Friday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, on behalf of the Mexican government, that he is officially asking Washington for cooperation. The goal is discovering how Operation Fast and Furious came about. He wants to prevent a repeat.
Mexican President’s press conference:
Lopez Obrador said during a press conference in Mexico City, “What seems serious to me is that a violation of our sovereignty was carried out, a secret operation, and that Mexicans were killed with these weapons… How could this be? A government that invades in this way, that flagrantly violates sovereignty, international laws… We have to shine light on this so that an action of this type will never be carried out again. There is still time for the U.S. to apologize…”
He said his government would send a diplomatic note to Washington asking for information on the gun-running scheme. Mexico Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard confirmed the communication. He said he was sending a letter to the U.S. regarding Operation Fast and Furious.
Operation Fast and Furious
Operation Fast and Furious was presented to Americans ostensibly as a strategy to assist the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to combat Mexican drug cartels. Between 2009 and 2011, the Phoenix Field Division of the ATF would allow and track the illegal sale of approximately 2,000 firearms worth roughly $1.5 million.
The weapons from Operation Fast and Furious would end up being used to kill hundreds of Mexicans and at least one American, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in 2010.
Lopez Obrador first brought up the decade-old incident last Monday. He was talking about Genaro Garcia Luna. Garcia Luna was Mexico’s security minister between 2006 and 2012. Garcia Luna was arrested in Texas by U.S. federal agents last December on drug trafficking and bribery charges.
Roberta Jacobson is a former American ambassador to Mexico. Her appointment was under U.S. President Obama. She suggests both governments were aware of potential corruption ties to Garcia Luna. Mexican magazine Proceso last weekend gave publication to her comments.
Defining cooperation
Lopez Obrador said the “cover-ups” were not the work of just “one government.”
Last Monday, Lopez Obrador said U.S. officials with several agencies should be under investigation. The reason; potential cooperation with Garcia Luna. Those agencies are: the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA and CIA are declining to comment. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters. The Mexican president wants answers. Given the record of our law enforcement agencies; he should get it.