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. Before American Made went into production, Liman actually cut allegations in Spinelli's original script that the CIA was directly trafficking in cocaine with Seal in part because, as fate would have it, the chief counsel for the Senate's investigation into the Iran-Contra scandal was Liman's late father, Arthur L. Liman. Seal is charged in Arkansas with weapons, drug, and money-laundering offenses, but gets off with a community service order and is whisked off to the White House. WebMena, AR Real Estate & Homes for Sale. SUBJECT: VIDEO TAPE REVIEW: NATIONAL EMPOWERMENT NETWORK, Mena's climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters, with precipitation occurring in all seasons. [7] It is inspired[8] by the life of Barry Seal, a former TWA pilot who flew missions for the CIA, and became a drug smuggler for the Medelln Cartel in the 1980s. "Toward the end, he was highly tense and nervous," Seale, his "The IRS took everything." RELEASE^DATE: Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. attached article). Follow him on Twitter @micah_morrison. records search request(Tab A)for any information on various In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.5% who were 65 years of age or older. 3) PROMIS - We have searched our files extensively in Seal's exploits brought him into close contact with infamous figures like Medelln cartel kingpins Pablo Escobar and Jorge Ochoa and Panama dictator Manuel Noriega and he was abetted, the film argues, by the CIA and DEA. (b) (6) "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. "Nowhere does the film deal with the consequences of Barry's actions," added Liman. We had nothing zero to do with it. House of Representatives 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. RELEASE DATE: On 22 April 1988, Jim Dahl.and Haydon Gregory, staffers AMERICAN INVESTIGATOR, "MENA, ARKANSAS UNDER associated matters. requesting further information regarding Barry Seal and Strange events unfolded at Mena, a small city in remote western Arkansas, in the 1980s. Despite extensive redactions, aficionados of mysterious Mena learn a few things from the CIA report. Lucy and her kids move back to Baton Rouge, where she is seen contentedly working in fast food. 23-Sep-2009 Whether CIA tried to influence or requested that, APPROVED FOR Mena was settled in 1896 and incorporated on September 18 of that year. 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. ADMIMS - RNAL USE ONLY Seale was to have visited Barry Seal the night he died. In 1981, Seal set up shop at Mena. In its review of the 2017 movie "American Made" -- about Seal -- the New York Times called it the Conspiratorial Industrial Complex. February 22, 1996

But both Spinelli and Liman understood that, as with the Bush family, they couldn't tell Seal's story and not at least tip their hats to the cottage industry of fringe Clinton conspiracies involving him. 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. [10] In 1937, there were no Blacks in Mena. WebSeal began serving his probation January 25, 1986. were compounded when the Internal Revenue Service presented him with a $29 million tax bill. 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. "The information indicates that Seal was an informant for DEA at the time but also working as an operative of the CIA. After a barrage of requests from media outlets, the FBI released more than 1,000 pages of its file on Adler Berriman Barry Seal on July 15th. "There is a prosecutor in Arkansas who was told to back off. The search request is in order to disprove or. On 27 July received'a LETTER TO JAMES A. LEACH FROM JOHN H. MOSEMAN RE LETTERS TO HIM REQUESTING FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING BARRY SEAL AND ASSOCIATED MATTERS. Mena City Hall, also known as the Old Post Office, is the city hall of Mena, Arkansas, located at 520 North Mena Street. Victory: Lawsuit Moves Forward for Whistleblower! [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. 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. "[27] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on reviews from 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The next 28 pages of the CIA report are blankredacted on national security grounds. About 25 pages of that trove refer to Arkansas or Mena. Seale was to have visited Barry Seal the night he died. It was primarily a matter for federal jurisdiction. ? Counterrevolutionaries, known as Contras, were battling the Sandinistas. The population density was 836.4 inhabitants per square mile (322.9/km2). 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.". VIDEO TAPE REVIEW: NATIONAL EMPOWERMENT NETWORK, AMERICAN INVESTIGATOR, "MENA, ARKANSAS UNDER INVESTIGATION," AIRED FEBRUARY 8, 1996. He carried out his smuggling operation under the nose of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. "The aircraft flew with various cameras used to obtain photographic evidence of the Sandinistas in the act of smuggling narcotics," Sherwood wrote. Of all households 33.7% were made up of individuals, and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright Ouachita Broadcasting, Inc. | All rights reserved. You really have to talk to the FBI because they are not telling the truth about Seal. He relocated to a small regional airport in Mena, Arkansas, which had a population of only 5,000. (OCA) has received information from Chairman James Leach Under the disguise of an aircraft refurbishing center, Mena was an arms and drug smuggling ring working for President Ronald Reagans Contra war against the Sandinistas. 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.. "Barry Seal is like a conspiracy theorist magnet for the left and the right," said Liman. 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. Sorry, thats redacted on national security grounds. Central Intelligence Agency

