Eugene Hasenfus
Encyclopedia
Eugene H. Hasenfus is a United States
citizen who was alleged by Nicaragua
Sandinista
authorities to be employed by the U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), after a plane he was aboard crashed on Nicaraguan soil.
from Marinette, Wisconsin
, who had been an unemployed construction worker
, at the time when he secured work, alleged by Sandinistas to be as a cargo handler for the CIA. This was stated by Hasenfus himself, who later retracted that statement.
Hasenfus was aboard the Fairchild C-123 cargo plane, N4410F, formerly USAF 54-679, (c/n 20128), shot down over Nicaragua
on October 5, 1986, while delivering supplies to the Nicaraguan Contras. During the Iran-Contra Hearings in 1987, it was established that the aircraft was shot down while participating in a covert operation devised and approved by elements of the United States government. The two pilots and a radio operator died in the crash, but Hasenfus was able to parachute
to safety, having disobeyed orders by wearing a parachute on the mission. He was captured by Nicaraguan government forces, tried, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. In December 1986, at the request of U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, he was pardoned and released by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega
.
Hasenfus' capture and detention helped uncover and publicize the Iran-Contra Affair
. A black book of phone numbers in the wreckage tied the plane to an operation run out of Ilopango
airbase in El Salvador
, supported by anti-Castro exile Felix Rodriguez
. Press speculation focused on retired Major General
Jack Singlaub
as the sponsor; this was encouraged by Oliver North
to divert attention from the true head: Richard Secord
.
Hasenfus subsequently sued Secord, Albert Hakim
, Southern Air Transport
and Corporate Air Services over issues relating to Hasenfus' capture and trial.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizen who was alleged by Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
Sandinista
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
authorities to be employed by the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA), after a plane he was aboard crashed on Nicaraguan soil.
Iran-Contra affair
Hasenfus was a former MarineUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from Marinette, Wisconsin
Marinette, Wisconsin
Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,749 at the 2000 census.Marinette is the principal city of the Marinette, WI–MI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marinette County, Wisconsin and Menominee...
, who had been an unemployed construction worker
Construction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
, at the time when he secured work, alleged by Sandinistas to be as a cargo handler for the CIA. This was stated by Hasenfus himself, who later retracted that statement.
Hasenfus was aboard the Fairchild C-123 cargo plane, N4410F, formerly USAF 54-679, (c/n 20128), shot down over Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
on October 5, 1986, while delivering supplies to the Nicaraguan Contras. During the Iran-Contra Hearings in 1987, it was established that the aircraft was shot down while participating in a covert operation devised and approved by elements of the United States government. The two pilots and a radio operator died in the crash, but Hasenfus was able to parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
to safety, having disobeyed orders by wearing a parachute on the mission. He was captured by Nicaraguan government forces, tried, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. In December 1986, at the request of U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, he was pardoned and released by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
.
Hasenfus' capture and detention helped uncover and publicize the Iran-Contra Affair
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...
. A black book of phone numbers in the wreckage tied the plane to an operation run out of Ilopango
Ilopango
Ilopango is a town in the San Salvador department of El Salvador. It is a few miles east of the nation's capital, San Salvador. It is located near Lake Ilopango, the country's largest lake at 72 square kilometers....
airbase in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, supported by anti-Castro exile Felix Rodriguez
Félix Rodríguez (Central Intelligence Agency)
Félix Ismael Rodríguez Mendigutia is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer infamous for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, in the interrogation and execution of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and his ties to George H. W. Bush during the Iran-Contra Affair...
. Press speculation focused on retired Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Jack Singlaub
John K. Singlaub
John Kirk Singlaub is a highly-decorated former OSS officer and a retired Major General in the United States Army, and a founding member of the Central Intelligence Agency . He was a joint founder, with Congressman Larry McDonald, of the Western Goals Foundation, a conservative private...
as the sponsor; this was encouraged by Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
to divert attention from the true head: Richard Secord
Richard Secord
Major General Richard V. Secord, Retired , is a United States Air Force officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal only to be exonerated after a 1990 Supreme Court case found the statute used to be illegal....
.
Hasenfus subsequently sued Secord, Albert Hakim
Albert Hakim
Albert Hakim was an Iranian businessman and a figure in the Iran-Contra affair.Born in Iran, Hakim attended California Polytechnic Institute for 3 years, beginning in 1955. Back in Iran, he established an export business specializing in advanced technologies, and in avoiding export restrictions...
, Southern Air Transport
Southern Air Transport
-Southern Air Transport :The first Southern Air Transport, based in Dallas, Texas, formed on February 11, 1929 when businessman A. P. Barrett consolidated Texas Air Transport and several other small aviation companies...
and Corporate Air Services over issues relating to Hasenfus' capture and trial.
External links
- El Avion - Sister plane of Hasenfus' 1954 Model Fairchild C-123 abandoned by the CIA in Costa Rica
- News about Hasenfus at the NY Times.