The Trainer

Well, listeners, it's taken us a while but here it is: the first episode of our fourth season. We begin with Ric Prado, a former CIA officer who trained the Contras in Central America in the 1980s. For those of you who don't remember, the Contras were trying to overthrow the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. America's support for the group eventually led to the Iran-Contra affair, a government scandal that nearly brought down the Reagan administration. For more on the Contras, go back and listen to season one's The Jumper. Eugene Hasenfus, who helped deliver arms to the Contras, describes parachuting from a burning plane and getting captured by Nicaraguan forces. We spent several years tracking down Hasenfus and getting him to tell his story. Also, our show now has a newsletter! Sign up for free to get bonus material after each episode, including photos, illustrations, and other content you won't find anywhere else. I Spy is produced by the podcast team at Foreign Policy, the premiere website for intelligent news and analysis from around the world. The best way to support the show—and keep those episodes coming—is by subscribing to Foreign Policy. Save 15% by going to and entering ISPY at checkout. Okay, enough verbiage. Enjoy the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The Trainer is an episode from I Spy by Foreign Policy.

This episode is 35:02 long.

This episode was published on May 31, 2022.

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