Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Taxpayers Paid for “Fast and Furious”Plan to Arm the Sinaloa Drug Cartel

Ben Johnson,The White House Watch

The Mexican government has opened two criminal investigations into Operation Fast and Furious,the deadly ATF operation that allowed the Sinaloa drug cartel to purchase $1.25 million in illegal guns responsible for countless acts of violence south of the border. Reasonable people may ask when the United States will follow suit after today’s revelations that taxpayers funded the transfer and ATF agents personally handed the guns over to murderous gang members.
Fox News reports it has uncovered documents showing David Voth,an ATF group supervisor,ordered eventual whistleblower John Dodson to use federal dollars to purchase and then personally sell six semi-automatic Draco pistols to members of the gang in Arizona. Then he allowed the guns to ride off into the sunset over the sands of old Mexico:
This was not a “buy-bust”or a sting operation,where police sell to a buyer and then arrest them immediately afterward. In this case,agents were “ordered”to let the sale go through and follow the weapons to a stash house.
According to sources directly involved in the case,Dodson felt strongly that the weapons should not be abandoned and the stash house should remain under 24-hour surveillance. However,Voth disagreed and ordered the surveillance team to return to the office. Dodson refused,and for six days in the desert heat kept the house under watch,defying direct orders from Voth.
A week later,a second vehicle showed up to transfer the weapons. Dodson called for an interdiction team to move in,make the arrest and seize the weapons. Voth refused and the guns disappeared with no surveillance.
According to a story posted Sunday on a website dedicated to covering Fast and Furious,Voth gave Dodson the assignment to “dirty him up,”since Dodson had become the most vocal critic of the operation.
“I think Dodson demanded the letter from Voth to cover both himself and the FFL (Federal Firearm Licensee). He didn’t want to be hung out to dry by Voth,”a source told the website “Sipsey Street Irregulars.”
Shortly after this,Dodson confronted his supervisors,asking why the ATF did not simply give the drug cartel its entire cache of weapons,after which he was given “a more menial job.”Demoting whistleblowers or punishing employees otherwise critical of institutional corruption is a defining feature of the Obama administration.
Commentators have asked whether the program is part of a wider policy of supporting the Sinaloa drug cartel….
Read more.

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