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Michael Levine

The Big White Lie: The Deep Cover Operation That Exposed the CIA Sabotage of the Drug War : An Undercover Odyssey Paperback – January 1, 1994

by Michael Levine (Author), Laura Kavanau-Levine (Author)

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THE REAL HISTORY OF THE DRUG EPIDEMIC

In The Big White Lie, Michael Levine, former DEA agent and bestselling author of Deep Cover, leads the reader through a decade of undercover work.

Levine's prose is fast-moving, highly readable, and hard-hitting. He tells how the beautiful South American "Queen of Cocaine" seduced the CIA into protecting her from prosecution as she sold drugs to Americans; how CIA-sponsored paramilitary ousted, tortured, and killed members of a pro-DEA Bolivian ruling party; and how the CIA created La Corporacion, the "General Motors of cocaine," which led directly to the current cocaine/crack epidemic.

As a 25-year veteran agent for the DEA, Michael Levine worked deep-cover cases from Bangkok to Buenos Aires, and witnessed firsthand scandalous violations of drug laws by U.S. officials.

Language

English
Publisher

Thunder's Mouth Pr
Publication date

January 1, 1994
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.5 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1560250844
ISBN-13

978-1560250845
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This hair-raising memoir by a former undercover DEA agent points out the U.S. government's failure to uphold anti-drug laws.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Hair raising. . . . moves with the sped of a first-rate thriller."-The New York Times Book Review

"A good read with numerous unsavory but believable characters and rich reconstructed dialogue."-Book List

"A shocking exposé...his first person account reads like an edge-of-the-seat thriller."-Publisher's Weekly (Starred review)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thunder's Mouth Pr; 1st edition (January 1, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1560250844
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1560250845
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.5 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,430,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9,364 in Communication & Media Studies
- #33,632 in Sociology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 1,146 ratings

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Michael Levine
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Michael Levine
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Michael Levine, called "America's top undercover agent for 25 years" by 60 Minutes, is the New York Times bestselling author of Deep Cover, The Big White Lie and Triangle of Death, and one of the most decorated undercover agents in the history of the Drug Enforcement Administration. He is active as a court qualified expert and trail consultant in Covert Operations, International Narcotics Trafficking, Informant Handling and Police Use-of-force. He is currently lecturing on Undercover Survival Tactics & Informant Handling for the US State Department in Brazil. His New York City radio show can be heard on WBAI 99.5 FM as well as Sticher.com and iTunes.
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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

1,146 global ratings

5 star		58%
4 star		27%
3 star		11%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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James Davis

Excellent Documentation

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 27, 2023

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Very concise & engaging documentation of a very disturbing series of events. During the time that I was reading this book I just happened to watch a film called, "Kill the Messenger" which corelates. Providing insights from differing perspectives. The movie is another True Story about the murder of Gary Webb. If you desire complete & full documentation with solid evidence to back it up definitely treat your inquisitive mind to the Holy Grail of investigative journalism, H.P. Alveretti's outstanding book (Tome really) titled, "Who Murdered Frank Olson" . . . . . Just because you're not Paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 30, 2023

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Easy flowing novel.

Helpful

Extremely important, very well written

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 4, 2013

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Levine wrote this book several years ago, but it has just recently come out in eBook form.

It's an extremely important, very well written book. He exposes the falseness of our so called, but phoney, "War on Drugs." He speaks first person, as a 25 year high level DEA undercover agent, of the undercutting of his and other DEA agents, by not only the CIA, but high level DEA management and Justice Dpt. US Attorneys. This book is a condemnation of the drug war, from someone who had believed in it thoroughly, until he experienced, time after time, of his efforts gathering indisputable evidence against the highest levels of international drug leadership being deliberately negated by the CIA and his own management in order to insure that these drug lords remained free to continue their business. Not only the CIA, but the DEA own management violated our laws by deliberately destroying evidence against top drug lords.

The DEA management so little appreciated his efforts to bring prosecutions that although he had a $200,000 contract out on his head by drug lords, the DEA would not give him protection. It even spent three years trying to find some administrative oversight for which to prosecute him.

In 1996 the annual profit to international crime, due to the war itself, was about $400 billion. A couple years ago it was about $800 billion. I would expect it to be about one billion dollars by this time. And, of course, we as US taxpayers, have probably paid about $100 billion of our own dollars to insure the continuance of this phoney, destructive outrage, for the profit of the elite.

In two or three places Levine alludes to the bankers. He does to get into this aspect, but these enormous profits, which would not exist in this magnitude without our "war," flow through the international banking system(s), thereby deriving further profits for the financial community and as a further derivative, Wall Street, due to price / earning ratios. These hundreds of billions of dollars are not buried in back yards - commercial, civil, political, and governmental leverage and control is purchased annually.

