Operation “Fast and Furious,” the scandalous ATF gun-running scheme that trafficked thousands of firearms from the U.S. to Mexican drug cartels, is back in the news.
ATF admitted that a WASR-10 rifle, trafficked into Mexico by the ATF in November 2009 as part of the F&F operation, was one of three rifles used in an assault on the Mexican town of Valle de Zaragoza on July 27, 2015, in which three Mexican police officers were killed.
A letter from ATF to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and Rep. Jason Chaffetz stated, “ATF and the (Justice) Department deeply regret that firearms associated with Operation Fast and Furious have been used by criminals in the commission of violent crimes, particularly crimes resulting the death of civilians and law enforcement officers.’’
The same letter confirmed that a .50-caliber rifle recovered from captured drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was also traced to Fast and Furious. The letter went on to state that the “ATF accepts full responsibility.”
