General Mena meets with Tom Cruise in 2015. Photo from El Espectador.

Thanks to scientia posting today in comments on Tony Ortega’s article on Colombia, we learn that Tom Cruise met with General Mena in 2015 when the actor was filming American Made. This is the same year David Miscavige opened the new Ideal Org in Bogota. El Espectador did an article with photos on Cruise meeting General Mena.

It was General Mena who, after he had retired, awarded David Miscavige an unauthorized medal in Barbados. This has caused a great deal of controversy in Colombia and hearings are being held by the Senate. Colombia Reports noted in its recent article that Colombia’s police are embarrassed over the medal the retired General Mena gave Scientology leader David Miscavige:

The El Espectador article shows how closely Tom Cruise was working with David Miscavige & OSA to further safepoint Scientology in Colombia. Tellingly, General Mena did not allow Scientology’s front man Colonel Prado to appear in the pictures of himself with Tom Cruise. It seems that like David Miscavige, the General wanted Tom Cruise all to himself. General Mena perhaps ordered his subordinate Colonel Prado to go write some traffic tickets that day and stay away from HQ.

Although Cruise downplays his Scientology involvement, being able to link Cruise so explicitly to General Mena shows Mena to be the likely Kingpin on the Colombian side of the Scientology-Colombia operation.

Photo from El Espectador.

An El Espectador photo of Tom Cruise with Colombian soldiers:

Here is my recent podcast with former Scientology Colombia staff member Adrian Vanegas: