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Maybe you thought that Fast and Furious, the Obama administration ATF operation that moved guns across the border into Mexico, was a thing of the distant past. Apparently not. Fast and Furious was reportedly shut down by the Obama Justice Department in 2011 when the whole disaster spilled into public view and resulted in deaths on both sides of the border, including US Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

The sitting Attorney General at the time, Barack Obama wingman Eric Holder, was eventually held in contempt of Congress over his lack of cooperation with the subsequent investigation. Holder was never held to account for his part in either starting what the media loved to call a “botched sting operation” or his attempt to cover up its genesis and real purpose.

Fast and Furious gave the corrupt Mexican government a convenient talking point by letting them blame a lot of their cartel-fueled violent crime problems on the US and American gun manufacturers.

Mexico cartel gun violence
A bullet hole fragments the window of a building, from a recent shootout in Culiacan, Mexico. (AP Photo/Augusto Zurita)

That would be funny, if it weren’t so ludicrous. The Mexican army “loses” one-third of its small arms every year. The really hilarious aspect of that is the country’s foreign minister and its government as a whole were named the Arms Control Persons of the Year in 2021 by the Arms Control Association. You can stop laughing now.

It seems, however, that at least some ATF employees may not have stopped moving guns south when F&F tumbled into public view. A little-noticed Reuters report yesterday details that a Mexican ATF employee was still trafficking guns illegally as late as 2017.

Jose Luis Meneses, a Mexican national who worked as an investigator for ATF at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, admitted to buying firearm parts online and at a California gun store and trafficking them into Mexico for profit back in 2017, according to the letter and an ATF memo from the time obtained by Reuters.

Well this is all very awkward.

The [Iowa Senator Charles] Grassley letter dated Oct. 18, which cites the 2017 ATF memo and information described as “whistleblower disclosures,” accused the agency of not conducting a full investigation into the matter.

“If these protected disclosures are true and accurate, they illustrate a failure by the ATF to hold its employees accountable for criminal misconduct.” …

Grassley’s letter also raised questions about how much information U.S. officials told their Mexican counterparts about the allegations of gun smuggling by the ATF employee, a point that could stoke tensions between the two countries.

Huh. That might complicate the effort by the Mexican government to sue American gun makers in an attempt to deflect blame and claim the manufacturers aren’t doing enough to stop the cross-border flow of guns.

“The embassy found out about suspicious activity, revoked compound access within a day, did an investigation, and fired him within a month. It’s terrible that it happened, but this is exactly how it’s supposed to work,” the official said.

The U.S. government “has no tolerance for that sort of behavior,” he added.

Well, the U.S. government doesn’t tolerate that sort of behavior any more. Allegedly. During the early days of the Obama administration’s first term, it not only tolerated it, the government also sanctioned and actively facilitated it.

Fast and Furious wasn’t just some kooky keystone cops, well-intentioned, but inept krazy sting operation gone wrong as it was so often described. The “gunwalking” weapon smuggling operation was an Obama administration attempt to justify stricter gun control laws north of the border that, thankfully, blew up in their faces.

Weapons fill a bin in the studio of Mexican artist Pedro Reyes in Mexico City,Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

And now it seems at least some of their employees didn’t stop after the F&F scandal went public.

[A] tip led U.S. officials to interrogate Meneses, who admitted to buying firearm parts in the U.S., smuggling them into Mexico and handing them off to his brother, a Mexican police officer, and a former Mexican soldier, according to the ATF memo.

ATF agents from the San Diego office then searched the post office box that Meneses said he used for the purchases, where they found assault-style rifle parts and high-capacity magazines, the memo said.

Meneses used a vehicle with diplomatic plates to avoid being searched at the border while smuggling the firearms, according to the letter. In total, Meneses said he bought enough parts to assemble eight AR-15 rifles, the memo said.

Meneses was placed on administrative leave and then terminated in April 2017, the memo said.

Not only did ATF reportedly fail to perform an internal investigation, but the Mexican government apparently wasn’t informed, either

The ATF memo is a detailed summary of Meneses’ case prepared by a top ATF official in Mexico at the time, and addressed to the then-head of Mexico’s specialized unit to investigate cases of terrorism and arms trafficking.

But it’s unclear whether the memo was ever sent.

On May 9, 2017, the ATF official sent an email to a top State Department official in Mexico saying that “ATF will not make any notifications to GOM (the government of Mexico).”

It isn’t difficult to figure out why ATF might be sensitive about letting it be known that its employees were still illegally trafficking guns across the border after all the black eyes the agency has suffered. Some things never seem to change.

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49 COMMENTS

    • I think both are in contention for Most Corrupt Government In America. Ukraine still wins for Europe.

    • Mexico might be corrupt in total numbers of people involved but certain administrations have proved to me that Mexico is in the amateur leagues when it comes to total revenue generated.
      We are talking multi billions of dollars and the only ones that can come near is Peruvian marching powder king pins and I have my doubts they are even close to what SOME are making.

    • Nothing like this would be happening if we had a mass media that was impartial. The mass media doesn’t question anything a democrat administration does. If the average American voter doesn’t wake up and realize this soon, this country is going to become a dictatorship. Mark my words.

  2. “ It isn’t difficult to figure out why ATF might be sensitive about letting it be known that its employees were still illegally trafficking guns across the border after all the black eyes the agency has suffered.”

    Those “black eyes” haven’t seemed to have caused much real damage. Seriously.

