ATF gunwalking scandal
Encyclopedia
Between 2006 and 2011, the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ran a series of “gunwalking” sting operations under the umbrella of Project Gunrunner
, a project intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico
. “Gunwalking” or “letting guns walk” is a tactic whereby the ATF knowingly allowed thousands of guns to be bought by suspected arms traffickers (“gunrunners”) working as straw purchase
rs on behalf of Mexican drug cartels.
The stated goal of allowing these purchases was to continue to track the firearms as they were transferred to higher−level traffickers and key figures in Mexican cartels, in theory leading to their arrests and the dismantling of the cartels. Operation Fast and Furious, by far the largest "gunwalking" probe, led to the sale of over 2,000 firearms, of which fewer than 700 were recovered as of October 20, 2011. A number of straw purchasers have been arrested and indicted; however, as of October 2011, none of the targeted high−level cartel figures have been arrested.
Firearms "walked" by the ATF have been found at violent crime scenes on both sides of the US−Mexico border, and are believed responsible for the deaths of many Mexicans and at least one US federal agent, Border Patrol
Agent Brian Terry. The “gunwalking” operations became public in the aftermath of Agent Terry's murder. As investigations have continued, the operations have become increasingly controversial in both countries, and diplomatic relations have been damaged as a result.
The method of Operations Wide Receiver and Fast and Furious was questioned by the ATF field agents and the licensed gun dealers cooperating with them. Under Fast and Furious, dissident ATF field agents expressed their concerns to Congress after the death of Border Patrolman Brian Terry.
field division.
. He was then hired as a confidential informant working with the ATF's Tucson office, part of their Phoenix, Arizona field division. With the use of surveillance equipment, ATF agents monitored additional sales by Detty to straw purchasers. With assurance from ATF "that Mexican officials would be conducting surveillance or interdictions when guns got to the other side of the border", Detty would sell a total of about 450 guns during the operation. They were eventually lost as they moved into Mexico.
At the time, under the Bush administration Department of Justice
(DOJ), no arrests or indictments were made. After President Barack Obama
took office in 2009, the DOJ reviewed Wide Receiver and found that guns had been allowed into the hands of suspected gun traffickers. Indictments began in 2010, over three years after Wide Receiver concluded. As of October 4, 2011, nine people had been charged with making false statements in acquisition of firearms and illicit transfer, shipment or delivery of firearms; two of them had pled guilty.
Another, smaller probe occurred in 2007 under the same ATF Phoenix field division. It began when the ATF identified Mexican suspects who bought weapons from a Phoenix gun shop over a span of several months. The probe ultimately involved over 200 guns, a dozen of which were lost in Mexico. On September 27, 2007, ATF agents saw the original suspects buying weapons at the same store and followed them toward the Mexican border. The ATF informed the Mexican government when the suspects successfully crossed the border, but Mexican law enforcement were unable to track them.
Less than two weeks later, on October 6, William Newell, then ATF's special agent in charge of the Phoenix field division, shut down the operation at the behest of William Hoover, ATF's assistant director for the office of field operations. No charges were filed. Newell, who was special agent in charge from June 2006 to May 2011, would later play a major role in Operation Fast and Furious.
in Washington, D.C.
to discuss US strategy for combating Mexican drug cartels. Participating in the meeting were Deputy Attorney General
David W. Ogden
, Assistant Attorney General
Lanny Breuer, ATF Director Kenneth E. Melson
, Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart
, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) Director Robert Mueller
and the top federal prosecutors in the Southwestern border states. They decided on a strategy to identify and eliminate entire arms trafficking networks rather than low–level buyers. Those at the meeting did not suggest using the "gunwalking" tactic, but ATF agents would soon use it in an attempt to achieve the desired goals. The effort, beginning in November, would come to be called Operation Fast and Furious for the successful film franchise
, because some of the suspects under investigation operated out of an auto repair store and street raced.
The strategy of targeting high–level individuals, which was already ATF policy, would be implemented by Bill Newell, special agent in charge of ATF's Phoenix field division. In order to accomplish it, the office decided to use "gunwalking" as laid out in a January 2010 briefing paper. This was said to be allowed under ATF regulations and given legal backing by U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis K. Burke
. It was additionally approved and funded by a Justice Department task force. However, others have said that the tactic was against ATF and DOJ policy requiring arms shipments to be intercepted.
