Vang Pao
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General Vang Pao was an American-allied Hmong military leader in the Second Indochina War. To this day, he remains an important figure in the opposition to the communist government of Laos.
Pao was commander of the Secret Army, a highly-effective, American-trained and supported fighting force made up mostly of Hmong tribesmen. He went into exile in the United States after the communists seized power in Laos in 1975. Since then, he has been subject to several unsuccessful assassination plots, presumably ordered by the government of Laos or foreign communist forces.
Pao is considered by many Hmong to be the preeminent leader of the Hmong people in the United States and a hero of American-allied forced in the Second Indochina War. Despite this, there is some controversy surrounding his alleged involvement in heroin and opium trafficking as well as his continued support of the current Hmong-led guerrilla insurgency against the government of Laos.