Eugene Haines Hasenfus (January 22, 1941 – November 26, 2025) was a United States Marine who helped fly weapons shipments on behalf of the U.S. government to the right-wing rebel Contras in Nicaragua. The sole survivor after his plane was shot down by the Nicaraguan government in 1986, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for terrorism and other charges, but pardoned and released the same year. The statements of admission he made to the Sandinista government resulted in a controversy in the U.S. government after the Reagan administration denied any connection to him. He had two brothers and a sister, He joined the Marine Corps in May 1960 and spent five years in the corps before receiving an honorable discharge in June 1965. and shoplifting. At the time of his capture in 1986, he was married to Sally Hasenfus. In 1986, he lived in Marinette, Wisconsin. The aircraft was brought down when it was approximately north of the border with Costa Rica, and a little over southeast of Managua, Nicaragua's capital and largest city. Three members of the flight crew were killed: Hasenfus was the only survivor. Hasenfus had been wearing a parachute, unusual for Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives at the time. Hasenfus managed to dive out of the open cargo hatch of the plane after it was hit by the Nicaraguan missile; he was later captured while sleeping in a makeshift hammock made from his parachute.
CIA links
After he was captured by the Nicaraguan government, Hasenfus stated at a press conference that he had previously dropped supplies to CIA operatives in Southeast Asia, and that flights into Nicaragua were directly supervised by the CIA.
Hasenfus subsequently unsuccessfully sued US Air Force officer Richard Secord, who was involved with organizing weapons shipments to the Contras, Albert Hakim, Southern Air Transport, and Corporate Air Services over issues relating to his capture and trial. The controversy over the flight led U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Tip O'Neill to launch an investigation into the flight.
Hasenfus died of cancer at his home in Menominee, Michigan, on November 26, 2025, at the age of 84.