In November 2009, the Phoenix office's Group VII, which would be the lead investigative group in Fast and Furious, began to follow a prolific gun trafficker. He had bought 34 firearms in 24 days, and he and his associates bought 212 more in the next month. The case soon grew to over two dozen straw purchasers, the most prolific of which would ultimately buy more than 600 weapons.
As the case continued, several members of Group VII, including John Dodson and Olindo Casa, became increasingly upset at the tactic of allowing guns to walk. They watched guns being bought illegally and stashed on a daily basis, while their supervisors, including David Voth and Hope MacAllister, prevented the agents from intervening. Thus, the tactic of letting guns walk, rather than interdicting
them and arresting the buyers, led to controversy within the ATF.
Responding to the disagreements, Voth wrote an email in March 2010: "I will be damned if this case is going to suffer due to petty arguing, rumors, or other adolescent behavior. I don’t know what all the issues are but we are all adults, we are all professionals, and we have an exciting opportunity to use the biggest tool in our law enforcement tool box. If you don’t think this is fun you are in the wrong line of work — period!”
By June 2010, suspects had purchased 1,608 firearms at a cost of over US$1 million at Phoenix-area gun shops. At that time, the ATF was also aware of 179 of those weapons being found at crime scenes in Mexico, and 130 in the US. As guns traced to Fast and Furious began turning up at violent crime scenes in Mexico, ATF agents stationed there also voiced opposition.
On the evening of December 14, 2010, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and others were patrolling Peck Canyon, Pima County, Arizona
, 11 miles from the Mexican border. The group came across five suspected illegal immigrants. When they fired non-lethal beanbag guns, the suspects responded with assault weapons, leading to a firefight. Agent Terry was shot and killed; four of the suspects were arrested and two AK-47
assault rifles were found nearby. The rifles were traced to Fast and Furious within hours of the shooting, but the bullet that killed Terry was too damaged to be linked to either gun.
After hearing of the incident, Agent Dodson reached out to ATF headquarters, ATF’s chief counsel, the ATF ethics section and the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General
, none of whom immediately responded. He and other agents then contacted Senator
Chuck Grassley
of Iowa
, ranking member
of the Senate Judiciary Committee
, who would become a major figure in the investigation of "gunwalking." At the same time, information began leaking to various blogger
s and web sites.
On January 25, 2011, US Attorney Burke announced the first details of the case to become officially public, marking the end of Operation Fast and Furious. At a news conference in Phoenix, he reported a 53-count indictment of 20 suspects for buying hundreds of guns intended for illegal export between September 2009 and December 2010. Newell, who was at the conference, called Fast and Furious a "phenomenal case," while denying that guns had been deliberately allowed to walk into Mexico, a claim that was revealed to be false.
Since the end of the operation, related firearms have continued to be discovered in criminal hands. In April 2011, a large cache of weapons, including 40 traced to Fast and Furious, was found in the home of Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, a prominent Sinaloa Cartel
member, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The stash included an anti-aircraft machine gun and a grenade launcher. Torres Marrufo was indicted, but as of October 2011 law enforcement has been unable to locate and arrest him.
On May 29, 2011 four Mexican Federal Police helicopters attacked a cartel compound, where they were met with heavy fire, including from a .50 caliber rifle. According to a report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, this rifle is likely linked to Fast and Furious.
Altogether, 2,020 firearms were bought by straw purchasers during Fast and Furious. As of October 20, 2011, 389 had been recovered in the US and 276 had been recovered in Mexico. The rest remained on the streets, unaccounted for. Most of the guns went to the Sinaloa Cartel
, while others made their way to El Teo and La Familia. As of October 2011, guns found at about 170 crime scenes in Mexico were linked to Fast and Furious. U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa
has estimated that more than 200 Mexicans were killed as a result of the operation. Reflecting on the operation, Attorney General Eric Holder
said that the United States government
is "...losing the battle to stop the flow of illegal guns to Mexico," and that the carnage linked to Operation Fast and Furious is most likely to continue for years, as more guns appear at Mexican crime scenes.
