As a result of the article, Seal has long been identified as an undercover CIA informant.
Smuggler's End: The Life and Death of Barry Seal, Hardcover - Del Hahn Adler Berriman "Barry" Seal had a brief, but spectacular, career as a cocaine smuggler-turned DEA informant. At the height of his career, he was under investigation by the DEA in Mena, Arkansas, and New Orleans, Louisiana, in addition to being under the watchful eye of the FBI. Despite the heat surrounding Seal, he made a drug run to Nicaragua in 1984, where he picked up 1,465 pounds of cocaine and took photos of Sandinista soldiers loading the drugs. Then the Washington Post leaked the story, revealing that Seal was working undercover for the CIA.