Cele Castillo played it tough with the "Big Boys" for a long time until the former DEA agent couldn't take it any more.

For 12 long years he fought hard against the drug lords in South America, finally realizing in the late 1980's his fight was essentially for nothing.

After raiding jungle cocaine labs in the Amazon, conducting aerial eradication operations in Guatemala and assembling and training anti-narcotics units in several countries, Castillo finally went public and blew the whistle after realizing the real kingpin drug dealers worked in the White House, not in the jungles of Central and South America.

"I took an oath to defend my country and fight the war on drugs. When I realized the enemy was within our own government, I took the path of truth, trying to alert the American people," said Castillo, a former Viet Nam veteran who recently appeared on Greg Szymanski's radio show, The Investigative Journal.

"The end of my career with the DEA took place in El Salvador. One day, I received a cable from a fellow agent, saying to investigate possible drug smuggling by Nicaraguan Contras operating from the Ilopango Air Force Base.

"I quickly discovered that the Contra pilots were, indeed, smuggling narcotics back into the United States - using the same pilots, planes and hangers that the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, under the direction of Lt. Col. Oliver North, used to maintain their covert supply operation to the Contras."

Instead of playing along with the criminals inside government profiting from cocaine trafficking, Castillo attempted to seek justice, naming many high-level officials along the way, including North and former President George H.W Bush.

In fact, after Castillo blew the whistle, Bush made a point to seek out Castillo during one of his South of the border visits, in essence trying to "feel out" Castillo, but at the same time careful not to make any incriminating statement.

"When Bush confronted me and then just walked away after I told him some of the evidence I had, it was obvious he knew what was going on and was involved in the illegal drug trade," said Castillo.

And when Castillo's allegations first went public, he was the first government DEA agent with first-hand knowledge of North's drug dealing sanctioned by Bush and other higher-ups.

At the time of the allegations, North was in the process of running for the U.S. Senate and Castillo was quoted as saying he "belongs in prison," not in government.
"We saw several packages of narcotics, we saw several boxes of U.S. currency, going from Ilopango to Panama," Castillo said.

According to a statement made by Castillo on his web site, www.powderburns.org , the entire drug program was run out of Ilopango's Hangars 4 and 5. "Hangar 4, owned and operated by the CIA and run by Felix Rodriguez, or 'Max Gomez,' of the Contra operation directed by North.

"Basically they were running cocaine from South America to the U.S. via Salvador. That was how the Contras were able to get financial help. By going to sleep with the enemy down there. North's people and the CIA were at the two hangars overseeing the operations at all times," Castillo added.

Castillo also fingered John Negroponte, now in the Bush administration and who served from 1981-1985 as U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, as just another drug smuggler covering up the illegal government activity as well as illegally assisting the contra war and helping the Reagan administration in the disappearance of more than 300 political opponents in classic death squad fashion.

"In Honduras, I saw first hand how Negroponte and General Alvarez committed some of the worst human rights violations ever committed against humanity in the Western Hemisphere" said Castillo, adding in 1994, the Honduran Human Rights Commission charged Negroponte personally with several human rights abuses.

"President Bush then appointed Negroponte as ambassador to Iraq with the "Salvador Option" in hand. The Salvador Option is a blue print of the Phoenix Program that was utilized in Vietnam. And know it is being implemented in Iraq.

"Today, President Bush has named Negroponte, as headhunter, Director of National Intelligence. He is now in charge of all intelligence including the Pentagon. God help us in saving our world.

"I've risked my life to demonstrate what I believe to be real. And, that is that an armed struggle (with pen in hand) is in order for those who are struggling in keeping their freedom at home. I've now become a veteran of my third, and perhaps most dangerous war, the war against the criminals in my own government."

Since going public in the 1980's, Congress listened to Castillo's allegations and the testimony of others in hearings held by Senator and former Presidential candidate, John Kerry.

But the watered down investigation did little to solve the problem, as the kingpins in government were allowed "to walk" and, in fact, are still running drug operations today, according to Castillo.

"The same thing is going on today with the same people from the 1980's now in charge of our government," reminded Castillo, adding billons of dollars of drug money is being used by government for secret, covert operations without congressional oversight.

"We, ordinary Americans, can not trust the C.I.A. Inspector General to conduct a full investigation into the CIA or the DEA. Let me tell you why. When President Clinton (June, 1996) ordered The Intelligence Oversight Board to conduct an investigation into allegations that US Agents were involved in atrocities in Guatemala, it failed to investigate several DEA and CIA operations in which U.S. agents knew before hand that individuals (some Americans) were going to be murdered.

"Some people have asked, why I am doing this? A long time ago I took an oath to protect The Constitution of the United States and its citizens. In reality, it has cost me so much to become a complete human being, that I've lost my family.

"In 1995, I made a pilgrimage to the Vietnam Wall, where I renounced my Bronze Star in protest of the atrocities my government had committed in Central America. I have now become a veteran of my third, and perhaps most dangerous war --- a war against the criminals within my own Government.

"Heads have to roll for those who are responsible and still employed by the government. They will be the first targets in an effective drug strategy. If not, we will continue to have groups of individuals who will be beyond any investigation, who will manipulate the press, judges and members of our Congress, and still be known in our government as those who are above the law."

Castillo has also authored a book about his life called Powderburns which can be purchased from his web site.