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DasCriminal

Sources: https://bit.ly/3bhoMVw