Operation Fast and Furious
Encyclopedia
Operation Fast and Furious was a sting operation
run by the United States
via the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(ATF) 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 firearms trafficking into Mexico. The stated purpose of the operation had been to permit otherwise-suspected straw purchasers
to complete the weapon's purchase and transit to Mexico, in order to build a bigger case against Mexican criminal organizations that were suspected of being the ultimate buyer. The operation started in the fall of 2009 and ended in late 2010 shortly after the death of Brian Terry, a U.S. Border Patrol
Agent and has since become the subject of controversy and a U.S. congressional
investigation. During the operation, the sale of at least 2,000 guns were facilitated by ATF knowing most would be trafficked to Mexico
. By June 2011, the guns have been linked (through eTrace
, ATF's electronic tracing program) to some 179 crime scenes in Mexico. By August 2011, 21 additional guns were recovered from violent crime scenes in Mexico. Of the 2,000 guns knowingly released by ATF agents, only 600 are reported as recovered by officials. The remaining 1,400 guns have not been recovered.
On November 8, 2011, Attorney General
Eric Holder
openly stated in Congressional testimony that the operation was "flawed in its concept and flawed in its execution," and he furthermore stated that his office had inaccurately described the program in previous letters sent to Congress. Holder remarked that his staff had not kept him informed about the program, and denied any personal wrongdoing.
Agent Brian Terry was killed in a gun fight near Rio Rico, Arizona while trying to apprehend a group of armed suspects. Two weapons found at the crime scene were traced to a Glendale, Arizona gun store that had cooperated with ATF officials in "Fast and Furious." ATF field agents monitoring the U.S.-Mexico border had intended to apprehend gun smugglers attempting to cross over into Mexico with large numbers of guns, but were told by their superiors to stand down and let the smugglers pass.
On February 15, 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata was shot to death by Mexican drug cartel members in northern Mexico. Federal investigators traced the gun used to kill Zapata to a Dallas-area man, but there have still been reports connecting the shooting to the Phoenix-based Operation Fast and Furious.
A gun used by drug cartel
criminals to shoot at a Mexican military helicopter
, forcing it to land, was found to have been one allowed into Mexico by the ATF.
Two AK-47s
sold as part of Operation Fast and Furious and recovered by Mexican police were determined to have been used by members of the Sinaloa cartel
in the high-profile kidnapping of attorney Mario González Rodríguez.
ATF Fast and Furious whistleblower
Agent Vince Cefalu was served with termination papers, in a move by the agency he described as politically motivated retaliation.
In September 2011, the New York Post
reported that ATF Special Agent John Dodson, had carried out orders to purchase four Draco pistols, which Dodson then resold to known criminals. Dodson had done this under the orders of his supervisor, David Voth.
According to the Los Angeles Times
, federal court records and trace documents from the ATF show that in April 2011, 40 of the weapons from the operation were found by Mexican police at a home owned by Torres Marrufo in Ciudad Juárez
. Marrufo is thought
to be the top enforcer for the Sinaloa cartel
, which U.S. intelligence officials consider to be the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world.
, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, held hearings in June and July 2011 where ATF officials based in Phoenix and Mexico, and at headquarters in Washington, testified before the committee. One ATF agent testified, "I cannot begin to think of how the risk of letting guns fall into the hands of known criminals could possibly advance any legitimate law enforcement interest."
This program is being investigated jointly by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and also the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. As reported by the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA):
The initial findings have been detailed in a joint staff report prepared by the staffs of Chairman Darrell Issa of the House Committee and ranking member Charles Grassley of the Senate Committee. The report details the testimony of whistleblower
agents who provided information about the operation to the Committees.
Dodson testified that he and other agents were ordered to observe the activities of gun smugglers but not to intervene.
The day after the report was released, the House Committee held a hearing at which Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Grassley testified, along with a second panel of witnesses, including the family of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and three of the whistleblowers from ATF. Senator Grassley's written testimony included a set of supporting documents and a slide presentation outlining what is known about the operation so far. The hearing also included a third session with the head of the Justice Department's Office of Legislative Affairs about its failure to provide complete and truthful answers to Congressional inquires about the operation.
After appearing at a congressional hearing, two supervisors of "Fast and Furious" William McMahon and William Newell were reported by the Los Angeles Times as being transferred and promoted by ATF. ATF denied the transfers were promotions.
On October 3, 2011, CBS News reported that internal DOJ emails showed that Attorney General
Eric Holder
had been sent briefings about 'Fast and Furious' as far back as July 2010. This contradicts Holder's testimony to Congress from May 3, 2011, where he had stated, "I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks."
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
run by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
via the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
(ATF) Phoenix Field Division between 2009 and 2010. Part of Project Gunrunner
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....
, the Southwest Border strategy first implemented it in 2006 to stem the flow of illegal firearms trafficking into Mexico. The stated purpose of the operation had been to permit otherwise-suspected straw purchasers
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...
to complete the weapon's purchase and transit to Mexico, in order to build a bigger case against Mexican criminal organizations that were suspected of being the ultimate buyer. The operation started in the fall of 2009 and ended in late 2010 shortly after the death of Brian Terry, a U.S. 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 and has since become the subject of controversy and a U.S. congressional
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
investigation. During the operation, the sale of at least 2,000 guns were facilitated by ATF knowing most would be trafficked to 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...
. By June 2011, the guns have been linked (through eTrace
ETrace
eTrace is an Internet-based firearm trace request submission system, developed by the United States' federal government, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, that provides for the electronic exchange of traced firearm data in a secure internet-based environment...
