Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

March 28, 2011

US allowed weapons across border, found at Border Agent's murder in Arizona

Whistleblower: US allowed weapons across border
Censored News
Also see:
'Arizona Border Agents, Weapons and Oil' at Censored News:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2011/03/arizona-border-agents-weapons-and-oil.html

The US Deadly Games: Arizona border agents, weapons and oil The US says it is taking the lead in exploiting Kazakhstan's rich oil reserves. The US even has the Arizona National Guard over there keeping them safe by way of Centcom. Arizona got a chunk of money to keep things safe and tidy for ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips in Kazakhstan, according to a US cable released by Wikileaks: http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10ASTANA251.html

In Arizona, the US allowed weapons to cross the border into Mexico. Two of those weapons were found at the murder scene of a Border Patrol agent near Nogales, Arizona. The ATF now says that it allowed at least 1,700 weapons into Mexico. The ATF says it was a sting operation targeting narco traffickers. The Center for Public Integrity exposes the fact that ATF allowed weapons to cross the border into Mexico. The Tucson Citizen exposes the fact that two of those weapons were found recently at the scene of the murder of a Border Patrol agent near Nogales, Arizona.

ATF let hundreds of U.S. weapons fall into hands of suspected Mexican gunrunners
Whistleblower Says Agents Strongly Objected to Risky Strategy By John Solomon and David Heath and Gordon Witkin March 03, 2011
Center for Public Integrity
 Hoping to score a major prosecution of Mexican drug lords, federal prosecutors and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives permitted hundreds of guns to be purchased and retained by suspected straw buyers with the expectation they might cross the border and even be used in crimes while the case was being built, according to documents and interviews. The decision — part of a Phoenix-based operation code named “Fast and Furious” — was met by strong objections from some front-line agents who feared they were allowing weapons like AK-47s to “walk” into the hands of drug lords and gun runners, internal agency memos show. Indeed, scores of the weapons came back quickly traced to criminal activity. Read more ... http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/2976 Updated: 3/22/2011, 3:06 pm: The head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Thursday night ordered an outside evaluation of his agency's efforts to combat Mexican gun trafficking following a Center for Public Integrity report that ATF supervisors allowed more than 1,700 guns to flow to straw buyers with the expectation the weapons might cross the border and even be used in crimes. Read more ... http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/2977/?utm_source=publicintegrity&utm_medium=related_heds&utm_campaign=side_v1

ATF gunwalker scandal … did US Customs and Border Protection look the other way when the guns were headed south?
by Hugh Holub on Mar. 25, 2011 Tucson Citizen

The ATF “gunwalker” scandal … where federal ATF agents allowed hundreds of guns to “walk” from US gun shops across the border into the hands of the Mexican drug cartel as part of some dubious investigation into gunrunning gets even more outrageous. Two of the ATF “walked” guns ended up at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry near Rio Rico.
Read more ... http://tucsoncitizen.com/view-from-baja-arizona/2011/03/25/atf-gunwalker-scandal-did-us-customs-and-border-protection-look-the-other-way-when-the-guns-were-headed-south

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