Thread by @Reach4ACopsGun

In 1987, Paul Brancato, a violinist for the San Francisco Orchestra, and Salim Yaqub, then a young designer just out of art school, teamed up to create a playing card set devoted to the late-1980s Iran-Contra scandal. (Thread of all 36 cards)

The cards aimed to give an overview of the nooks and crannies of the entire affair, showcasing the cast of players in the US, Latin America, and the Middle East. The cards start with the Iran-Contra Hearings themselves (Card 1), depicting a dour and seemingly cowed Oliver North.

The Contras were fighting against the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), having finally won the civil war against the brutal dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle (Card 2). The US was terrified about any communist influence in the Western hemisphere.

The Contras were led by Enrique Bermudez (Card 3), who was Somoza’s military attache in DC. Bermudez founded the September 15th Legion that was “the nucleus” of the movement. Bermudez would eventually become the military commander of the CIA-backed Nicaraguan Democratic Forces.

The intent behind the cards was, according to Yaqub, "to publicize the basic scandal and talk about the main characters. As the hearings wore on and the details became more and more labyrinthine, the cards aimed to generate wider public awareness."

Yaqub noted that Brancato had some conspiracy theory interests that Yaqub aimed to dampen for the sake of the project. Yaqub said that a few of these theories, those involving the Kennedy Assassination, surfaced in the cards that played only a tangential role in Iran-Contra.

The Contras were paramilitary fascist death squads that were organized and funded by the CIA to stop the spread of communism in South America and particularly Nicaragua, they willing to do the dirty work of killing socialist politicians and regularly committed acts of terrorism.

Card 10 of Rene Corvo and Felipe Vidal, both of whom who were members of the CIA’s Brigade 2506 in the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

One notable partnership in Latin America was the Medellin Cartel (Card 11) led by Pablo Escobar. The card shows both men shoveling cocaine up the giant head of Uncle Sam. The CIA turned the other way to the cartel’s activities, and Escobar gave $10 million to the Contras.

Indiana farmer John Hull (Card 12) owned a 1,800 acre Costa Rican ranch on the Nicaraguan border that served as a landing pad and control center for the CIA-controlled contra southern front. Hull met with the La Penca bomber 22 days before assassination attempt of Eden Pastora

Oliver North (Card 13) of the National Security Council was “handed… the contra account, passing on instructions from President Reagan to keep the contras alive ‘in body and in the soul.’” He was responsible for funneling the money to the Contras.

Robert Owen (Card 14) was known as the Courier and was the right hand man to Oliver North through the operation, personally delivering money to the Contras. He read during the Iran-Contra Committee a poem written by Hull about North. "In our lifetime, you have given us a legend"

Carl Spitz Channell (Card 15) was a fundraiser for the Contras and collected money mostly from older wealthy conservatives. Setting up tax-exempt foundations like "The National Endowment for the preservation of Liberty." If you donated enough to him you could meet the president.

Aire to the Coors Brewing Company Fourtance, Joseph Coors (Card 16) was part of funding the Contras. A conservative and anti-communist, his donation of $65,000 to the Contras was used to buy a plane. His grandfather and founder of the company was named Adolph Coors lmao.