Victims of CIA’s MKUltra Mind Control Program Fight Back
The Netflix series, Wormwood, reignited mainstream attention on the horrors of MKUltra– the government-funded mind control program of the 1950s and ‘60s that used experimental brainwashing techniques on unwitting citizens. And now a number of families are coalescing to bring a class action lawsuit against the agencies involved to gain reparations and a modicum of closure for the horrific experiments endured by their loved ones.
In the late ‘50s, a man named Dr. Ewen Cameron headed the Allen Memorial Institute at McGill University in Montreal. Cameron was a renowned psychiatrist, who became notorious for his role in driving a number of people to the brink of insanity with experiments intended to break down or “de-pattern” his subject’s thoughts.
Cameron’s methods essentially amounted to psychic torture; injecting patients with mega-doses of LSD, inducing sleep for weeks at a time, using electroshock treatment, and relentless exposure to taped recordings – some played up to half a million times.
Most of Cameron’s patients had admitted themselves to the hospital for relatively minor conditions such as postpartum depression or anxiety, not knowing they would become guinea pigs for such an insidious experiment.
Once they were released back into society most were unable to cope, their psyches having been completely shattererd. For those who were able to re-assimilate, life was incredibly difficult – some were able to suppress the trauma, though others remained severely disturbed for the rest of their lives. One woman would explode in a fit of rage if a stranger bumped into her. Another said she was psychologically and emotionally reduced to the state of a toddler.
In 2017, one particular victim’s daughter, Alison Steel, was quietly awarded a sum of money from the Canadian government for her mother’s unknowing participation. Jean Steel was admitted into the Allen Institute program in 1957 for manic depression, before quietly being ushered into one of Cameron’s tests. Upon release from the clinic, she was never the same.
Steel’s daughter was given $100,000 from the Canadian government after signing a non-disclosure agreement, but now, a number of victims have come forward asking for reparations.
In 1992, the Canadian government set out to provide restitution the families of 77 victims involved in the program, though many were never compensated because they were not considered to have been damaged enough.
A class-action lawsuit was brought against the CIA in the 1980s, with nine families asking for a $1 million settlement, though the government paid just $80,000 each.
Now, a group of families in Quebec are seeking reparations from the Canadian government, provincial government, and possibly McGill University for damages and a public apology. Some members involved in the suit say that some acknowledgement of wrongdoing by the government would mean more than a hushed settlement.
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Unsolved: The Mysterious Disappearance of Santiago Flight 513
On September 4, 1954, Santiago Airlines Flight 513 departed from Aachen, West Germany, destined for Porto Alegre, Brazil. The flight should have taken around 18 hours.
Instead, it took 35 years. On October 12, 1989, without any contact with air traffic controllers, Santiago Flight 513 was spotted circling the Porto Alegre airport, where it eventually made a successful landing. Witnesses at the airport reported an eerie sense of disbelief as the ghostly plane descended, unannounced and seemingly out of nowhere, stirring questions that no one was prepared to answer. How did Santiago Flight 513 disappear so suddenly, only to reappear decades later in such an inexplicable manner?
Flight 513: The Plane That Never Arrived
Santiago Flight 513’s journey began like any other flight from that era. Piloted by Captain Miguel Victor Cury, the aircraft had been checked, cleared, and prepped for its scheduled 18-hour flight from Aachen, Germany, to Porto Alegre, Brazil. The plane, a Lockheed Super Constellation, was known for handling long flights, was in top condition, and had taken similar routes several times in the past.
With 88 passengers and four crew members on board, the plane set off smoothly. Passengers likely settled into the flight, unaware of any unusual circumstances or issues. But somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, all contact with Santiago Airlines Flight 513 ended without warning. Attempts to reach the crew through radio communications failed, and the sudden silence led to a number of search and rescue operations. Rescue teams searched vast stretches of ocean for days on end, holding out hope for survivors, however, no trace of the aircraft or its passengers could be found. The routine flight had inexplicably vanished, leaving behind only questions.
