U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry killed with a Fast and Furious weapon on December 2010 in the northern Arizona-Mexico border.
Photo: USA Today
Holder, U.S. Attorney General denies cover-up during congressional oversight hearing.
By H. Nelson Goodson
February 2, 2012
Washington, D.C. - On Thursday, during an Congressional oversight hearing, Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General confirmed, that those Department of Justice officials connected with allowing straw purchases and selling of weapons to Mexican drug cartels will be fired and charged, once an internal investigation ends and sufficient evidence to convict is gathered. Holder spoke at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concerning the botched federal sting Operation Fast and Furious, which resulted in several U.S. agent deaths with weapons sold to cartels. He denied any cover-up by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The scandal broke in November 2010, when U.S. officials had allowed weapons from U.S. border gun stores to be bought by straw purchasers and then sent to Mexican drug cartels in order to monitor the flow of gun sales that ended up in cartel hands. A straw purchaser is someone who intentionally buys a weapon for someone prohibited from buying a weapon or for the purpose of selling it illegally to someone else.
Mexican government officials in conjunction with U.S. officials were then expected to arrest those connected to the gun distribution operation. But, many of the guns became lost and unaccounted for during the straw purchasing and gun selling operation.
The main focus of an internal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice is concentrated in Arizona. The Fast and Furious operation allegedly was initiated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) field office in Phoenix, according to documents released by congressional Democrats.
An alleged e-mail by Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer suggested to let straw purchasers cross into Mexico, so Mexican officials could arrest, prosecute and convict them, according to Congressman Darrell Issa (R) from the oversight committee. The congressional committee is trying to learn how far up the goverment scale did the operation went too and which top government officials knew about it and approved the gun running operation.
Several AK-47's weapons were later recoverd at a crime scene where U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry was murdered by drug smugglers in December 14, 2010. His family just filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government (ATF) claiming guns allowed to be sold to the cartels by government officials contributed to Terry's death near the Rio Rico remote canyon in the northern Arizona-Mexico border. The ATF allowed more than 1,400 weapons into Mexico, according to findings by the congressional oversight committee. The Terry family lawsuit says, the ATF was negligent and acted "in violation of ATF's own policies and procedures."
Several other straw purchased weapons were also used by Zeta members in the homicide of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata, 32, and the attempted murder of Special Agent Victor Avila on February 15, 2011 in Santa Maria, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Julian Zapata Espinoza, aka, "El Piolin" is being held without bail in the U.S. in connection with ICE Agent Zapata's homicide. Espinoza was extradited to the U.S. in December 2011 to face federal homicide and attempted murder charges. He admitted to participating in Zapata's murder and Avila's attempted murder on February 2011.
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Photo: USA Today
Holder, U.S. Attorney General denies cover-up during congressional oversight hearing.
By H. Nelson Goodson
February 2, 2012
Washington, D.C. - On Thursday, during an Congressional oversight hearing, Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General confirmed, that those Department of Justice officials connected with allowing straw purchases and selling of weapons to Mexican drug cartels will be fired and charged, once an internal investigation ends and sufficient evidence to convict is gathered. Holder spoke at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concerning the botched federal sting Operation Fast and Furious, which resulted in several U.S. agent deaths with weapons sold to cartels. He denied any cover-up by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The scandal broke in November 2010, when U.S. officials had allowed weapons from U.S. border gun stores to be bought by straw purchasers and then sent to Mexican drug cartels in order to monitor the flow of gun sales that ended up in cartel hands. A straw purchaser is someone who intentionally buys a weapon for someone prohibited from buying a weapon or for the purpose of selling it illegally to someone else.
Mexican government officials in conjunction with U.S. officials were then expected to arrest those connected to the gun distribution operation. But, many of the guns became lost and unaccounted for during the straw purchasing and gun selling operation.
The main focus of an internal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice is concentrated in Arizona. The Fast and Furious operation allegedly was initiated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) field office in Phoenix, according to documents released by congressional Democrats.
An alleged e-mail by Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer suggested to let straw purchasers cross into Mexico, so Mexican officials could arrest, prosecute and convict them, according to Congressman Darrell Issa (R) from the oversight committee. The congressional committee is trying to learn how far up the goverment scale did the operation went too and which top government officials knew about it and approved the gun running operation.
Several AK-47's weapons were later recoverd at a crime scene where U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry was murdered by drug smugglers in December 14, 2010. His family just filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government (ATF) claiming guns allowed to be sold to the cartels by government officials contributed to Terry's death near the Rio Rico remote canyon in the northern Arizona-Mexico border. The ATF allowed more than 1,400 weapons into Mexico, according to findings by the congressional oversight committee. The Terry family lawsuit says, the ATF was negligent and acted "in violation of ATF's own policies and procedures."
Several other straw purchased weapons were also used by Zeta members in the homicide of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata, 32, and the attempted murder of Special Agent Victor Avila on February 15, 2011 in Santa Maria, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Julian Zapata Espinoza, aka, "El Piolin" is being held without bail in the U.S. in connection with ICE Agent Zapata's homicide. Espinoza was extradited to the U.S. in December 2011 to face federal homicide and attempted murder charges. He admitted to participating in Zapata's murder and Avila's attempted murder on February 2011.
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