There have been questions raised over a possible connection between Fast and Furious and the death of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agent Jaime Zapata
on February 15, 2011. The gun that killed Zapata
was purchased by Otilio Osorio in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
, Texas (outside the area of responsibility for the ATF Phoenix field division which conducted Fast and Furious), and then smuggled into Mexico. Congressional investigators have stated that Osorio was known by the ATF to be a straw purchaser months before he purchased the gun that killed Zapata
, leading them to question ATF surveillance tactics and to suspect a Texas-based operation similar to Fast and Furious.
The Office of the General Prosecutor in Mexico is seeking the extradition of six citizens of the United States
implicated with smuggling weapons from the operation. Three of the requested citizens for extradition are from Madera, California
, while the other three are from the state of Texas
. The current Attorney General of Mexico, Marisela Morales
, said the PGR will search "to the end" in order to clarify what happened in the Operation Fast and Furious
.
Mexican Senator Arturo Escobar
stated, "We can no longer tolerate what is occurring. There must be condemnation from the state," and that the Mexican Senate condemned the actions of the ATF.
Jorge Carlos Ramírez Marín, president of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico
from the Institutional Revolutionary Party
, said "This is a serious violation of international law. What happens if next time they need to introduce trained assassins or nuclear weapons?"
Attorney General of Mexico Marisela Morales
, well-liked by US law enforcement, said, "At no time did we know or were we made aware that there might have been arms trafficking permitted. In no way would we have allowed it, because it is an attack on the safety of Mexicans." In addition, she expressed that allowing weapons to "walk" would represent a "betrayal" of Mexico.
Chihuahua state prosecutor Patricia Gonzalez, who had worked closely with the US for years, said, "The basic ineptitude of these officials [who ordered the Fast and Furious operation] caused the death of my brother and surely thousands more victims." Her brother, Mario, had been kidnapped, tortured and killed by cartel hit men in fall 2010. It was later revealed that his killers owned AK-47
assault rifle
s traced to Fast and Furious.
Some Mexican officials were more circumspect. For example, Mexican Congressman Humberto Benítez Treviño
, a former attorney general, called Fast and Furious "a bad business that got out of hand." He had also characterized it as "an undercover program that wasn't properly controlled."
Like many politicians, Mexican pundits across the political spectrum expressed anger at news of the operations. La Jornada
, a left-leaning newspaper
, asked "US: ally or enemy?" The paper also argued that the Mérida Initiative
should be immediately suspended. A right-leaning paper accused the US of violating Mexican sovereignty
.
Manuel J. Jauregui of the Reforma
newspaper wrote, "In sum, the gringo
(American) government has been sending weapons to Mexico in a premeditated and systematic manner, knowing that their destinations were Mexican criminal organizations."
Project Gunrunner
Project Gunrunner is an operation of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico, in an attempt to deprive the Mexican drug cartels of weapons....
, a project intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. “Gunwalking” or “letting guns walk” is a tactic whereby the ATF knowingly allowed thousands of guns to be bought by suspected arms traffickers (“gunrunners”) working as straw purchase
Straw purchase
A straw purchase is any purchase wherein the purchaser knowingly acquires an item or service for someone who is, for whatever reason, unable to purchase the item or service themselves...
rs on behalf of Mexican drug cartels.
The stated goal of allowing these purchases was to continue to track the firearms as they were transferred to higher−level traffickers and key figures in Mexican cartels, in theory leading to their arrests and the dismantling of the cartels. Operation Fast and Furious, by far the largest "gunwalking" probe, led to the sale of over 2,000 firearms, of which fewer than 700 were recovered as of October 20, 2011. A number of straw purchasers have been arrested and indicted; however, as of October 2011, none of the targeted high−level cartel figures have been arrested.
Firearms "walked" by the ATF have been found at violent crime scenes on both sides of the US−Mexico border, and are believed responsible for the deaths of many Mexicans and at least one US federal agent, Border Patrol
United States Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection , a component of the Department of Homeland Security . It is an agency in the Department of Homeland Security that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to...