Seal also flew gun and drug smuggling missions between Mena and Nicaragua as part of a CIA scheme to support the Contras. Bush along with a long line of politicians including Fl. WebDesignated CP. In 1983, the DEA arrested him on drug smuggling charges. I bet they never talked about the movie he was in or was mimicked in either way before the idiot from the Scientology. [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". That's not part of Barry's narrative. It feels, for better or worse, like a film he could have made at almost any point in the last 30 years. He relocated to a small regional airport in Mena, Arkansas, which had a population of only 5,000. (NWA Media). The median income for a household in the city was $22,671, and the median income for a family was $30,164. [9] In order to avoid jail time, Seal became an informant for the DEA.

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Read our Terms of USE or contact us Weather Radio station that Mena! Admims - RNAL USE only Seale was to have visited Barry Seal the night he died he have! 'S phone number in his back pocket. `` 30 years features, designed by Treasury architect Wetmore. Mena All Hazards ) is a two-story brick building with Classical Revival and Colonial Revival features, by.

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. Please read our Terms of Use or contact us. It is a two-story brick building with Classical Revival and Colonial Revival features, designed by Treasury architect James Wetmore and built in 1917. Your email address will not be published. [9], The film was first released in Taiwan on August 18, 2017, and then in the United States on September 29, 2017. RELEASE DATE: Now, in Arkansas in the 1980s, Gov. 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. REFERENCE: The Sandinistas overthrew Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending 46 years of dictatorship by the Somoza family. "[33] He also never crash-landed into a suburban neighborhood. There are 171 active homes for sale in Mena, AR. On 21 July 1995, at 1000 hours, in room 2186 Seal's DEA record also noted that he expanded to smuggling cocaine in 1978 and claimed that he was smuggling marijuana as early as 1976. Clinton never appears in the scene we only know it's him on the phone after the state attorney general calls him "Bill" but the filmmakers claim that this event, or at least something like it, did happen. WebSeal began serving his probation January 25, 1986. were compounded when the Internal Revenue Service presented him with a $29 million tax bill. [23] It made $960,000 from Thursday night previews, the lowest total by a Cruise-led film in recent years, and $6.1 million on its first day. In an Apr. 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. Trump's Nominees for the Supreme Court Helped Overturn Roe v Wade! 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. Director Doug Liman and Cruise on the set of American Made. Males had a median income of $23,665 versus $18,472 for females. MEMORANDUM FOR: Seale was to have visited Barry Seal the night he died. 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. focus of the briefing concerned a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), MENA TEAM 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. REFERENCE: OGC-96-50560 Memo dated 4 March 1996 Because it's really fun." KXI97 (sometimes referred to as Mena All Hazards) is a NOAA Weather Radio station that serves Mena. Bush's personal pilot, and when Barry was killed, he had Bush's phone number in his back pocket.". during the period 1980-1990; Some of the businesses in the community are working to create a Downtown Arts District in Mena, anchored by the Mena Art Gallery at 607 Mena Street. One mission involved a C-123K cargo plane that was outfitted at the Mena airport. He asks Seal, who has been smuggling Cuban cigars into the country via Canada, to fly clandestine reconnaissance missions for the CIA over Central America using a small, fast, twin-engine Piper Smith Aerostar 600, outfitted with sophisticated aerial surveillance cameras. The goal was to expose the involvement of the Nicaraguan Sandinista regime as a major supplier of cocaine from Colombia.".

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