Guide Note

General Vang Pao is a former general of the Royal Lao Army, and a prominent leader of the Hmong people in the United States. He began his military career when he joined the French army to defend Laos from the Japanese invasion during World War II. After the war, he continued his military service, working with clandestine forces supported by the French and then the United States during the Vietnam War. Vang Pao emigrated to the United States in 1975 where he became a leader for the Hmong community there and a vocal opponent of the communist government of Laos. In recent years, his position has soften and he now advocated normalized relations between the United States and Laos.

Fast Facts

1. Former Major General in Royal Lao Army
2. Worked with France during the First Indochina War
3. Worked with CIA during Vietnam War
4. Leader of the Hmong American community
5. Hmong are a Chinese Minority group with populations throughout South East Asia
6. 1975: Fled to U.S. after Communists seized power
7. 2007: Charged in plot to overthrow Laotian government

Portrayal in Hollywood

In the 1990 film Air America, staring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr., a caricature of Vang Pao, depicted as a brutal opium trafficker General Lu Soong. While no evidence supporting this depiction has ever been presented, it is often used by Vang Pao's opponents to criticize him.

Coup Plot and Trial

On June 4, 2007 Vang Pao and nine other associates were arrested by FBI agents on charges of plotting to overthrow the government of Laos. Federal charges allege that the group inspected weapons planned to be smuggled into Laos via Thailand, intended to arm a rebel group against the government. The group was indicted on June 15. Under the pressure of mounting protests criticizing the charges and arrests, the federal court released Vang Pao from jail on July 12, 2007.