Fast and Furious gun found at Mexican crime scene

Another weapon from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency's controversial Operation Fast and Furious was recently recovered at a Mexican crime scene, CBS News has learned. Congressional investigators say the crime scene was likely where a recent shootout took place between reported Sinaloa drug cartel members and the Mexican military, in which Sinaloa beauty queen Maria Susana Flores Gamez and four others were killed.

According to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Justice Department did not notify Congress of the Fast and Furious firearm recovery in November, even though Grassley has requested an accounting of weapons that surface from the case. During Fast and Furious, ATF allowed more than 2,000 weapons, including giant .50-caliber guns, to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels and other criminals. Other so-called "gunwalking" operations by ATF let hundreds more guns hit the street. Most of them have never been recovered.

• Brian Terry family sues ATF officials in Fast and Furious
• Mexican beauty queen killed in shootout

The latest known recovery is a Romanian AK-47-type WASR-10 rifle. It was picked up at a crime scene Nov. 23 in Ciudad Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico. That's the same area and weekend of the shootout involving Flores Gamez's death. A trace report shows the rifle was purchased by Uriel Patino, the Fast and Furious suspect who allegedly bought more than 700 weapons while under ATF's watch. Records show Patino bought the rifle and nine other semi-automatic rifles at an Arizona gun shop March 16, 2010.

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Mexican beauty queen killed in shootout

Grassley has sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting more information, and asking whether the officials were planning to notify Congress "that a Fast and Furious weapon had been recovered."

The Justice Department provided no immediate response to CBS News.

Two other Fast and Furious AK-47-type rifles were found at the murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010. In September 2011, ATF estimated that Fast and Furious weapons had been recovered at eight violent crimes in Mexico. As CBS News has reported, guns trafficked under ATF's watch in a separate investigation were also used in the murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico in February 2011. The families of both Terry and Zapata are suing government officials for alleged negligence and related claims.

[carolo43]

If you want to talk about gun runners, then we'd have to go back to Ollie North and the gunrunning to the Contra's while John McCain sat on the advisory board. McCain went through a huge investigation of his own at that time.

Or.....we could talk about Project Gunrunner or even Operation Wide Receiver when Bush was in office during 2006 and onward. Anyone who thinks Fast and Furious was the only gun running operation the United States was involved in is nuts or just wants to pretend it never happened before.

Unfortunately, we lost an agent over this. Mexico has lost hundreds.

[dan16802]

It seems Obama and holder trust the mexican drug cartels with firearms far more than they do the american people. This who thing is nothing short of treasonist and hiding the documents with EP just shows the whitehouses involvement as you cannot invoke EP without direct white house staff involvement in whatever your invoking EP under. The american people should be marching on washington demanding the answers we deserve

[sgtrutledge1]

what ago Obama adminstration, losing a weapon and used in a murder, not surpizing

[dj_chi]

"What ago"??? Wanna try again in English?

[woollymammoth2012]

Wasn't this the point of fast and furious? To be able to track guns used in crimes in Mexico?

I find the uproar over this program to be completely illogical. Why is OK for private gun dealers in Arizona to sell guns that are then walked across the border and used to slaughter innocents in Mexico and along the border, but if the US government gets involved and tries to trace those guns to drug lords and gangs to reduce crime - then it's all of a sudden the worst thing in the world?

Sure - the program probably wasn't a good idea, but all the hyperbole and hoopla that has been generated is purely political and cynically partisan. All of those people would still be dead, regardless of whether we're able to track their guns or not.

[1Gandydancer]

If you took the trouble to inform yourself before opening your yawp you wouldn't get your foot so deeply stuck. It is NOT ok for guns to be sold in Arizona and walked across the border. The straw man sale is illegal, and so is the unreported export. The uproar is over the fact that the ATF realized what was going on and didn't stop it. Maybe many of the same folks would be dead, but they wouldn't have died from bullets from these particular weapons because these particular weapons wouldn't have been sold to their killers. And maybe their killers could have bought weapons elsewhere, but they wouldn't have bought them through Uriel Patino because he would have been in jail. And the reason "tr[ying] to trace those guns" is so controversial is because it was so ineffective and nonetheless so prolonged. What is it about this that you don't get?