Agent Brian Terry. The “gunwalking” operations became public in the aftermath of Agent Terry's murder. As investigations have continued, the operations have become increasingly controversial in both countries, and diplomatic relations have been damaged as a result.
The method of Operations Wide Receiver and Fast and Furious was questioned by the ATF field agents and the licensed gun dealers cooperating with them. Under Fast and Furious, dissident ATF field agents expressed their concerns to Congress after the death of Border Patrolman Brian Terry.
Background
ATF "gunwalking" operations were, in part, a response to longstanding criticism of the bureau for focusing on relatively minor gun violations while failing to target high–level gun smuggling figures. Even the low–level cases are problematic because there is no federal firearms trafficking law. This makes cases difficult to prosecute and forces law enforcement to use a variety of laws without stringent penalties. According to a twenty-year ATF veteran, Jay Wachtel, letting guns walk was done in the past in a controlled manner that involved surveillance and eventual seizure of the weapons.Operations
There have been allegations of "gunwalking" in at least 10 cities in five states. The most widely known and controversial operations took place in Arizona under the ATF's Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
field division.
2006−2007: Operation Wide Receiver and other probes
The first known ATF "gunwalking" operation to Mexican drug cartels, named Operation Wide Receiver, began in early 2006 and ran into 2007. The ATF was informed of a suspicious gun purchase by licensed dealer Mike Detty in Tucson, ArizonaTucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. He was then hired as a confidential informant working with the ATF's Tucson office, part of their Phoenix, Arizona field division. With the use of surveillance equipment, ATF agents monitored additional sales by Detty to straw purchasers. With assurance from ATF "that Mexican officials would be conducting surveillance or interdictions when guns got to the other side of the border", Detty would sell a total of about 450 guns during the operation. They were eventually lost as they moved into Mexico.
At the time, under the Bush administration Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
(DOJ), no arrests or indictments were made. After President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
took office in 2009, the DOJ reviewed Wide Receiver and found that guns had been allowed into the hands of suspected gun traffickers. Indictments began in 2010, over three years after Wide Receiver concluded. As of October 4, 2011, nine people had been charged with making false statements in acquisition of firearms and illicit transfer, shipment or delivery of firearms; two of them had pled guilty.
Another, smaller probe occurred in 2007 under the same ATF Phoenix field division. It began when the ATF identified Mexican suspects who bought weapons from a Phoenix gun shop over a span of several months. The probe ultimately involved over 200 guns, a dozen of which were lost in Mexico. On September 27, 2007, ATF agents saw the original suspects buying weapons at the same store and followed them toward the Mexican border. The ATF informed the Mexican government when the suspects successfully crossed the border, but Mexican law enforcement were unable to track them.
Less than two weeks later, on October 6, William Newell, then ATF's special agent in charge of the Phoenix field division, shut down the operation at the behest of William Hoover, ATF's assistant director for the office of field operations. No charges were filed. Newell, who was special agent in charge from June 2006 to May 2011, would later play a major role in Operation Fast and Furious.
2009−2011: Operation Fast and Furious
On October 26, 2009, a teleconference was held at the Justice DepartmentUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to discuss US strategy for combating Mexican drug cartels. Participating in the meeting were Deputy Attorney General
United States Deputy Attorney General
United States Deputy Attorney General is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. In the United States federal government, the Deputy Attorney General oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department of Justice, and may act as Attorney General during the...
David W. Ogden
David W. Ogden
David William Ogden , known professionally as David W. Ogden, is the former Deputy Attorney General of the United States...
, Assistant Attorney General
United States Assistant Attorney General
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an Assistant Attorney General.The President of the United States appoints individuals to the position of Assistant Attorney General with the advice and consent of the Senate...
Lanny Breuer, ATF Director Kenneth E. Melson
Kenneth E. Melson
Kenneth E. Melson was the chief director and head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the United States. He was appointed by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to head the agency on May 14, 2007. Melson has served in the Department of Justice as a federal prosecutor for...
, Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
(DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart
Michele Leonhart
Michele Marie Leonhart is an American career law enforcement officer and the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration . Since the resignation of Administrator Karen P. Tandy in the fall of 2007, Leonhart also served as Acting Administrator of the DEA...
, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) Director Robert Mueller
Robert Mueller
Robert Swan Mueller III is the 6th and current Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation .-Early life:...
and the top federal prosecutors in the Southwestern border states. They decided on a strategy to identify and eliminate entire arms trafficking networks rather than low–level buyers. Those at the meeting did not suggest using the "gunwalking" tactic, but ATF agents would soon use it in an attempt to achieve the desired goals. The effort, beginning in November, would come to be called Operation Fast and Furious for the successful film franchise
The Fast and the Furious (film series)
The Fast and the Furious is a series of action films that focuses on street racing and heists. Produced by Universal Studios, the series was established in 2001 with the eponymous first installment, which has since been followed by four sequels, and two short films that tie into the series...
, because some of the suspects under investigation operated out of an auto repair store and street raced.
The strategy of targeting high–level individuals, which was already ATF policy, would be implemented by Bill Newell, special agent in charge of ATF's Phoenix field division. In order to accomplish it, the office decided to use "gunwalking" as laid out in a January 2010 briefing paper. This was said to be allowed under ATF regulations and given legal backing by U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis K. Burke
Dennis K. Burke
Dennis K. Burke is the former United States Attorney for the District of Arizona.-Early life and education:Burke was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1962. Burke received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in 1985 and earned his Juris Doctor from University of Arizona College of Law in 1988...
. It was additionally approved and funded by a Justice Department task force. However, others have said that the tactic was against ATF and DOJ policy requiring arms shipments to be intercepted.
In November 2009, the Phoenix office's Group VII, which would be the lead investigative group in Fast and Furious, began to follow a prolific gun trafficker. He had bought 34 firearms in 24 days, and he and his associates bought 212 more in the next month. The case soon grew to over two dozen straw purchasers, the most prolific of which would ultimately buy more than 600 weapons.
As the case continued, several members of Group VII, including John Dodson and Olindo Casa, became increasingly upset at the tactic of allowing guns to walk. They watched guns being bought illegally and stashed on a daily basis, while their supervisors, including David Voth and Hope MacAllister, prevented the agents from intervening. Thus, the tactic of letting guns walk, rather than interdicting
Interdiction
Interdiction is a military term that refers to the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy forces or supplies en route to the battle area. A distinction is often made between strategic and tactical interdiction...
them and arresting the buyers, led to controversy within the ATF.
Responding to the disagreements, Voth wrote an email in March 2010: "I will be damned if this case is going to suffer due to petty arguing, rumors, or other adolescent behavior. I don’t know what all the issues are but we are all adults, we are all professionals, and we have an exciting opportunity to use the biggest tool in our law enforcement tool box. If you don’t think this is fun you are in the wrong line of work — period!”
By June 2010, suspects had purchased 1,608 firearms at a cost of over US$1 million at Phoenix-area gun shops. At that time, the ATF was also aware of 179 of those weapons being found at crime scenes in Mexico, and 130 in the US. As guns traced to Fast and Furious began turning up at violent crime scenes in Mexico, ATF agents stationed there also voiced opposition.
On the evening of December 14, 2010, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and others were patrolling Peck Canyon, Pima County, Arizona
Pima County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, 11 miles from the Mexican border. The group came across five suspected illegal immigrants. When they fired non-lethal beanbag guns, the suspects responded with assault weapons, leading to a firefight. Agent Terry was shot and killed; four of the suspects were arrested and two AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
assault rifles were found nearby. The rifles were traced to Fast and Furious within hours of the shooting, but the bullet that killed Terry was too damaged to be linked to either gun.
After hearing of the incident, Agent Dodson reached out to ATF headquarters, ATF’s chief counsel, the ATF ethics section and the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General
United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General
The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Justice is the Office of the Inspector General specific to the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for conducting nearly all of the investigations of DOJ employees and programs. The present Inspector General is Glenn A...
, none of whom immediately responded. He and other agents then contacted Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Chuck Grassley
Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley is the senior United States Senator from Iowa . A member of Republican Party, he previously served in the served in the United States House of Representatives and the Iowa state legislature...
of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, ranking member
Ranking member
In United States politics, a ranking member is the second-most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the majority party. Another usage refers to the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. This second usage, often...
of the Senate Judiciary Committee
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...
