Arrested in Nicaragua
Sam Hall was arrested in Nicaragua in December 1986 on suspicion of espionage after he was caught with sketches of military facilities.
Sam Nesley Hall’s life was full of twists and turns even before his capture in Nicaragua. He served briefly in the US Air Force before joining the Olympic diving team and winning a silver medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He served one term in the Ohio House of Representatives and was the brother of Tony Hall, the longtime US Congressional Representative from Ohio’s Third District. He spent time in a mental health facility in 1976 and struggled with alcohol and drug addiction.
In later interviews he said he’d received counterterrorism training in Israel and went on a series of missions worldwide, including Lebanon, Angola, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Few of these claims could be verified by anything other than passport stamps.
Hall was arrested on December 12th, 1986, inside a restricted area of Punta Huerte air base, northeast of the capital city of Managua. He had maps drawn on hotel stationery stuffed into his socks at the time of his arrest.
Hall claimed during interrogations that he was the sole remaining member of a paramilitary group called the Phoenix Battalion, an arm of the Civilian Material Assistance group. The CMA was formed by American volunteers to raise funds for equipping anti-communist fighters in Central America. It was later accused of having close ties to the CIA and others implicated in the Iran-Contra Affair.
Hall was released in late January 1987 after the Sandinista government claimed he was suffering from debilitating mental illness and would not be charged with any crime. He was allowed to fly to Costa Rica and then on to Miami.
In May 1987, Congressional investigators announced they'd discovered evidence that Hall received at least $2,400 from Robert Owen and John Singlaub, both of whom were associates of LTC Oliver North.
In later years he worked as a disaster relief volunteer, traveling to assist with rescue and recovery operations following hurricanes, earthquakes, and even the September 11th attacks in 2001.
Hall passed away in 2014.
References:
Ortega: Hall Admits Aiding Contras. Washington Post. 17 September 1986. Located at: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000302450004-5.pdf
Preston, Julia. Hall Says He Was Captured On Mission. The Washington Post. 23 December 1986. Located at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/12/23/hall-says-he-was-captured-on-mission/daa66763-7410-4d23-9534-5f69c2fade65/
Nicaragua Releases Self-Called Mercenary. The Harvard Crimson. 28 January 1987. Located at: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1987/1/28/nicaragua-releases-self-called-mercenary-pmanagua-nicaragua-sam/
Hall, Sam. Counter Terrorist. Dutton Adult Publishing. 1987. Available at: https://amzn.to/3HxIe5y
Meachum, Andrew. Olympic medalist and spy suspect Sam Hall dies at 77. Tampa Bay Times. 5 September 2014. Located at: https://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/sam-hall-olympic-medalist-soldier-of-fortune-animal-rescuer-spy/2196211/