    Nothing to see here- move on. No in-depth research journalism, no segments on the nightly news nor 60 Minutes-type fake news shows. Revelations such as these don’t amount to much when the majority of Americans will never hear about them.

    • Until the entire Alphabet Agency system within the federal government is dismantled and burned beyond recognition. The corruption and tyranny will never cease. Those involved are no better than the Mob or Cartels. The difference is ‘We the People’ fund their operations willingly.

  4. Maybe they should smuggle that bin of old beat up guns into the USA and take it to a gun buy-back. Get some gift cards for them.

  5. Federal agent and a peace officer from Mexico.
    Only ones. Highly trained professionals. Trusted and vetted.

    And what’s the deal with special diplomat privileges? Like how congress critters can insider trade all they want. Every politician and gov official is a crook. If they weren’t then “freedom to be a crook” rules wouldn’t be a thing for them.

      • Let’s see – 2400 miles of border, a $10k guard hut every 660′ feet, $192 million, nobody is trying to secure the border. $192 is less than two F35s.

        NOBODY.

  7. Oh, my stars and garters! Did li’l Chucky Grassley write another sternly worded letter?!?! The Republic shall be saved!!!

    • No one can be held accountable with a corrupt DOJ. Mayorkas, Garland, and Biden should’ve already been impeached for the things they’ve done. Power is only wielded by Democrats.

  8. The US government has had so many corrupt politicians and bureaucrats over the years that none of this is really any surprise.
    If our founders were reincarnated today they would lose their minds.
    Put them back in power and there would be multiple public hangings every day.

    • It’s “ASSumed” Barry Soetoro pulls the strings on the puppet in chief. So nothing’s changed since fast & furious🙄 Whatever!

    • No, they would NOT lose their minds. They would freely and openy SPEAK their minds, and persue those thoughts into harsh and effecive ACTION.

      Remember, most of these men had been dealing with the ultra corrupt and wiley Brit government. The King at the time, George Three (also often referred to as “the kid king” as he was so immature) was every bit as corrupt as our Pawl a TISH uns today. EVERY attempt that petulant child made to “bring those rebellions colinists into submission” was met with stealth, brilliance, deermination, and resolve. It was his “supreme commnader” General Tom Gage designed the ultimate solution to the pesky problem of the colonists bring armed, and dispatched 800 of his “finest” troops to go put paid to their inssitence upin retaining armes for their defense. That foolish ove backfired and eventualy led to the presence of British government in the new colonies being terminated, permanently.

      Sadly however, ince the reins of power shifted to this side the Puddle it did not take long for the same disease that drove the Brits to seek unlimited power over their subjects eventually became the sttus quo once more.

  10. Sounds like he was building ghost guns because he did not want a legal gun traced back to him. Just another major reason to ban the sale of ghost gun receivers that are sold without serial numbers and registered to the original owner.

    • OK -;2400 miles of border, a $10k guard hut every 660′ feet, $192 million, nobody is trying to secure the border. $192 is less than two F35s.

      Occupy the border.

        • I guess I was not clear – the Southern Border is roughly 2400 miles long. At a spacing of 1/8 per mile, and a cost of $10k per unit installed, $192 million dollars will do the entire Southern border. Which is peanuts. One F35 runs about $100 million.I conclude that no one wants to secure the border. Except me.

  11. Yeah, they would pull George’s horse-drawn carriage over and haul him off to jail. Possession of opium, weapons charge, cruelty to animals and maybe battery or resisting…

    And confiscate everything. Auction off his pistol (18th Century pistol, once owned by George Washington)…

    Then there would be the reparations, maybe war crimes…

    America was beautiful.

  12. ot, sort of – the Southern is roughly 2400 miles long.

    A $10k guard hut could be placed every 1/8 mile (660′) along the entire border for $192 million. That is less than 2 F35 fighter jets.

    Occupy the border.

  14. There are always going to be BAD APPLES in every Barrel but that does not b negate the underlying principles I personally have no idea as to what the OBAMA initiative actually was and care even less,but of one thing you can be sure bthere are a bloody sight MORE Bad Apples than a single miscreant’ and they will hardly ever be ATF Officers.
    I certainly do not get bthe continuing habit of picking up an what is usually a relatively minor SINGLE INCIDENT to justify a NATIONWIDE PROBLEM

    In addition I do not see the point of showing us a PICTURE of a box of MUSEUM PIECE Firearms

  15. FedEx is also illegally shipping guns to Mexico.
    I sold a $1,000 revolver, then shipped it by FedEx, fully insured, to the buyer’s FFL dealer in Montana, which last I checked, is part of the United States.
    Instead of shipping it to Montana, FedEx shipped the gun to Mexico.
    It took me weeks on the phone with various people on FedEx to find out what happened to the gun. Finally, FedEx informed me that they’d “accidentally” shipped the gun to Mexico, where it was seized by Mexican customs.
    FedEx refused to pay the insurance, or even reimburse my shipping costs, so I was out $1,000 plus shipping (I had to reimburse the buyer in Montana $1,000) for the gun FedEx had shipped to Mexico. FedEx is a “woke” company that hates gun owners even more than they hate guns.

  16. We once lived in a Christian nation. That is no longer true. We now live in a Godless nation where corruption runs wild. Most politicians, of both parties, are corrupt in some way. They are either using their position to accumulate more power or wealth or both.

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