, who would become a major figure in the investigation of "gunwalking." At the same time, information began leaking to various blogger
Blogger
Blogger may refer to:* A person who writes a blog, or weblog* Blogger , a web service for publishing blogs...
s and web sites.
On January 25, 2011, US Attorney Burke announced the first details of the case to become officially public, marking the end of Operation Fast and Furious. At a news conference in Phoenix, he reported a 53-count indictment of 20 suspects for buying hundreds of guns intended for illegal export between September 2009 and December 2010. Newell, who was at the conference, called Fast and Furious a "phenomenal case," while denying that guns had been deliberately allowed to walk into Mexico, a claim that was revealed to be false.
Since the end of the operation, related firearms have continued to be discovered in criminal hands. In April 2011, a large cache of weapons, including 40 traced to Fast and Furious, was found in the home of Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, a prominent Sinaloa Cartel
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
member, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The stash included an anti-aircraft machine gun and a grenade launcher. Torres Marrufo was indicted, but as of October 2011 law enforcement has been unable to locate and arrest him.
On May 29, 2011 four Mexican Federal Police helicopters attacked a cartel compound, where they were met with heavy fire, including from a .50 caliber rifle. According to a report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, this rifle is likely linked to Fast and Furious.
Altogether, 2,020 firearms were bought by straw purchasers during Fast and Furious. As of October 20, 2011, 389 had been recovered in the US and 276 had been recovered in Mexico. The rest remained on the streets, unaccounted for. Most of the guns went to the Sinaloa Cartel
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
, while others made their way to El Teo and La Familia. As of October 2011, guns found at about 170 crime scenes in Mexico were linked to Fast and Furious. U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa
Darrell Issa
Darrell Edward Issa is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 48th, serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was formerly a CEO of Directed Electronics, the Vista, California-based manufacturer of automobile security and convenience products...
has estimated that more than 200 Mexicans were killed as a result of the operation. Reflecting on the operation, Attorney General Eric Holder
Eric Holder
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....
said that the United States government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
is "...losing the battle to stop the flow of illegal guns to Mexico," and that the carnage linked to Operation Fast and Furious is most likely to continue for years, as more guns appear at Mexican crime scenes.
There have been questions raised over a possible connection between Fast and Furious and the death of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...
agent Jaime Zapata
Jaime Zapata (U.S. agent)
Jaime Jorge Zapata was a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who was ambushed and shot dead by the Mexican criminal group Los Zetas in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He was one of the two agents that was ambushed at a fake roadblock, known as a narco-blockade, in a part of the country that is...
on February 15, 2011. The gun that killed Zapata
Jaime Zapata (U.S. agent)
Jaime Jorge Zapata was a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who was ambushed and shot dead by the Mexican criminal group Los Zetas in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He was one of the two agents that was ambushed at a fake roadblock, known as a narco-blockade, in a part of the country that is...
was purchased by Otilio Osorio in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...
, Texas (outside the area of responsibility for the ATF Phoenix field division which conducted Fast and Furious), and then smuggled into Mexico. Congressional investigators have stated that Osorio was known by the ATF to be a straw purchaser months before he purchased the gun that killed Zapata
Jaime Zapata (U.S. agent)
Jaime Jorge Zapata was a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who was ambushed and shot dead by the Mexican criminal group Los Zetas in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He was one of the two agents that was ambushed at a fake roadblock, known as a narco-blockade, in a part of the country that is...
, leading them to question ATF surveillance tactics and to suspect a Texas-based operation similar to Fast and Furious.
The Office of the General Prosecutor in Mexico is seeking the extradition of six citizens of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
implicated with smuggling weapons from the operation. Three of the requested citizens for extradition are from Madera, California
Madera, California
Madera is a city in and the county seat of Madera County, California, United States. It is a principal city of the Madera–Chowchilla Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Madera County, and Metropolitan Fresno. It is located in California's San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2010...