[bloodypitchfork]

well sooprise sooprise sooprise! 'Nuther victim of Oblivian's ATF support of the Cartel's bloodbath. Whudda thunk? Geewhilikers..at this rate we might even get to Look Forward/Not Backward AGAIN!! Course..let's not concern ourselves with that pesky ole Fast and Furious investigation..after all, it just takes time away from raking in Billions from HSBC and USB..you know..so we can fund more of this type stuff..heck..maybe even overthrow 'nuther country or two. Youbetcha...good ole 'Murican exceptunalism at work..right? I don know bout you but I'ma gonna double down by buyin me 'nuther gun..just for sportin sake, know what I mean? Although, I don't think the USG would appreciate my type of sport.

[mageedtm]

Wow, some of the remarks made by liberals merely prove ignorance and how effortless several are brain washed. Liberalism is taught in our schools and conservatism is labeled as not cool. Liberals don't love America, they love their entitlements. And listen up you dense liberals; isn't it time to stop differing responsibility for the reason that its nonproductive? Be genuine liberals, doesn't deferring everything in order to not accept accountability only shows weakness? Deferring blame is the dilemma in America and the fact the liberal messiah has polarized this country to a point of no return. How than can one man carry the torch of racism and still be loved by anyone? The videos accessible showing the liberal leader as a racist divider of all should be demoralizing to America, not acceptable to America. It depicts how low liberalism has become. And liberal efforts to eliminate God from America divides the country even more. America is on the doorstep of a civil war yet no one can see the course our moronic leader is taking us. What better way in convincing America removing more of your rights is best for you and our country. And if anyone believes removing the rights of a nation is a good thing, do America a favor and leave her. But to those of you who remain devoted and continue to follow this cryptic leader of our country, remember this. When this country falls you can only blame yourselves and for the reason of losing all freedoms our forefathers gave their blood for us to enjoy. I await your attacks on my post and liberal ignorance on full display. IN GOD WE TRUST. America, love her or get the hell out.

[smoovb]

If this was "just a continuation of the Bush operation", it would be pretty easy for Holder to just cough up the documents, instead of being in contempt of Congress. I can just hear all Barry's little suck-ups in the White House saying "you know, that Bush had a lot of good ideas. Let's keep doing what he was doing".

[dj_chi]

Johnny, but the GOP admitted they couldn't connect F&F to Obama. You can blame him all you want but your boys already gave up on that false front.

[joekiddone]

To show that his Newtown tears were genuine, Barack Obama should visit and apologize at the murder scenes of his own doing, like Ciudad Juarez, where his grisly "Fast and Furious" gun-running to drug cartel scum who leave body parts behind as calling cards produced two separate bloodbaths. Otherwise, Obama reveals himself to have the same lack of empathy as the Newtown school shooter.
***WARNING: Graphic Images***
http://www.drugwar101.com/blog/archives/1202

[dj_chi]

As noted above, the GOP admitted they couldn't connect Obama to F&F. You can cry all you want about this being Obama's fault but your boys already gave up that false front.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Let's investigate the role republican obstruction creating dysfunctional government has played in stressing out those on the margins to commit crime. That's something republicans hope nobody ever talks about.

Bush & Cheney started Fast & Furious, Holder stopped it after he discovered it.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Bush & Cheney allowed the assault weapon ban to lapse in 2004 without renewing it. I wonder how they feel about the 20 babies and 6 adults at the hands of someone the helped provide the weapon to?

[stevor]

Holder AND o'bama, both, ought to be thrown in JAIL because of all the KILLING they're party to (much more than Newtown and Aurora and Oklahoma City together!

[BWB2020]

Nowhere near Bush's body count, dude.

But...but...but...

Yeah, we know.

[dj_chi]

Stevor, if there was any real blame to land on Obama, the GOP wouldn't have given up trying to find a way to nail him for it.