EAST in Colombia

Eagle Aviation Services and Technology, Inc. in Colombia

Eagle Aviation Services and Technology, Inc., is a subcontractor of DynCorp, the contractor that carries out the U.S. aerial herbicide fumigation program in Colombia.

U.S. drug eradication flights in Colombia are being flown by the same private company that Oliver North used to secretly run guns to Nicaraguan rebels during the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal. Eagle Aviation Services and Technology Inc. has flown State Department planes on dangerous missions in Colombia for 10 years. Three of its pilots have been killed in two crashes. EAST doesn't work directly for the State Department. It is a subcontractor of Dyncorp Aerospace Technology, the military company hired by State to fly and maintain aircraft for counterdrug missions in Colombia. [Associated Press, June 5, 2001 - link from commondreams.org]

In 1999 and 2000, EAST received more than $30 million under several Defense Department contracts, which included providing engineering, supplies, and other services for Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, according to Pentagon records. Dyncorp declined to say how much it pays EAST as part of its five-year, $170 million contract with the State Department for antidrug operations. [Associated Press, June 5, 2001 - link from commondreams.org]

The company, also known as EAST Inc., is incorporated in several states but refuses to discuss its role in Colombia because it sees it as classified. State Department officials have said EAST is concerned for the safety of its personnel. EAST Inc. has placed ads in Ag Pilot, a magazine for crop dusters, to hire pilots for fumigation work in Colombia's fields. [The Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 19, 2000 - link from commondreams.org]