, while the other three are from the state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The current Attorney General of Mexico, Marisela Morales
Marisela Morales
Marisela Morales Ibáñez is the current Attorney General of Mexico. She was born in Mexico City and graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico with a degree in law before completing a master's degree in criminal science from the National Institute of Criminal Sciences...
, said the PGR will search "to the end" in order to clarify what happened in the Operation Fast and Furious
Operation Fast and Furious
Operation Fast and Furious was a sting operation run by the United States via the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Phoenix Field Division between 2009 and 2010. Part of Project Gunrunner, the Southwest Border strategy first implemented it in 2006 to stem the flow of illegal...
.
Mexican reaction
The ATF's "gunwalking" operations were deliberately kept secret from the Mexican government, even after related firearms began to be found at violent crime scenes and in criminal arsenals in 2010 and 2011. When they were told in January 2011 that there was an undercover program in existence, they still were not given details. Mexican politicians expressed widespread anger at the operations as information developed in 2011. Mexican officials stated in September that the US government still had not briefed them on what went wrong nor had they apologized.Mexican Senator Arturo Escobar
Arturo Escobar y Vega
Arturo Escobar y Vega is a Mexican politician affiliated with the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico who currently serves in the upper house of the Mexican Congress....
stated, "We can no longer tolerate what is occurring. There must be condemnation from the state," and that the Mexican Senate condemned the actions of the ATF.
Jorge Carlos Ramírez Marín, president of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico
Chamber of Deputies of Mexico
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, Mexico's bicameral legislature. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Articles 50 to 70 of the current constitution.-Composition:The Chamber of Deputies is composed of one federal...
from the Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
, said "This is a serious violation of international law. What happens if next time they need to introduce trained assassins or nuclear weapons?"
Attorney General of Mexico Marisela Morales
Marisela Morales
Marisela Morales Ibáñez is the current Attorney General of Mexico. She was born in Mexico City and graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico with a degree in law before completing a master's degree in criminal science from the National Institute of Criminal Sciences...
, well-liked by US law enforcement, said, "At no time did we know or were we made aware that there might have been arms trafficking permitted. In no way would we have allowed it, because it is an attack on the safety of Mexicans." In addition, she expressed that allowing weapons to "walk" would represent a "betrayal" of Mexico.
Chihuahua state prosecutor Patricia Gonzalez, who had worked closely with the US for years, said, "The basic ineptitude of these officials [who ordered the Fast and Furious operation] caused the death of my brother and surely thousands more victims." Her brother, Mario, had been kidnapped, tortured and killed by cartel hit men in fall 2010. It was later revealed that his killers owned AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
s traced to Fast and Furious.
Some Mexican officials were more circumspect. For example, Mexican Congressman Humberto Benítez Treviño
Humberto Benítez Treviño
Humberto Benítez Treviño, born on July 5 of 1945, was a Mexican politician. He was Attorney General of México from 1994 to 1996.- References :...
, a former attorney general, called Fast and Furious "a bad business that got out of hand." He had also characterized it as "an undercover program that wasn't properly controlled."
Like many politicians, Mexican pundits across the political spectrum expressed anger at news of the operations. La Jornada
La Jornada
La Jornada is one of Mexico City's leading daily newspapers. It was established in 1984 by Carlos Payán Velver. The current editor is Carmen Lira Saade...
, a left-leaning newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, asked "US: ally or enemy?" The paper also argued that the Mérida Initiative
Mérida Initiative
The Mérida Initiative is a security cooperation agreement between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the declared aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and money laundering...
should be immediately suspended. A right-leaning paper accused the US of violating Mexican sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
.
Manuel J. Jauregui of the Reforma
Reforma
Reforma is a Mexican newspaper based in Mexico City. It has 276,700 readers in Mexico City. The paper shares content with other papers in parent newsgroup Grupo Reforma. The cumulative readership of the newsgroup is above 400,000...
newspaper wrote, "In sum, the gringo
Gringo
Gringo is a slang Spanish and Portuguese word used in Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America, to denote foreigners, often from the United States. The term can be applied to someone who is actually a foreigner, or it can denote a strong association or assimilation into...
(American) government has been sending weapons to Mexico in a premeditated and systematic manner, knowing that their destinations were Mexican criminal organizations."