The Hysteria In Mexico Caused By Fast & Furious

Deroy Murdock is right. America needs to remember how Operation Fast & Furious has affected Mexico.

Operation Fast & Furious was a scheme the Department of Justice used to sell state of the art assault weapons to straw purchasers who would give them to Mexican drug cartels. These guns are connected to the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010 and hundreds of Mexicans. But people aren’t just using these weapons to kill people. They’ve been used in injuries, kidnappings, and attempted homicides.

The most well known Mexican victim of Fast & Furious is Mario Gonzalez Rodriguez (above), a Chihuahua City lawyer. His sister was Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez, who at the time was the Attorney General of Chihuahua. A video surfaced of Mr. Gonzalez handcuffed in a chair and surrounded by armed masked men. In it he “confessed” his sister worked with the Juarez cartel. His body was found November 5, 2010 in a shallow grave.  A few days later the police had a shoot out with cartel members, arrested eight of them, and seized sixteen weapons. Two AK-47s were linked to Fast & Furious, but ATF Acting Attache Carlos Canino was not allowed to inform the Mexican government of the connection.

La Familia used Fast & Furious guns to take down a police helicopter. The cartel shot down the helicopter, injuring two officers. A raid by the Federal Police on La Familia left 11 dead and arrested 36 others. They found massive artillery, including several guns from Fast & Furious.

The Oversight Committee’s July 26, 2011 report gives at least 48 separate recoveries involving Fast & Furious weapons. A letter from the DOJ to Chairman Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley on September 9, 2011 gives in depth details on a few of those recoveries.

The largest recovery happened on November 20, 2009 in Naco, Sonora. 42 weapons, 41 AK-47s and 1 50 caliber, were linked to Fast & Furious.

Two AK-47s were recovered in Tubutama, Sonora on July 1, 2010. Two murders were linked to these weapons. One was coded “Homicide/Willful Kill – Gun” and “Firing a Weapon.” The other was also coded with “Homicide/Willful Kill – Gun.”

Four weapons were recovered on January 8, 2010 in Tijuana, Baja and traced with the crime code “Kidnap/Ransom.”

Two weapons were recovered on August 13, 2010 in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango after a shootout. Their crime code was “Found Firearm.”

Three weapons were recovered on February 25, 2010 in Tijuana, Baja. Two had the criminal code “Homicide – Attempted” and one had a non-violent code “Found Firearm.” These guns are connected to the assassination attempt on then Tijuana Municipal Secretary of Public Safety Julian Leyzaola.

While America has been damaged by Fast & Furious, it’s nothing compared to Mexico. 1,000+ guns are still missing, and until they’re found the Mexican drug cartels will continue to use them to wreak havoc on Mexico.