Arturo Detexas

Operation Fast & Furious is the name of an illegal gun trafficking sting run by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The purpose of the sting was 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 who 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 US Border Patrol Agent and has since become the subject of controversy and a U.S. congressional investigation. During the operation, at least 2,000 guns were released and tracked by ATF agents into Mexico, many of which have been linked to at least 150 shootings. Of the 2,000 guns knowingly released by ATF agents, only 600 have been recovered by officials. The remaining 1,400 guns have not been recovered and possibly remain in the hands of drug gangs.


Background
On December 14, 2010, while trying to apprehend a group of armed suspects, United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was gunned down in Rio Rico, Arizona. Upon investigation, it was discovered that many ATF agents monitoring the U.S.-Mexico border had apprehended gun smugglers attempting to cross over into Mexico with untold numbers of guns, but would be told by their superiors to stand down and let the smugglers pass.




Representative Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, held hearings on this in June 2011. One ATF agent testified that "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."



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.[5]



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 whistleblower Agent Vince Cefalu has been served with termination papers, in a move by the agency he described as politically motivated.



As of July 2011, the family of Brian Terry is considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the United States Government over the operation.

Congressional Investigation
This program is being investigated jointly by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. So far they have found that:




BATFE 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.

BATFE 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 BATFE officials in Washington were regularly briefed on the operation and approved of the tactics employed.

BATFE 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 agents who provided information about the operation to the Committees.



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 BATFE. 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.