U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Twelve years after the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) started Fast and Furious, the FGR has not clarified if officials from Felipe Calderón’s government knew about it,” Proceso reported Saturday. “Since 2010, US authorities and agents involved in the operation have made contradictory statements as to whether Mexican government officials knew about it. According to their versions, at least, the former heads of the PGR Maricela Morales and Eduardo Medina Mora found out. Former President Calderón denied having been informed.”
A few words before proceeding are in order. Readers clicking on the link will note the resulting page is in Spanish. Your browser ought to give you an option to view it in English – otherwise, entering the URL into Google Translate should present that option.
Also, a word about Proceso is appropriate. Wikipedia tells us:
“Proceso (Spanish: Process) is a left-wing Mexican news magazine published in Mexico City. It was founded in 1976 by journalist Julio Scherer García, who additionally served as its president until his death in 2015. Proceso was renowned for its left-wing journalism.”
You wouldn’t know reading the report. As someone who has been involved with breaking the story of “gunwalking” since the start, this is better and more accurate reporting than I’ve seen coming from most U.S. media, including that, unlike most of those, it credits how the story originated, citing this commentator, the late Mike Vanderboegh, and the whistleblower website CleanUpATF.
When not ignoring the story completely, domestic “journalists” consistently made excuses for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (ATF) and then-Attorney General Eric Holder. They dismissed the murderous operation as a mere “botched gun sting” without addressing how one could trace guns to drug lords when no attempt was made to track them once they crossed the border. They derided evidence that authorities knew the scheme would result in U.S. guns being found next to bodies at Mexican crime scenes, and that would be used to fuel demand for domestic “gun control,” dismissing such since borne out conclusions as “conspiracy theories.”
While recounting much of what has been uncovered in earlier reports, Proceso raises the question of what the Mexican government knew and when it knew it. That opens an as-yet unresolved aspect of a story I’ve been pursuing with a handful of allies to a much larger audience.
Here are the issues: We know ATF orchestrated the scheme to allow guns to be “walked” into Mexico. They have no authority to arrange and oversee that into a foreign country without violating Arms Export Control laws.
“There’s no exemption from the State Department permit requirement for ‘official use’ since no one is admitting walked guns are part of approved U.S. foreign policy, so the bottom line seems to be: Any person who willfully violates these provisions ‘shall upon conviction be fined for each violation not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both” … U.S. Code also includes provisions for ‘principals’ who ‘induce’ or ‘willfully cause’ offenses, so presumably those who did not physically walk guns but nonetheless induced lawbreaking could be in for a world of hurt if caught.”
That means in order for them not to have committed crimes, they would have needed State Department authorization, and the Secretary of State at the time was Hillary Clinton. So, she either clued in the Mexican government or she intentionally kept them in the dark. Unfortunately, a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) I filed with Kent Terry (brother of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, whose 2010 murder was the catalyst for Fast and Furious to be exposed) was ignored until we filed a lawsuit, and the production of information resulting from that was mostly non-responsive, with nothing sticking to her.
If she had no hand in things, and reading that last link will explain why I have my doubts, why has no one from ATF been charged? Sticking a higher-up in the hot seat would no doubt loosen some tongues.
As we’ve seen for the past 11+ years, vested interests have made sure that’s not going to happen. It would be ironic if what ultimately broke things open to where the story could no longer be ignored came from “leftwing” Mexican media, but realistically and pessimistically, I’m not holding my breath. People willing to stonewall, obfuscate, misdirect and lie over their culpability in the deaths of untold numbers of human beings will never open up unless and until there is a credible — and worse — “or else” ready to come down on them if they don’t talk.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
Just another in the long list that proves there are two sets of laws.
Barrack Obama , Joe Biden and Eric Holder are all criminals and need to be held accountable for thier roles in Gunwalking . People were murdered due to thier criminal activity and its time they answere for these crimes .
biden should be in jail in mexico obummer too holder did not do it alone
CANNOT leave out Killary. I think the four of them should share the same cell.. perhaps in that well known seaside resort on the southern coast of Cuba.. Guantanamo Bay.
I’d not be willing to lay any odds on which would be the last one standing.It prolly won’t be Sleepy Joe, though, as he is getting too feeble in mind and body to defend himself. Of course, that’s been true of him for decades. Of the toerh three? Tossing some coins would be as accurate as any other method.
Since we now have the same “Scum of the Earth” in power in this country, look for more of this BS!
To all of you that were stupid enough to vote for “Slippers.” “I just want to say, I Told You So! Nah Nah Nah!”
No coincidences or accidents. Just liars, charlatan’s, Jokers & thieves. System has been corrupt since Rome.
Kings, Queens, Priests, Wizards, Warlocks, Scribes, Peasants, Serfs & the dead …
Rules for thee but not for me …
“They dismissed the murderous operation as a mere “botched gun sting” without addressing how one could trace guns to drug lords when no attempt was made to track them once they crossed the border.”
They used the same “science” that they put into vaccines that still leave you susceptible to infection from the unvaccinated.
It was well known at the time, that “Fast and Furious” was a scheme cooked up by “Bath House Barry” Obama and AG Eric Holder in order to reinforce their claim that 91% of the guns used by the Mexican cartels came from the U.S. This would assist these two criminals in forcing more gun control on law abiding American citizens. With the DemocRATs now in control of our country, it’s unlikely that anything will ever be done to this pair of scumbag pukes!!
From the start the intention was to have a trail of guns found in Mexico that could be traced to crime in Mexico.
Guns from communist countries such as China, Hungary and WWII surplus were ignored.
Why would the drug cartel leave a gun after killing Agent Brian Terry unless it was planned? Getting gun bans in the USA was the plan all along.
Long article that failed to include the 2 driving, unAmerican disgusting individuals that were the source of it all. Barry & Eric . Perhaps their justice will be administered from the Lord above.
Anyone else here wondering how long it will take until her long list of “Arkancide” victims will come knocking up her door forthe long overdue “settling of the scores”? We have just last week learned of another incident where her fingerprints are qll over it.
Justice in the hands of a just God is certain, but somethimes those left behind here for yet another season can be shocked into change by seeing ne evil person “get their due” whiest yet whirling round the sun on this big dirtball.
Those of us reading here on this issue since 2010 are well aware of the leadership of the two you name, along with Killary Klinton in this entire scheme. It would not surprise me in the least to eventually learn, by solid proof, that Killary is the miserable creature that came up with this entire plot, who then consorted with the kinyun and his equally dirty sidekick Eric Holdem-up. May justice be meted out in kind nd measure upon the trio of them. Soon enough that we can SEE it and rejoice that there IS a just God in heaven… Read more »
The corrupt Mexican government was probably trying to arm the cartels