LA Times Blazes Cartel Trail - Turns up Dirt on U.S. Informant Connections

An ugly story that becomes more grim by the day.

Testimony has revealed that ATF weapons were also traced to the torture and killing of a prominent Mexican attorney, Mario Gonzalez Rodriguez, a sibling to a former attorney general in violence-plagued Chihuahua state.

(LOS ANGELES) - A new LA Times Blog La Plaza article questions whether high-profile suspects in Mexican drug cartels are doubling as paid informants for U.S. federal investigators. 'Fast and Furious' scandal grows with revelation that Mexican cartel suspects may be paid U.S. informants raises the specter of a brewing scandal in Washington implicating more U.S. agencies in the ongoing drug-related violence in Mexico.

As if enough feds aren't already buried in this politically damaging quagmire.

We recently carried a biting exposé that showed a clear and concise connection between weapons smuggled under the ATF 'Fast and Furious' Operation used in the killing of a Border Patrol Agent named Brian Terry, and Attorney General Eric Holder.

Our Photojournalist Robert Plumlee has been following the ATF gun smuggling operation and his reports filed with government agencies, sadly, were not followed up or used to prevent the deaths of Brian Terry, or Mario Gonzalez Rodriguez, a sibling of a former attorney general in violence-plagued Chihuahua state, or Special Agent Jaime Zapata, who was shot and killed outside of Mexico City with a weapon that may have been from the same program. There are more; a list that includes names that will never really be known.

Holder recently denied extended knowledge of the operation and suggested he had only known about it for a few weeks, when in fact he claimed bragging rights for 'Operation Gunrunner' in April 2009 during a visit in Mexico, as we revealed days ago in the article: Holder Lied: DOJ News Release Shows Obama Admin Approved ATF Mexico Weapons Smuggling - Tim King Salem-News.com.

From the LA Times Blog:

Kenneth Melson, the embattled chief of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), made the earth-shaking revelation in testimony early last week, The Times reports. Melson reportedly told congressional leaders that Mexican cartel suspects tracked by his agents in a controversial gun-tracing program were also operating as paid informants for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the FBI.

The revelation is further complicating an already tangled scandal unfolding in Washington that ties U.S. weapons to the violent drug war in Mexico. The conflict has left about 40,000 dead in 4 1/2 years. In effect, the scandal also points to a deeper involvement of the U.S. government in Mexico's drug war than the public has previously known or suspected.

Times reporters have been actively covering the ATF scandal since it broke earlier this year. Using our stories, La Plaza explains below what is at stake.

Political implications

The ATF, currently led by Melson, is facing sharp criticism from leaders in Congress over its failed gun-tracing operation, code-named "Operation Fast and Furious." In the program, ATF agents watched as assault weapons bought in the U.S. by suspected cartel straw-buyers were "walked" knowingly into Mexico and into the hands of criminals.

The goal of the operation was to track the guns to high-level cartel suspects. As some ATF agents protested, the program continued, with a senior ATF official reportedly justifying the operation with the adage, "If you're going to make an omelet, you've got to scramble some eggs."

Guns were walked across the border, and the program quickly got out of control, whistle-blowers said. Here's an official report quoting ATF agents on the botched operation.

Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Vista) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) are leading investigations into Fast and Furious on Capitol Hill. A prime target of their attacks in hearings is Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder. Holder heads the Justice Department, which oversees the ATF. He's also a confidant of President Obama. (Watch this video of a testy exchange between Holder and Issa on May 3.)

In recent months, both sides of the partisan aisle have sought political gain with the scandal. Republicans appear eager to shame top officials in the Obama administration with their investigations. They also seek to weaken an agency that is harshly disliked by the gun-rights lobby. Democrats, meanwhile, are using the episode to push for tougher gun-control laws.

Catch the conclusion of this LA Times Blog article on this developing side of ATF's gunrunning saga. 'Fast and Furious' scandal grows with revelation that Mexican cartel suspects may be paid U.S. informants

Related:

• Border Patrol Agent's Murder Tied to ATF's Covert Shipment of Over 1700 Weapons to Mexico - Tim King Salem-News.com
• Attorney General Eric Holder at the Mexico/United States Arms Trafficking Conference - DOJ
• The Columbus Indictment... Bill Conroy - The Narcosphere Special to Salem-News
• Salem-News Photojournalist with Army Task Force 7 in Mexico threatened with arrest by U.S. Border Patrol - Tosh Plumlee Salem-News.com
• 1,800 missing guns…1,800 dead bodies? by Hugh Holub - Views from Baja Arizona
• Feds Call Meeting with Journalist Who Reported Human Remains and Cartel Weapon Build up with U.S. Ties - Tim King Salem-News.com
• AG Holder grilled on ATF "gunwalker" controversy - CBS News
• The Stimulation of Murder - Investor's Business Daily
• Read the Stimulus - readthestimulus.org/
• Raided Mexican Ranch Linked to U.S. Drug War Corruption - Bill Conroy The Narcosphere
• US Special Forces are Operating in Mexico - Salem-News.com
• Mexico Denies US Special Forces Presence South of the Border - Tim King Salem-News.com
• Is Los Zetas Military Cartel Planning a Bloody Revolution in Mexico? - Tim King Salem-News.com
• At Least 40 Killed in Mexico in 24-Hour Period - NY Times
• All Hell is Breaking Loose in Mexico - Tim King Salem-News.com
• Eric Holder negotiated an OxyContin settlement in West Virginia - working for Purdue Pharma! - Marianne Skolek Salem-News.com