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Outlook: Shot out of the sky: My photo exposed a US political scandal

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13/07/2023 GMT

Shot out of the sky: My photo exposed a US political scandal

BBC World Service - Outlook, Shot out of the sky: My photo exposed a US political scandal

Lou Dematteis' photo was a catalyst in the unravelling of a CIA cover-up

Lou got a tip off about a plane that had crashed deep in the Nicaraguan jungle, the photo that he took of the scene sparked a political firestorm.

Lou Dematteis lived his early years in the hope of following in the footsteps of his high-achieving father. He had been a superior court judge and a pillar of their Italian American community. But the relationship between father and son became seriously strained when their politics differed over the US involvement in the Vietnam War. Lou took a different path and trained as a photojournalist. He found himself in Nicaragua, then embroiled in a conflict between a left wing Sandinista government and a right wing militia. In 1986, whilst following a lead, Lou took a photo that would help to reveal damaging evidence of illegal US activity in that battle. The image opened the doors on a major political scandal that would lead all the way to the White House in the shape of the Iran Contra affair. 

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

Lou’s work and film can be found on his website www.loudematteis.com

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Tommy Dixon & Andrea Kennedy 

Photo: Eugene Hasenfus captured by Sandinista soldiers Credit: Lou Dematteis / Reuters

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