Did Barry Seal Get Assassinated?

On that fateful evening in February 1986, Barry Seal’s life was tragically cut short. As Seal parked his vehicle in front of the Salvation Army Center, he was blissfully unaware of the impending danger. A man emerged from a car positioned behind the center’s donation drop boxes, armed with a suppressed MAC-10 submachine gun. In a calculated and brutal attack, the assailant opened fire on Seal, hitting him six times. The violence was swift, and Seal succumbed to his injuries almost instantly.

Barry Seal’s involvement with the Medellín cartel began under the guise of Ellis McKenzie, a pilot who had successfully concealed his true identity from the cartel members. However, the truth about Seal’s role as a DEA informant eventually came to light when a newspaper report and the arrest of cartel distributors in Miami confirmed his ties to law enforcement. It was not until the cartel members received a copy of a television documentary featuring Seal that they realized Ellis McKenzie was, in fact, Barry Seal.

The revelation sent shockwaves through the cartel, leading them to make a chilling decision. The Medellín cartel put out a contract with a sinister purpose: to either kidnap or murder Barry Seal. The price for his death was set at $500,000 while capturing him alive would fetch a staggering $1,000,000. Max Mermelstein, a high-level cartel distributor in Miami, testified that he accepted the contract out of fear for his own life. The consequences of refusal were dire, and he received a call from cartel leaders Fabio Ochoa and Pablo Escobar, who thanked him for his cooperation and provided him with $100,000 for expenses.

However, before Mermelstein could locate Seal, he was apprehended by a federal task force in June 1985. Faced with his arrest, Mermelstein divulged crucial information about the cartel’s contract on Seal’s life. Barry Seal was then informed that the Medellín cartel was offering a substantial sum of $500,000 for his death.