, ATF's electronic tracing program) to some 179 crime scenes in Mexico. By August 2011, 21 additional guns were recovered from violent crime scenes in Mexico. Of the 2,000 guns knowingly released by ATF agents, only 600 are reported as recovered by officials. The remaining 1,400 guns have not been recovered.
On November 8, 2011, Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
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....
openly stated in Congressional testimony that the operation was "flawed in its concept and flawed in its execution," and he furthermore stated that his office had inaccurately described the program in previous letters sent to Congress. Holder remarked that his staff had not kept him informed about the program, and denied any personal wrongdoing.
Background
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 before they disappeared.Complications
On December 14, 2010, United States Border PatrolUnited 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 was killed in a gun fight near Rio Rico, Arizona while trying to apprehend a group of armed suspects. Two weapons found at the crime scene were traced to a Glendale, Arizona gun store that had cooperated with ATF officials in "Fast and Furious." ATF field agents monitoring the U.S.-Mexico border had intended to apprehend gun smugglers attempting to cross over into Mexico with large numbers of guns, but were told by their superiors to stand down and let the smugglers pass.
On February 15, 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata was shot to death by Mexican drug cartel members in northern Mexico. Federal investigators traced the gun used to kill Zapata to a Dallas-area man, but there have still been reports connecting the shooting to the Phoenix-based Operation Fast and Furious.
A gun used by drug cartel
Drug cartel
Drug cartels are criminal organizations developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the largest trafficking...
criminals to shoot at a Mexican military helicopter
Military helicopter
A military helicopter is a helicopter that is either specifically built or converted for use by military forces. A military helicopter's mission is a function of its design or conversion...
, forcing it to land, was found to have been one allowed into Mexico by the ATF.
Two AK-47s
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...
sold as part of Operation Fast and Furious and recovered by Mexican police were determined to have been used by members of 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...
in the high-profile kidnapping of attorney Mario González Rodríguez.
ATF Fast and Furious whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
Agent Vince Cefalu was served with termination papers, in a move by the agency he described as politically motivated retaliation.
Fallout
As of July 2011, the family of Brian Terry is considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the United States Government over the operation.In September 2011, the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
reported that ATF Special Agent John Dodson, had carried out orders to purchase four Draco pistols, which Dodson then resold to known criminals. Dodson had done this under the orders of his supervisor, David Voth.
According to the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, federal court records and trace documents from the ATF show that in April 2011, 40 of the weapons from the operation were found by Mexican police at a home owned by Torres Marrufo in Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
. Marrufo is thought
to be the top enforcer for 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...
, which U.S. intelligence officials consider to be the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world.
Congressional investigation
Representative Darrell IssaDarrell 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...
, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, held hearings in June and July 2011 where ATF officials based in Phoenix and Mexico, and at headquarters in Washington, testified before the committee. One ATF agent testified, "I cannot begin to think of how the risk of letting guns fall into the hands of known criminals could possibly advance any legitimate law enforcement interest."
This program is being investigated jointly by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and also the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. As reported by the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA):
- "... the ATF knowingly allowed as many as 2,500 firearms to be sold illegally to known or suspected straw purchasers. One of those purchasers accounted for over 700 illegal guns."
- "... the ATF ordered its agents working the program not to arrest illegal gun buyers or to interdict thousands of guns that were allowed to "walk" into criminal hands."
- "... Senior ATF officials in Washington were regularly briefed on the operation and approved of the tactics employed."
- "... the ATF agents who opposed the operation and who raised objections were told to 'get with the program' and threatened with job retaliation if they continued their opposition."
The initial findings have been detailed in a joint staff report prepared by the staffs of Chairman Darrell Issa of the House Committee and ranking member Charles Grassley of the Senate Committee. The report details the testimony of whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
agents who provided information about the operation to the Committees.
Dodson testified that he and other agents were ordered to observe the activities of gun smugglers but not to intervene.
Over the course of the next 10 months that I was involved in this operation, we monitored as they purchased hand guns, AK-47 variants, and .50 caliber rifles almost daily. Rather than conduct any enforcement actions, we took notes, we recorded observations, we tracked movements of these individuals for a short time after their purchases, but nothing more. Knowing all the while, just days after these purchases, the guns that we saw these individuals buy would begin turning up at crime scenes in the United States and Mexico, we still did nothing.
The day after the report was released, the House Committee held a hearing at which Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Grassley testified, along with a second panel of witnesses, including the family of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and three of the whistleblowers from ATF. Senator Grassley's written testimony included a set of supporting documents and a slide presentation outlining what is known about the operation so far. The hearing also included a third session with the head of the Justice Department's Office of Legislative Affairs about its failure to provide complete and truthful answers to Congressional inquires about the operation.
After appearing at a congressional hearing, two supervisors of "Fast and Furious" William McMahon and William Newell were reported by the Los Angeles Times as being transferred and promoted by ATF. ATF denied the transfers were promotions.
On October 3, 2011, CBS News reported that internal DOJ emails showed that Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
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....
had been sent briefings about 'Fast and Furious' as far back as July 2010. This contradicts Holder's testimony to Congress from May 3, 2011, where he had stated, "I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks."
See also
- ATF gunwalking scandal
- Mexican Drug WarMexican Drug WarThe Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels who fight each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces who seek to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was...
- Gun controlGun controlGun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
- Project GunrunnerProject GunrunnerProject 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....