Col. L. Fletcher Prouty, who was Joint Chief's liaison with the CIA, in one of his books, independently corroborates with more details, Levine's accusation of CIA role in Bolivia, e.g., Prouty: "Following an abrupt [Bolivia] coup d'état engineered by the CIA, ... "

I want to here add recognition to the author Gary Webb, who in 1996 published his expose of the CIA involvement in the drug trade in his " Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion." Webb committed suicide (?) in 2004 (two! Shots to the head) after having been hounded out of his profession, as a Pulitzer prize-winning investigative journalist, for daring to write about the CIA and the drug trade. As I read Levine's first hand experiences and condemnation of the CIA role, I couldn't help but recall the fate of Webb who should be honored by our nation.

Both Webb and Levine blame the CIA for the 1980's cocaine explosion in the US.

22 people found this helpful

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kevin godbey

Great detail on the shame of America's 'War on Drugs'.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 27, 2022

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It's hard to believe how blind and corrupt our government is under the guise of 'Law and Order'. This book should make anyone question the tact of spending exorbitant amounts of money on 'enforcement' without focusing on the societal ills that are at the root of problems. Great read!

2 people found this helpful

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bcigi

the DEA's own deep cover agent lifts the veil on a CIA narco-coup

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 20, 2011

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Well, you could imagine that the subject of this book is rather sensitive and controversial -- the author alleges no less than overt CIA complicity in freeing several members of the "Roberto Suarez" cartel of Bolivia, whom he brought to justice, after which (so he alleges) the CIA assisted the cartel's strongmen (corrupt officers of the Bolivian military) in overthrowing Bolivia's civilian government and installing another Operation-Condor military dictatorship (like those of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil at the same time). This coup (one of the bloodiest in Bolivian history) has since become known by mainstream historians as the notorious "Cocaine Coup" due to the obvious drug links of the military dictatorship -- but CIA involvement has only been scantly explored. Levine's investigation, along with this book, is the primary source for allegations of CIA culpability, and there has been corroboration (explored in Peter Dale Scott's masterful book "Cocaine Politics") in several other cases, such as the defection of Roberto Suarez's son from the cartel, when the son of the drug lord claimed that the cartel's processing plants were operated by CIA men and invited the press to see for themselves; on another occasion, Col. Oliver North himself was reportedly sighted at a Suarez cartel lab.

Levine painstakingly outlines the deep cover operation that he participated in, in Bolivia -- these operations, where a DEA agent goes undercover in a foreign country, are very sensitive and very dangerous, he explains, as being uncovered almost certainly means death for the undercover agent, as happened with DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in Mexico during the 80s. So, having risked his own life to bring the cartel leaders to justice in Miami, you could imagine how livid Levine must have been when the CIA intervened to have the cartel leaders set free (one got the charges dropped and the other got his bail lowered, enabling him to flee the country and escape trial -- both as a result of CIA intervention).

He also explores a few of the other, very odious, collaborators in the coup, such as the former Nazi Klaus Barbie (the SS "Butcher of Lyon"), a longtime CIA operative in Bolivia who previously helped Felix Rodriguez and co. in their successful efforts to capture and execute Che Guevara in that country. Other associated coup collaborators included members of the ultra-right Argentine military junta, at a time when they were not only helping with the (drug-related) Contra effort but also carrying out their own extensive human rights abuses.

14 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Maz

Not really what I was expecting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 29, 2021

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Ok book. Ok so it discusses a couple of instances. Have a great couple pages about the wider context, would love to have heard more about this context. I agree with him and understand the war in drugs is fake to keep people in jobs, but this book reads like just an annoyed disgruntled DEA agent, to someone that doesn't understand about the phony war and that the US drug deals big time.

One person found this helpful

veebers

Shocking DEA Agent testimony on CIA complicity in drug trafficking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 10, 2021

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This is a surprisingly well written tell all story of a DEA agent who was shunned and impeded from arresting the biggest cocaine dealers in Latin America. Why? Because throughout the 80's at the height of Bush/Reagan's War od Drugs the CIA was important tonnes of cocaine and flooding the streets od LA and Miami with cocaine to finance their intervention in Nicaragua, Bolivia, Guatemala. It is sickening. Olly North and George Bush presided over a genocide

Kevin Heaney

Good for a laugh.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 10, 2019

Verified Purchase

Initially involving but ultimately unconvincing. Way too much chutzpah and too little context. Not expensive to buy on Kindle..... Which is probably why it sells... Next time I think I'll invest in something with a little more verifiable history and a little less egotistical swagger. We do all love to hate the CIA.

One person found this helpful

Mr B.

Great Read, ming boggling truths.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 2, 2014

Verified Purchase

So it isn't a myth after all, the CIA were totally complicit in drug trafficking. Excellent book very well laid out, kind of feel almost desperate for the Author who was put in such a ridiculous position that I don't know how he had the sensibility to carry on or indeed survive, but he did, so you should read his book! I can't get the "Yellow Coke" out of my head, I mean they may as well have given him a weapon to shoot himself with. Ballsy dude.

One person found this helpful

Tyrone Matthews

The Truth

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 14, 2022

Verified Purchase

It truly shows the lengths that governments will go to in misleading us, the people!! America is the worst of all, but don't think you're is any better!!

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The Big White Lie: The Deep Cover Operation That Exposed the CIA Sabotage of the Drug War : An Undercover Odyssey Paperback – January 1, 1994

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