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1/10 The CIA’s secret Afghan war of the 1980s didn’t just fight the Soviets, it helped turn Afghanistan & Pakistan into the world’s heroin capital. A look at how U.S. intelligence fueled the drug trade and backed military dictatorships. 🧵
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2/10 In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The CIA responded with ‘Operation Cyclone,’ pouring billions into funding & arming the Mujahideen via Pakistan’s ISI. What followed was a surge in opium production that transformed the region into a narco-state.
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3/10 Afghan opium output jumped from 100 tons in the 1970s to 2,000 tons by 1991. By the mid-80s, Afghanistan-Pakistan heroin supplied 60% of the U.S. market, 80% of Europe’s. This flood of drugs created a heroin epidemic in Pakistan, where addiction rates soared.
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4/10 The ISI, Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency, controlled the CIA’s arms pipeline. Many of its favored Afghan commanders, like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, became drug lords, using CIA-supplied weapons & funds to dominate the heroin trade.
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5/10 The CIA turned a blind eye. A 1986 U.S. State Dept. report acknowledged opium was financing the war, but officials admitted stopping the drug trade was “not a priority.” Convoys carrying CIA weapons into Afghanistan often returned to Pakistan loaded with opium.
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6/10 The Pakistani military, led by Gen. Zia-ul-Haq, was deeply complicit. The ISI oversaw heroin labs along the Afghan border, while Pakistan’s National Logistics Cell—run by the army—allegedly moved drugs alongside arms shipments.
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7/10 The U.S. knew Pakistan’s generals were profiting off drugs. In 1984, VP George H.W. Bush visited Islamabad and publicly praised Zia’s anti-drug stance—while privately ignoring intelligence that Pakistani officials were involved in heroin trafficking.
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8/10 By the late 80s, Afghanistan & Pakistan were the top heroin suppliers worldwide. As the CIA wrapped up its war, it left behind a thriving drug trade that had entrenched corruption, funded warlords, and created lasting instability in the region.
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